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Cosmonautica

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In the shadow of the Space Race and nuclear proliferation, humanity's relationship with the divine took on new dimensions of complexity and contradiction. Through satirical commentary and poetic reflection, two Cold War episodes illuminate competing views of divine presence and human agency: Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov's 1962 declaration of finding "no God or angels" in orbit, and a Johns Hopkins geneticist's stark warnings about nuclear warfare's potential to eliminate higher life forms. Literary analysis of period news reports and creative works reveals how these moments sparked both theological and scientific reckonings with human power. A fictional divine response to Titov's space-based atheism offers a humorous yet pointed defense of divine sovereignty while acknowledging human technological achievement. Meanwhile, Norman Corwin's poem "View from the Ark" reimagines the biblical flood narrative through a nuclear lens, paralleling radiation shelters with Noah's vessel. Together, these Cold War conversations expose persistent tensions between scientific materialism and religious faith, highlighting humanity's paradoxical role as both creator and potential destroyer in an age when technological mastery brought both celestial reach and apocalyptic risk.

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  • Publication Information

    Published 1964

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  • Publication Credits

    Norman Corwin