Itemize Books During Hell is the Absence of God
| Original Title: | Hell is the Absence of God |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://podcastle.org/2009/02/06/pc040-hell-is-the-absence-of-god-podcastle-giant/ |
| Literary Awards: | Hugo Award for Best Novelette (2002), Nebula Award for Best Novelette (2002), Locus Award for Best Novelette (2002), Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Nominee (2002), Premio Ignotus Nominee for Mejor cuento extranjero (Best Foreign Story( (2005) Seiun Award 星雲賞 for Best Foreign Language Short Story (2004) |
Ted Chiang
Audiobook | Pages: 1 page Rating: 4.02 | 1233 Users | 100 Reviews
Details Containing Books Hell is the Absence of God
| Title | : | Hell is the Absence of God |
| Author | : | Ted Chiang |
| Book Format | : | Audiobook |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 1 page |
| Published | : | February 6th 2009 by Escape Artists, Inc. (first published July 2001) |
| Categories | : | Short Stories. Fiction. Fantasy. Science Fiction. Religion |
Explanation To Books Hell is the Absence of God
Which would you prefer: a judgemental God who causes suffering to sinners, or a reality where there is no justice at all?
Calvin: “Do you believe in the Devil... dedicated to the temptation corruption, and destruction of man?”
Hobbes: “I'm not sure man needs the help.”
This short story is a rational exploration of supernatural belief. As an earnest teen, I remember being told that “Hell is the absence of God”. I think it was meant to be more unsettling than fire and brimstone. Perhaps it was, but only for as long as I strived to believe in God. Like many sincere would-be believers I couldn’t get past the issue of why a loving, omnipotent, and omniscient God allows suffering at all, particularly of the righteous (Theodicy).
Angels intermittently visit this version of earth, trailing miracles and accidental tragedy in their wake, and people are sometimes glimpsed ascending to Heaven or descending to Hell. Even the non-devout see and acknowledge this, and the authorities collects stats. People seek patterns and meaning in these apparently random events. After each one, “scores of people became devout worshippers… either out of gratitude or terror”. The occasional fallen angels always answer the inevitable questions about God with “Decide for yourselves”.
Neil Fisk is a rationalist who doesn’t blame God for his minor congenital leg deformity. He marries the devout (belief) but not especially religious (church) Sarah, and is utterly devastated when she dies in an angelic accident. He knows she has gone to Heaven, so wants more than anything to come to love God so that he will eventually be reunited with her.
He attends a support group for those blessed or bereaved by the visitation that killed Sarah. It’s like an Alpha Course studying The Book of Job.
William Blake’s illustration, Satan Smiting Job with Boils (Job 2:7).
Job was a devout, wealthy, healthy man, blessed with sons. He lost everything, and was ostracised by all, who assumed God was punishing him for sins unknown to them. (Really, it was just a test of faith, to settle an argument between God and the Devil!) He railed against his unjust suffering, but ultimately accepted God’s greater power, and was rewarded.
In contrast, Neil is a good man, but not devout. He doesn’t want to be angry at God; he just wants to love him. But how can he? It’s like a kidnapper demanding unconditional love as ransom.
The ending packs a punch. I’m not sure what the devout will feel about it.
For other stories in the collection, Stories of Your Life, see my review HERE.
Image sources
Satan Smiting Job with Boils: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
Calvin and Hobbes Discuss the Devil: http://theologyandchurch.com/wp-conte...
Rating Containing Books Hell is the Absence of God
Ratings: 4.02 From 1233 Users | 100 ReviewsWrite Up Containing Books Hell is the Absence of God
Ted Chiang is great at crafting worlds which function by different fundamental rules. This adheres wonderfully to that expectation. This is like as if an atheist had written C S Lewis' "The Great Divorce". Religion is objectively and obviously real. God is omnipotent, demands love, is not just or merciful, but is benevolent sometimes. Hell exists, but is not much different from Earth in most respects. The story follows the actions of a non-devout man who was married to a devout woman. She wasWhich would you prefer: a judgemental God who causes suffering to sinners, or a reality where there is no justice at all? Calvin: Do you believe in the Devil... dedicated to the temptation corruption, and destruction of man?Hobbes: I'm not sure man needs the help. This short story is a rational exploration of supernatural belief. As an earnest teen, I remember being told that Hell is the absence of God. I think it was meant to be more unsettling than fire and brimstone. Perhaps it was, but only
Definitely one of my favourites if not the most favourite short story from the entire Chiang's collection. Hell is the Absence of God - it's a statement I have been often told in order to behave exemplary so that I avoid eternal struggle in Hell. That title was the first thing that intrigued me and kept to have that effect on me throughout the entire story.I admire Ted tremendously for his ability to craft different worlds that operate on fundamentally different basis that the one of our own. In
An amazing short story set in a world where God, heaven and hell are provable, and angels move through the world causing miracles as they pass. The plight of Neil, whose wife is killed by exploding glass when an angel appears, is both moving and realistic.
Hell is the Absence of God is, in my opinion, Ted Chiang's best work and one of the best science fiction stories I have ever read. On second thought, calling it science fiction is wrong on two counts, not only is it not quite science fiction, it is also one of the best stories I have read without qualification.In short, he creates a world in which God exists, and then thoroughly takes it apart. In some sense an attack on God in both raising questions about why God doesn't show up and what might
One of the most thought-provoking stories I have ever read. Certainly worth putting the time and effort into reading. While I do agree that the absence of God in the sense of genuine devotion from one's life can be compared to what Hell would feel like, I do believe that some theological aspects were twisted for the purposes of storytelling (this is fiction after all). It's impossible to imagine a 'being' of higher consciousness showing less compassion than a mere mortal human. A God that's
The premise of this book is that of a world in which God, heaven, hell, and angels all incontrovertibly exist. Visions into hell, sightings of angels and miracles are commonplace.However, hell is not truly hell as Christians think of it -- it is simply a place in which God does not exist. Angels cause as much miraculous harm as they do miraculous healing. Fallen angels' only message is "think for yourselves."The question then becomes can you or should you love God, knowing for certain that he
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