{"id":34016,"date":"2016-04-01T06:12:40","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T10:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=34016"},"modified":"2016-04-01T06:12:40","modified_gmt":"2016-04-01T10:12:40","slug":"aliens-saved-my-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/04\/aliens-saved-my-religion.html","title":{"rendered":"Aliens Saved My Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-34168\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2016\/03\/Aliens-Saved-My-Religion.jpg\" alt=\"Aliens Saved My Religion\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\"><\/p>\n<p>As I was looking for images that could serve as prototypes or inspiration for the cover design for my forthcoming book, <i>Theology and Science Fiction<\/i>, I discovered a book title that was proposed but not used by another author. <a href=\"http:\/\/tonykriz.com\/whats-in-a-name-did-i-screw-up-the-title-of-my-book\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Tony Kriz shared on his blog<\/a> that his book <i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Neighbors-Wise-Men-Encounters-Unexpected\/dp\/0849947391\/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1362074095&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=neighbors+and+wise+men\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Neighbors and Wise Men: Sacred Encounters in a Portland Pub and Other Unexpected Places<\/a><\/i>\u00a0was almost given the title <i>Aliens Saved My Religion: How Religious Foreigners (Muslims, Atheists and Drunkards) Taught me the True Gospel of Jesus<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>I actually have a section of my book that relates the Bible\u2019s verses about \u201caliens\u201d (meaning \u201cforeigners\u201d) to the science fictional sense of that term, since in turn many sci-fi stories about aliens are in fact attempts to say something about how we relate to the \u201caliens\u201d who are from and on our own planet.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Neighbors-Wise-Men-Encounters-Unexpected\/dp\/0849947391\/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1362074095&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=neighbors+and+wise+men&amp;linkCode=li3&amp;tag=jamefmcgrshom-20&amp;linkId=dee00d2db9cfbd1af81d9e9b4d8fd02b\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&amp;ASIN=0849947391&amp;Format=_SL250_&amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;WS=1&amp;tag=jamefmcgrshom-20\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\"><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important;margin: 0px !important\" src=\"https:\/\/\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=jamefmcgrshom-20&amp;l=li3&amp;o=1&amp;a=0849947391\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I was looking for images that could serve as prototypes or inspiration for the cover design for my forthcoming book, Theology and Science Fiction, I discovered a book title that was proposed but not used by another author. Tony Kriz shared on his blog that his book Neighbors and Wise Men: Sacred Encounters in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":34168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,86],"tags":[503,1140,3527,10169,10885,10890,12508,12744],"class_list":["post-34016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible","category-science-fiction","tag-aliens","tag-bible","tag-foreigners","tag-religion","tag-sci-fi","tag-science-fiction","tag-theology","tag-tony-kriz"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Aliens Saved My Religion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As I was looking for images that could serve as prototypes or inspiration for the cover design for my forthcoming book, Theology and Science Fiction, I\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/04\/aliens-saved-my-religion.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aliens Saved My Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As I was looking for images that could serve as prototypes or inspiration for the cover design for my forthcoming book, Theology and Science Fiction, I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/04\/aliens-saved-my-religion.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. 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