Thursday, February 25, 2016

The Divine Invasion

The Divine Invasion is a roller coaster ride through Philip K. Dick's alleged theophany in the 1970s, Valis. Weaving together elements of Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, and science fiction (space travel, parallel universes, flying cars, robots, you know, typical Dick science fiction), the story is essentially about the triumph of light over darkness. Yah/God, or Emmanuel, is born to a woman on one of the distant inhospitable colonies and must return to Earth in order to defeat Belilal. My thoughts on this one are all over the place, but it's fascinating to see how Dick's own experiences influenced this work and his approach to Christianity in an intriguing way, particularly in his use of Zoroastrian and Jewish themes and ideas to buttress his "theological moonshine" of a novel. The conclusion is perfect, as well, for its depiction of salvation. 

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