“ The Wrong Side of Heaven , the Righteous Side of Hell ”
artistry of Yahweh ’ s work , in seeing how ingeniously the world had been constructed . By this construction , Yahweh ’ s work was indicated , and Yahweh ’ s work was concealed . Thus men would know their place . ( 28 )
Hillalum comes to understand that faith does not provide meaning or significance to his life . He glimpses “ the unimaginable artistry ” of the world through human endeavor , not through worship or religious ritual . As Alan Gregory states , while all “ apocalyptic texts reveal human life in its precarious contingency ,” apocalyptic “ science fiction finds the contingency of life before immanent powers ” ( 161 ). The inhabitants of this world find “ a sense of wonder at the complexity of creation ” that comes from their own exploration of the world ( Smith ). Yahweh does not open their minds or increase their understanding of their world and their place in it , only an individual ’ s desire for knowledge does so . Chiang ’ s story is apocalyptic in that it is the story itself that reveals our search for meaning . We do not need religion to achieve spiritual or material improvement ; what we need is our continuing desire to discover and understand the physical world .
The “ Tower of Babylon ” is a story illustrating the existence of God through the reasoning and observation of its characters , but not by supernatural manifestations . Such is not the case in “ Hell Is the Absence of God .” In the world of the story , the idea of faith as belief without proof is not an issue . Angels make frequent appearances and inhabitants witness the dead ascending into Heaven or descending into Hell . Hell itself becomes visible on occasion , allowing the living to see a place very similar to their world as going to Hell means “ permanent exile from God , no more and no less ” (“ Hell ” 208 ). Angelic manifestations can lead to miracles but can
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