Star of Bethlehem
- In "The Star" (1955) by Arthur C. Clarke, a Jesuit serving as the astrophysicist of an interstellar exploration ship suffers a deep crisis of faith on discovering that the star seen on Earth at 4 BC was actually a supernova which destroyed an entire sentient and highly developed race. In Christian religious terms, God had utterly destroyed these peaceful and virtuous beings, in order to announce to humanity the birth of his son.
Read more about this topic: List Of Religious Ideas In Science Fiction
Famous quotes containing the words star of, star and/or bethlehem:
“For rigorous teachers seized my youth,
And purged its faith, and trimm’d its fire,
Show’d me the high, white star of Truth,
There bade me gaze, and there aspire.
Even now their whispers pierce the gloom:
What dost thou in this living tomb?”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“My advice to those who think they have to take off their clothes to be a star is, once you’re boned, what’s left to create the illusion? Let ‘em wonder. I never believed in givin’ them too much of me.”
—Mae West (1892–1980)
“Shall I tell you who will come
to Bethlehem on Christmas Morn,
Who will kneel them gently down
before the Lord, new-born?”
—Unknown. Words from an Old Spanish Carol (l. 1–4)