Book series written by conservative Catholics are not often talked about on BookTok or BookTube.
One of the series’ boldest thematic choices has to do with what the protagonist believes to be a God-sent: wiping out an alien race.
However, after being nearly canceled due to poor sales, Christopher Ruocchio’s sun eater series ” was an unexpected hit, garnering tens of thousands of rave reviews and a “Best of BookTok” badge on Amazon. Also, this does not mean that the author was hiding his faith. The longer the series, the more theological the protagonist becomes as he battles demons (depicted like Ezekiel’s infamous eye-filled wheel vision), confronts God himself in Job-like sequences, and comes to see himself as God’s chosen representative.
But perhaps one of the series’ boldest thematic choices has to do with the protagonist’s belief that God has given him a mission: to wipe out an alien race.
From the first page, Hadrian Marlowe tells readers directly how the seven-book series will end. “The rays of the sun that killed me still burn me,” he recalls. “It’s like something divine, like God’s own heavenly light that consumed the world and billions of lives. […] You want to know what it was like to ride that impossible ship and rip the heart out of the star. ” (The Empire of Silence, 1). Shortly after, we learn that Hadrian destroyed the planet in order to wipe out the alien race. It is not for nothing that he is called a genocide.
A series about an alien race exterminated by God’s orders may evoke memories of important Biblical events. “Genocide” is also the term many skeptics use today for the Israelite conquest of Canaan. And throughout the recently completed series, the alien Shersin is depicted with some eerie similarities to the Canaanites of the Old Testament.
One wonders if Ruocchio’s series can help us better understand one of the most controversial parts of the Old Testament.
Many Christians similarly struggle with the moral implications of God’s commands…how can such actions be morally justified?
“Is God a moral monster?” This question becomes the title of one of the famous questions. book length cure Various moral issues raised by the Old Testament (including the fall of the Canaanites). This is not just a problem for unbelievers. Many Christians similarly struggle with the moral implications of God’s commands, especially the destruction of women and children. How is such an act morally justified?
This question also pervades the moral landscape of the people. sun eater series. Early on, Marlowe is given a vision of blowing up the sun, destroying virtually all of Sielshin, including women and children. As the story unfolds from there, Marlowe struggles with the moral implications of such an act. Is it really a heroic act to wipe out their entire race, or will he join a long parade of history’s most terrifying villains?
It’s no spoiler to say that Marlowe found it morally justified (he says on the first page of the first book that he actually blew up the sun). What’s interesting is how readers slowly come to agree with his decisions over the course of the series.
The main argument in favor of Marlowe’s choice has to do with Shersin’s sheer brutality. Siershin eats human flesh and raids planets to devour humans like cattle. And that just scratches the surface of their grotesque evil. They gleefully rape and mutilate human bodies for pleasure. And as the series progresses, it becomes clear that they have little sense of morality and simply view the world in terms of the right of the strong to rule the weak.
It can easily be compared to the fall of the ancient Canaanites. The Bible paints a dark picture of their propensity to sacrifice children (Lev. 18:21),bestiality(Lev. 18:23), gang rape (Gen.18). “Do not defile yourselves with these things, for the nations that I am going to drive out before you are defiled with all these things. Therefore the land was defiled, and I brought upon it the punishment of its iniquity, and the land spat out its inhabitants.”Lev. 18:24-25). Shersin and the Canaanites similarly display great wickedness.
What drove Shersin to such a grotesque display? Bright enough, it’s their allegiance to the devil (“The Watcher”). As the series unfolds, we learn that they swore an oath to the Watcher and eventually their ruler was possessed by the Watcher. Also, these are not just demonic forces. One particular demon, Ushara, is depicted as follows.
It was as if the sky had opened up, as if the light had come from nowhere, straightening its once spiraling path and revealing its higher dimensions – if only for a moment. The space beyond was filled with pitiless, eyelidless eyes, eyes that might have been carved out of marble and set with jewels. They, like the characters in her celestial speech, are fastened to great glistening black bands, glide across the heavens, and spin in rings – the All-Seeing Eye (O restless gods, 249).
It’s hard not to see depictions that look like they’re being pulled directly from Ezekiel 1. And in a later scene, Marlowe learns about Ushara’s creation. “She was created to manage the stars. Her mission was to maintain and command them, but she abandoned that in order to rule Vyartu as queen and god. In doing so, she rebelled against her master, the Creator, and against Quiet himself.”O restless gods, 374).
