The X-Files told us that The Truth Is Out There. The search for meaning is one of humanity’s defining features. As far back as we can trace, human societies have in this sense been essentially religious. Prehistoric burials and ancestor worship indicate our grappling with life and death from the […]
One of the main themes that Contact deals with is religion. Through the extremist preacher Joseph (right), the film shows that religion can be a very destructive force. Yet we also see a benign expression of religion that is knowledgeable and sophisticated. Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey, below) is Contact‘s poster-boy for […]
How can we know reality? As a SETI scientist, Ellie Arroway is in the business of quantifying and measuring things. For Ellie, something can be known if it can be measured. God — whoever or whatever that is — cannot be dealt with in these terms, so Ellie is unwilling […]
Are we alone in the universe? This question is the starting point for the film Contact (1997), starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. Ellie Arroway (Foster) is a woman driven by her thirst for answers. As a SETI scientist she scans radio transmissions, seeking intelligent signals from across the galaxy. […]
Meet Jesus at uni 