Atwood on theological narrative in SF

This is five years old, but I think it's worth citing. Margaret Atwood muses about science fiction:

More than one commentator has mentioned that science fiction as a form is where theological narrative went after Paradise Lost, and this is undoubtedly true. Supernatural creatures with wings, and burning bushes that speak, are unlikely to be encountered in a novel about stockbrokers, unless the stockbrokers have been taking a few mind-altering substances, but they are not out of place on Planet X. The form is often used as a way of acting out the consequences of a theological doctrine. The theological resonances in films such as Star Wars are more than obvious. Extraterrestrials have taken the place of angels, demons, fairies and saints, though it must be said that this last group is now making a comeback.

We want wisdom. We want hope. We want to be good. Therefore we sometimes tell ourselves warning stories that deal with the darker side of some of our other wants. As William Blake noted long ago, the human imagination drives the world. At first it drove only the human world, which was once very small in comparison to the huge and powerful natural world around it. Now we're close to being in control of everything except earthquakes and the weather.

Read the whole thing here.

I just discovered that in September 2009 Atwood published a sequel/companion piece to her thought-provoking dystopia Oryx & Crake, entitled The Year of the Flood. One of the main characters is Adam One, leader of God's Gardeners (a group blending environmentalism with religion) which appeared briefly in the earlier novel. I recall Atwood sympathizing with the God's Gardeners point of view in an interview she did on O&C. I imagine she wanted to explore these ideas a bit further. The promotional website for the novel lists a number of books on the environment, religious history, and green spirituality.

The Year of the Flood includes fourteen hymns sung by the GGs. A composer has written music for them, and a companion CD has been released. Apparently at least one of the stops on Atwood's book tour took place in a Anglican cathedral and featured a choir singing some of these hymns.