Summary:
Analyzes "The Star", by Author C Clarke. Summarizes the story. Examines the religious aspects of the story.
In "The Star" by Arthur C. Clark, a Jesuit astrophysicist is forced to question his faith. The findings are troubling, an entire civilization is destroyed by a supernova; the implosion of their sun. The calculations that he makes proves that explosion could have been seen from earth at the same time the Star of Bethlehem announced the birth of Jesus Christ. His crew looks at the situation with a more logical justification. They believe that the events in the universe happen with no plan or purpose. It doesn't matter if the civilizations that have been destroyed have done good or bad, those events are inevitable.
The Jesuit's faith still remains after much pondering. He justifies his God's actions with the fact that God himself does not have to justify His actions. God made the universe; therefore He can destroy it how and when He wishes. The Jesuit admired this human-like civilization. He asks his God why they were destroyed; the Jesuit believes that they could have learned much from them. They had written language that, he says, could be easily translated. The discovery of a pylon structure shows that they had a belief in a higher power, that they had some type of religion.
His crew's reaction is a little different from the Jesuit's. Millions of stars are destroyed every day. They believe that many civilizations have been destroyed, but there is no rhyme or reason for it. It really doesn't matter in the end whether they have done good or evil. There is no divine justice, and there is no God. They accept the Jesuit's faith, but they are also amused by it. They wonder how he can believe in a higher power and in the workings of the universe. He replies that even though there are few Jesuit astrophysicists, since the eighteenth century they have made many contributions to astronomy.
The destruction of this civilization happened at the same time the star of Bethlehem signified the birth of Jesus. The calculations that the Jesuit has come to are profound. An entire civilization was built and destroyed. They lived for many years before his bible signified the birth of our humanity. At this point his religion is in question. He wonders why his God would signify the birth of their humanity with the death of another.
Humanity believes in a higher power. They believe in things greater than themselves to reassure them that everything isn't as ordinary as it appears.
This is the complete article, containing 410 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
