Touching the Face of the Cosmos

The following are the contents of our anthology, Touching the Face of the Cosmos: On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion as of August 1, 2015, one month after our official deadline for receipt of essays and stories. There are several important points to keep in mind about what follows:

1. This is not the Table of Contents*.  My co-editor Michael Waltemathe and I have yet to decide on the specific order of nonfiction essays and science fiction stories.


2. This is not a final list of essays and stories.  We are still expecting a few additional essays.

3. But the following should give you an ample idea of what to expect in the anthology.  Look for further announcements as we get closer to our expected November 1, 2015 publication date.

*Note added 17 December 2015: the Kindle edition has just been published.  Click here and then on Look Inside, to see the Table of Contents and more.

Introduction

John Glenn interviewed by Paul Levinson, 30 July 2015

Essays

• Joshua Ambrosius (Univ of Dayton) "Our Cosmic Future? How Religion Might Shape It"
• David Brin (Arthur C. Clarke Center, Univ of California, San Diego) "So You Want to Make Gods"
• Guy Consolmagno, SJ (Director, Vatican Observatory) "A Catholic in Space: Coming Home"
• Peter M. J. Hess "Anticipating the Contours of Extraterrestrial Religion"
• Wu Jianzhong (Sichuan International Studies Univ, China) "Sky One: The Universe and Human Beings are Unified"
• Paul Levinson (Fordham Univ) "Religion as a Necessary Engine of Space Travel"
• Juan Pablo Marrufo del Toro, SJ "Space Exploration as a Religious Pilgrimage"
• Michael O'Neal (formerly NASA, Kennedy Space Center) "Faith in Space: A Christian Perspective"
• Jeremy Saget (Mars One) "Faith to Face"
• Barry Schwartz (Rabbi,  Congregation Adas Emuno) "One Earth"
• Lance Strate (Fordham Univ) "The Touching Interface of the Cosmos"
• Kathleen D. Toerpe (Astrosociological Research Institute and 100 Year Starship) "Shall the Sacred Heavens Be Cast Down"
• Molly Vozick-Levinson (Director, Children's Learning Center) "Castles in the Air: Young Children Imagining Outer Space"
• Michael Waltemathe (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) "The Heavens Declare the Glory of God: Religion in a Spacefaring Society"
• Deana L. Weibel (Grand Valley State Univ) "Pennies from Heaven: Objects in the Use of Outer Space as Sacred Space"
• Christian Weidemann (Ruhr-Universität Bochum) "Did Jesus Die for Klingons, Too? Christian Faith and Extraterrestrial Salvation"

Stories

• Kyle Aisteach (author, science fiction) "Birth of a Pantheon"
• Arlan Andrews, Sr. (founder, SIGMA, science fiction think-tank) "Epiphany"
• Gregory Benford (Univ of California) "Winds of Mars"
• Dave Creek (author, science fiction) "Kayonga's Decision"
• Jack Dann (Nebula and World Fantasy Award winner) "Jumping the Road"
• Marianne Dyson (former NASA Flight Controller) "The Right of Interference"
• Philip Gibson (author, Hashtag Histories book series) "Christmas Message from the Moon"
• James Heiser (Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America) "Ecce Aqua"
• Tom Klinkostein (Hofstra Univ) "The Universe Emerges from Information"
• Paul Levinson (Fordham Univ) "The Seder in Space"
• James F. McGrath (Butler Univ) "Biblical Literalism in the New Jerusalem"
• Robert J. Sawyer (Hugo and Nebula Award winner) "Come All Ye Faithful"
• Alex Shvartsman (WSFA Small Press for Short Fiction Award winner)"The Miracle on Tau Prime"

Cover art by Joel Iskowitz

Interior art by Brittany Miller

printed editions now available for order

reviews of the anthology: National Space Society  ...  The Jewish Standard  ...  Analog Magazine p. 1, p. 2 (August 2016)

video lectures and interviews with authors in the anthology

podcast of John Glenn interview