Popular Culture Review 30.1
higher purpose ” ( 234 ). His love for God , the narrator tells us , “ is the nature of true devotion ” ( 235 ).
In “ Hell Is the Absence of God ,” Chiang brilliantly critiques a fundamental tenet of those who espouse a religious belief : that God rewards those who love Him . Chiang forces the reader to grapple with a deeply philosophical question : why would a loving God impose suffering on the innocent ? Chiang believes this “ is one of the fundamental problems of religion ,” accepting and making peace with “ all the terrible things that happen in the world ” ( Solomon ). Faith Mendlesohn reads this story as “ Chiang ’ s consideration of an ontological world in which the miraculous is a daily event [ that ] directly challenges the comfortable assumptions of the religious Right that miracles are always good things ” ( 274 ). While I do not agree that it is just the religious Right who believe miracles are always positive , I do agree that many who would define themselves as religious have such beliefs . In the world of the story , supernatural visitations can have both profoundly negative and profoundly positive effects on people .
However , we see characters on whom these visitations have no effect at all . Ethan Mead , a witness to the angel Rashiel ’ s visitation , believes God has a purpose for him and longs for “ an encounter with the divine to provide him direction ” ( 214 ). However , Rashiel ’ s visitation does not change Ethan either spiritually or physically . He witnesses Neil Fisk ’ s death and descent to Hell , which leads Ethan to a recognition of God ’ s ambivalence : “ He tells people that they can no more expect justice in the afterlife than in the mortal plane ” while encouraging them to worship God , just not “ under a misapprehension ” ( 234 ). Whether one worships God or not seems to have no effect on whether one ends up in heaven or hell . Therefore , the reader is forced to question the benefits of religious faith .
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