That sounds eerily similar to how theologians like Michael Heiser (invisible area) Understand and explain the pagan gods of the Old Testament.
in invisible realm, Heiser argues that God appointed a divine council to govern the world, and that “the remaining nations were placed under the authority of the members of Yahweh’s divine council” (114). When those members rebelled, they represented themselves as gods such as Baal, Ashtoreth, etc. And this explains why the Israelites were commanded to wipe out the Canaanites. They allied themselves with (and in some cases chose to be possessed by) literal demons. And the only way to wipe out these demons and human and demonic descendants from the earth is to completely exterminate them. As Heiser argues, “The rationale for extermination was to explicitly eliminate the descendants of the Nephilim.” (210).
Under such a reading, the core of both stories is the same. It is that a race becomes so deeply mingled with demonic forces that they become vile and corrupt. And as a result, their destruction is justified.
One may wonder whether Ruocchio’s Cherchin should be interpreted as analogous to humans. In an exchange on Reddit, his wife said, mentioned “Cherchin is not intended to be a caricature or stand-in for Muslims. It’s pretty awful to intentionally portray a group of people in the real world as (possibly irredeemable) pure evil. I’m happy to report that I’m not married to anyone who feels that way.” Statements like this suggest that Ruocchio has no intention of writing a direct allegory of the Canaanites.
But the strength of the similarities may lead us to explore whether we can learn anything about our own faith through this moving fictional picture.
of sun eater This is not a reenactment or allegory of the fall of the Canaanites.
Analyzing Chersin’s destruction, one final piece of the puzzle is worth noting. While Marlowe struggles to accept God’s orders, he tries other ways to end the war that do not lead to their annihilation. But (mild spoiler ahead), what ultimately convinces him of the morality of his decision is not just Shersin’s evilness, but the fact that the Absolute (his word to God) ordered it.
This clear command from God is a crucial element that uniquely justifies God’s decision to destroy the sun. At another point in the book, Marlowe is given the opportunity to wipe out a world that is perhaps as evil as Shersin. But despite all the practical reasons that would seem to justify such an act, Marlowe refuses. “Legitimacy must lie in something else, not power for power’s sake. Isn’t power the result of something higher? A visible manifestation of it?” (shadow upon time, 836)
The resulting image will be sharp. in the world of sun eaterthe extermination of the Shersin is justified because their subordination to the demons has turned them into a grotesquely evil race, powerful enough to destroy all human life if left alone. In view of such depravity, the Absolute, in order to protect itself, gave humans special permission to completely exterminate humanity in order to save themselves.
of sun eater This is not a reenactment or allegory of the fall of the Canaanites. plot of sun eater is completely unique, Sherchin shares some important differences with the Canaanites (including a lack of humanity), and the protagonists are far from the fables of Joshua and Israel. The similarities may lead readers to wonder if some of these connections are intentional, but this article does not claim Ruocchio’s intentions.
[Fiction] We are primarily moved by examples and pictures that are meant to reach our hearts, rather than logical arguments that are meant to persuade our hearts.
That said, given the similarities, the way Marlowe reconciles himself to his decision to exterminate the Shersin may help Christian readers ease their own anxieties regarding the conquest of Canaan. Fiction presents moral arguments differently than nonfiction. It moves us primarily by examples and pictures aimed at reaching our hearts, rather than by logical arguments aimed at persuading the mind. We should not form our theological opinions based on fictional works such as: sun eater Or sometimes we do it to justify our beliefs. nonfiction gift clearer discussion In this aspect.
Still, the value of such works is sun eater It is about helping our hearts accept the truth when it is difficult to align our heads and hearts. C.S. Lewis alluded to this possibility in fiction in his famous book. fairy tale articlesThere he explained how stories can slip past our automatic defenses (the “cautious dragon”) and resonate more powerfully with our hearts. Regarding these particular themes, our minds can more easily understand that God has the right to judge and exterminate civilizations because of the sins of mankind. However, our hearts may be conflicted by such seemingly harsh movements.
When presented with a picture of a soul-captive alien civilization dedicated to brutal conquest and enjoying horrific depravity through an alliance with the devil, the vividness of the image helps us understand the benevolence and protection in the Absolute’s decree to eradicate their sins. This helps us more easily understand the goodness of God’s decrees when we read the theological justifications of God’s decisions in the Old Testament.
sun eater For myself, it helped me better resolve my concerns about the end of the Canaanites. This is not the thematic conclusion I was expecting when I first picked up this viral mainstream sci-fi series. But perhaps the medium of fiction allows certain ideas to slip under the gaze of the surveillance dragon.
Source: Christ and Pop Culture – christandpopculture.com
