Philip K. Dick was a seminal science fiction author with much interest in theological and philosophical questions. This essay is interested in what Dick’s novel Counter-Clock World expresses about two themes: “time and eternity” along with “omniscience”. The purpose is to come closer to an understanding of the theology expressed in the novel, in relation to the theology of Augustine and Eriugene, who are two of the theologians mentioned in the novel. In the analysis a hybrid text-centered method of hermeneutics is used with some regards to the authors point of view, a method inspired by professor of literature Torsten Pettersson. The result of the analysis shows that the resurrection described in the novel is central in the matter of time perception. Augustine’s presentism is clear. The characters have been part of eternity and God while being dead, which is related to Eriugene’s thought about the close relationship between the created and the uncreated. The contemplative knowledge of God is recurrent. The resurrected have received a part of God’s secret and by extension his omniscience. The head character, the anarch Thomas Peak, is a clear example of this. Moreover, Augustine’s thought of the divine gaze is recurrent. The essay argues that academic scholars can find inspiration from fiction. Fiction authors have the possibility to explore theological questions in a way that scholars may have a hard time doing. This because there are neither requirements for coherence in fiction nor a need for responsibility in terms of the consequences of the concepts being explored. This is a creativity that can give fuel to a stagnated theology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-475288 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Hallbäck, Cajsa |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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