In this thorough and engaging book, Gabriel McKee explores the inherent theological nature of science fiction, using illustrations from television shows, literature, and films. Science fiction, he believes, helps us understand not only who we are but who we will become. McKee organizes his chapters around theological themes, using illustrations from authors such as Isaac Asimov and H. G. Wells, television shows such as Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, and films such as The Matrix and Star Wars. With its extensive bibliography and index, this is a book that all serious science fiction fans--not just those with a theological interest--will appreciate.

Religious themes, concepts, imagery, and terminology have featured prominently in much recent science fiction. In the book you hold in your hands, scholars working in a range of disciplines (such as theology, literature, history, music, and anthropology) offer their perspectives on a variety of points at which religion and science fiction intersect. From Frankenstein, by way of Christian apocalyptic, to Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and much more, and from the United States to China and back again, the authors who contribute to this volume serve as guides in the exploration of religion and science fiction as a multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and multicultural phenomenon. Contents List of Contributors / vii Introduction: Religion and Science Fiction--James F. McGrath / 1 1 The Dark Dreamlife of Postmodern Theology: Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, and Alien Resurrection--Joyce Janca-Aji / 9 2 Sorcerers and Supermen: Old Mythologies in New Guises--C. K. Robertson / 32 3 Star Trekking in China: Science Fiction as Theodicy in Contemporary China--Eriberto P. Lozada Jr. / 59 4 Science Playing God--Alison Bright MacWilliams / 80 5 Looking Out for No. 1: Concepts of Good and Evil in Star Trek and The Prisoner--Elizabeth Danna / 95 6 Robots, Rights, and Religion--James F. McGrath / 118 7 Angels, Echthroi, and Celestial Music in the Adolescent Science Fiction of Madeleine L'Engle--Gregory Pepetone / 154 8 Uncovering Embedded Theology in Science Fiction Films: K-PAX Revealed--Teresa Blythe / 169 Bibliography / 179 Index of Scripture / 187 Index of Subjects / 188 Index of Names / 191

What is the difference between a god and a powerful alien? Can an android have a soul, or be considered a person with rights? Can we imagine biblical stories being retold in the distant future on planets far from Earth? Whether your interest is in Christianity in the future, or the Jedi in the present--and whether your interest in the Jedi is focused on real-world adherents or the fictional religion depicted on the silver screen--this book will help you explore the intersection between theology and science fiction across a range of authors and stories, topics and questions. Throughout this volume, James McGrath probes how science fiction explores theological themes, and vice versa, making the case (in conversation with some of your favorite stories, TV shows, and movies) that the answers to humanity's biggest questions are best sought by science fiction and theology together as a collaborative effort. --Dr. McGrath's love of theology and science fiction is contagious, shining through on every page. The result is an impressive book that is both thought-provoking and easily accessible, whether the reader is an individual or a study group member, a serious sci-fi fan or a congregational leader.-- --C. K. Robertson, Canon to the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church; Editor of Religion as Entertainment --I've always considered science fiction to be the quintessential literature of our species, because it is the only literature to fully address what most makes us human: our ability to engage the cosmos. Religion is another way of doing this, and James McGrath explores these intersections in a provocative and erudite book that not only calls on a variety of human religions, but science fiction on both page and screen.-- --Paul Levinson, author of The Plot to Save Socrates --Those of us who enjoy science fiction take its nature very seriously. And those of us who are excited by Christian faith take the Bible very seriously. There is therefore no better commentator to explore the relationship between theology and science fiction than James McGrath, a serious biblical scholar and science fiction fan who embodies the joy and excitement of the relationship in this accessible and insightful book.-- --David Wilkinson, Principal of St. John's College, Durham University --Refuting the dichotomies that have plagued so much writing on religion, theology, and science fiction, and refusing simply to press one in service of the other, James McGrath weaves a wonderfully nuanced tale of two of humankind's most important and influential ways of imagining our place in the universe--and the place of the universe in our imagination. Few interested in this relationship can afford to miss this book.-- --Douglas E. Cowan, author of Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television James F. McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis. He is the author of the science fiction short story --Biblical Literalism in the New Jerusalem-- (2016), the editor of Religion and Science Fiction (2011), and the coeditor of Religion and Doctor Who: Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith (2013).

This multidisciplinary book focuses on the intersection between religion and science fiction. Several perspectives are addressed by scholars from different disciplines: theology, literature, history, music, and anthropology. From Frankenstein, by way of Christian apocalyptic, to Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and much more, and from the United States to China and back again, the authors who contribute to this volume serve as guides in the exploration of religion and science fiction as a multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and multicultural phenomenon.