[Derek]

Hm. Didn't intend to find myself posting in this thread, but when we talk about CS Lewis, it's very hard to keep me out.

Originally Posted by Tate

I think this may be a misunderstanding. While there are many instances of religion resisting change, it can also be an agent of change.

Two things about "resistant to change."

1. Everyone's resistant to change. Has Star Trek VI taught us nothing?

2. Religions are depicted as being resistant to change because, by and large, a lot of legislation and societal mores are moving away from what the religions teach. If that trend were to reverse, I think you would see religions embracing the changes that would occur, while today's "progressives" would in turn become resistant to change, becoming essentially conservatives. And wouldn't that be hilarious.

it is also possible for sci-fi to promote a Christian viewpoint (The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis

Ah. The Space Trilogy.... Each book markedly different from the one before it. I love reading those books. Perelandra (second book) is probably my favorite though it strikes me as being least accessible to someone not already a Christian. Out of the Silent Planet is an interesting example of 1930s science fiction (or scientifiction, as it was initially called), which has the interesting twist of the human learning the alien language instead of the aliens learning English. That Hideous Strength is very long, very different, but still very good. I love reading those books. I normally re-read them once every year or two (along with LotR, Hobbit, Silmarillion, Narnia, and various other CS Lewis books).

Originally Posted by PointyHairedJedi

Here's a wacky point - given that there are so many branches of Christianity alone, who's interpretation is "right"? And if it's the case that they're all right, then doesn't that by logical extension mean that quite a few other religions are right too?

And since I'm already speaking of CS Lewis, I'll mention a neat little book he wrote called Mere Christianity, which attempts (successfully, imo) to show that there is a common ground among branches of Christianity that is universal to all branches, yet different from all other non-Christian religions. It's intended to be accessible to anyone of any religious background (or of no religious background), so anyone interested should pick up a copy.