What if the resurrection was guaranteed?

I recently finished Dan Simmons’ four-book epic, The Hyperion Cantos.

My best summary? Imagine if Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales took place over 1,000 years in the future… and in space.

Oh and the Catholic Church found a parasite that resurrects people.

Setting the scene: Spoilers ahead

A group of pilgrims traverses the galaxy together on a quest to the planet Hyperion. There they will encounter the living metal demon, the Shrike, a vicious killing machine and the object of worship for a cult.

It is by this cult that these pilgrims were chosen, and though their backgrounds are diverse, their stories are found to be interwoven for one purpose: dismantling their current society.

You see, technology is quite advanced by the 3,000s.

For one, AI far outweighs the likes of ChatGPT and Claude, and thanks to AI there is no need for transportation, reading, or religion.

Thanks to this advent of technology, the church (specifically the Catholic Church) is in a serious state of decline—much to the chagrin of one of the pilgrims, a Jesuit priest.

While I will limit the spoilers, the key plot point I must give away is that our pilgrims succeed in dismantling the AI core, but in the vacuum left behind there is an opening for a new superpower to take hold of the galaxy.

That superpower is the Catholic Church, which rises to dominance and rules the galaxy with an iron fist.

What gave the church this power?

Our pilgrim priest discovers a parasite in the form of a cross, called the “cruciform.” This parasite lives on the surface of the human body and resurrects it after death, with one caveat—you are a mere facsimile of your formal self.

While our pilgrims were largely successful in dismantling the AI core, they did not eradicate it. Thanks to an unholy alliance with a rogue AI, the church discovers a way to preserve your former memories and psyche upon resurrection, making the cruciform parasite a bonafide miracle (I’ll let you read the rest of the book to discover the downsides).

Gone are the days of a hope in the bodily resurrection, we have the real thing right here in front of us, which leads to all sorts of problems in the perverse power grab that ensues.

In searching to guarantee life, the church lost its soul

If I am lucky, I have 50–60 years left here on this earth.

I will do my best to spend them hoping that my body will be resurrected with the saints before and after me.

But let’s be honest, I’m lying if I say I believe that in perfect faithfulness every day of the week.

The Hyperion Cantos raises the question, “What if I didn’t have to believe in it?”

I will not assume any of Dan Simmons’ positions on the church or his personal theology.

But I will say he jumpstarted a few thoughts of my own.

Simmons paints a stark portrait of what could happen if the Church traded in the ethereal for the tangible.

Rather than live on hope and faith, the church in Simmons’ world can possess the power of bodily resurrection… and the billions of souls who wish to partake in it.

But this is not a new battle for the church. While bodily resurrection is no tangible guarantee, the church does chase the physical kingdom of God won through political might over God’s grace.

It’s especially timely during election season (yes, and after).

I cannot help but remember the words of Christ when confronted by the disciples about toppling the Roman Empire:

… Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him… But he turned to Peter, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Matthew 16: 21-23

To drive home the point, John adds an exchange in his Gospel where Jesus reiterates to Pilate that his kingdom is “not of this world.”

A stark contrast from the lived and hypothetical experiences of the church.

Why this matters now

As I said, I find it timely to read this series during election season.

Both sides have appealed to the church, claiming they are the obvious moral choice. To be fair, one side has also tempted the church with political power and control over the country (and we saw how well that can go).

This is nothing new for the church though.

Once the former persecutor of the church welcomed Christians in with open arms, the church became a political force—unfortunately, it does not take long to find the evils of the “holy” Roman Empire, the difference from the former being those evils were committed to those outside the church rather than within.

As has often been the case for the last 2,000 and so years, there are many bright spots in the church’s history and many low points.

The common thread between these, is the bright spots come when the church stands in contrast to the prevailing powers that be and the low points occur when the church lets down its guard and cozies on up to those same powers.

I do not believe in a God that is counter-cultural for the sake of it, but I do believe in a God that is above our culture and systems of power. A God who embodies radical love and unfathomable grace. A God who calls me through faith to love others as I love myself, and forsake this world for the hope in the next.

It is in those miraculous moments that we transcend our own capacity to love that God’s kingdom is established here on earth.

For those worried that the world 1,000 years in the future is completely bleak, there are those in the church who realize that they have everything they could ever want—the risen Christ.

I pray that the church of today remembers this, during this current administration and for the next.