It was reprinted in the science fiction hall of fame, volume one, 19291964. The monks believe that god has around 9 billion names. This is carter scholz, who incorporates science and theology into a different type of literary genre that is not quite science fiction. Bleiler 1983 in the guide to supernatural fiction pages 295 454. Its the first time im not writing the script, for istance. The nine billion names of god i radio drama based on the 1967 science fiction story by arthur c.
One thing that stood out was the humor of the stories something i dont necessarily associate with clarke. The stories listed below are, to the best of my research, all public domain in the united states, writes the collector in an introduction to the long list, a quick scan of which reveals a whos who of respected names in science fiction from the midtwentieth century and earlier, from piers anthony to. Clarkes the nine billion names of god for his own short story of the same name. Likewise, the names of god in scripture are various descriptions of his character. The nine billion names of god, published in 1953 was about a tibetan monastery whose monks sought to list every imaginable name of god. Astronomy, totally rad science fiction friday the nine billion names of god by arthur c. You can do this in confidence because each of gods names in scripture reveals an aspect of his nature suited to the need of the moment. Wagner, with what he hoped was commendable restraint.
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. Monday readers study a portion of scripture that reveals the name, tuesday through thursday readers pray specific. The intelligence cycle means that we provide our clients with the things they need, in a timely way, in an optimal way and with the inherent quality control that close engagement generates. The nine billion names of god 1967 is a collection of science fiction short stories by arthur c. Later chuck tells george that the lamas want to finish the last of all the names of god appears. Daniel barker daniel is the founder of you can science, and also the producer of a science podcast called uncertainty principle, which this website hosts. The nine billion names of god the intelligence people. Nine billion names of god summaryopinion yourshiningknight. People here are trying to calculate which nletter alphabet system gives 9 billion words. Check those that describe god in ways you have personally experienced him. How long did the monks believe it would take them to complete this task when they began it, three centuries earlier. Etext library the nine billion names of god the nine billion names of god arthur c. The nine billion names of god is basically a horror story.
Science fiction friday the nine billion names of god by. Provided to youtube by tunecore the nine billion names of god gandalfs fist a day in the life of a universal wanderer special edition. The story was among the stories selected in 1970 by the. Nepalese monks hire an ibm computer to print all possible nine letter words in a special language which could be the name of their god. Help with the theme of the short story the nine billion. Sep 17, 2017 provided to youtube by tunecore the nine billion names of god gandalfs fist a day in the life of a universal wanderer special edition. Nonfictional story from clarke about his conversation with a telecommunications traitor to the ussr and their plans for the unrestricted american airwaves. In this way its a lot like a ghost story or urban legend. Participant handouts for names and titles of god 1 list of the names and titles of god. The nine billion names of god collection wikipedia. In the same vein as the rc5 and desii challenges, we will attempt to harness the idle computing power of the world to find the 9 billion names of god and bring about the destruction of the universe through the. They worked out there were nine billion different ways of writing his name. It would take 18,750,000 pages to handle the 9 billion names.
Nine billion names of god if this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above. Experiencing god read the following list of names, titles, and descriptions of god. Experiencing god read the following list of names, titles. Clarke in which a group of monks buys a computer to calculate all the names of god theres even a distributed computing webpage which proposes this project. The nine billion names of gold by laura candrian on prezi. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. The purpose of the ending is to surprise and unsettle the reader, rather than to indicate some underlying truth or convey some significant message. What does the end of nine billion names of god signify. Shows readers how to study and pray gods names, which in biblical times yielded rich insight into his nature and character, by following a strict weekly routine. This story appeals to me on so many levels, but the thing that sticks with me the most is the very last line of the story. Clarke contents view concise listing vi introduction the nine billion names of god 1967 essay by arthur c. A most unusual short story by carter scholz is called the nine billion names of god and takes the form of letters between scholz and an editor at a science fiction magazine discussing the fact that scholz submitted a copy of clarkes story with his name on the byline.
Jesus, in fact, shocked and offended the religious leaders of his day by claiming that he had a fatherson relationship with the god whose name they feared even to pronounce. Science fiction friday the nine billion names of god by arthur c. Suppose you format the printout as a 80character wide by 60line tall sheet, and have 8 columns of 9character names on each sheet. Aug 21, 2017 the nine billion names of god is my most cooperative brickfilm so far.
The nine billion names of god signetnew american library, paperback, 1980. Another science fiction writer actually borrowed arthur c. In nine billion names of god a group of monks have been writing down possible names for god for three centuries. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Psa 68 god is the all powerful creator of the universe. The nine billion names of god the world transformed. Contents introduction the nine billion names of god 1953 i remember babylon 1960 trouble with time 1960 rescue party 1946 the curse 1946 summertime on icarus 1960. The nine billion names of god january 28, 2014 phil entertainment, podcasts, transformations, transition comments off on the nine billion names of god taking a cue from george dvorskys the 7 most intriguing philosophical arguments for the existence of god, hosts phil and stephen discuss the relationship between convergence, accelerating.
Suppose you format the printout as a 80character wide by 60line tall sheet, and have 8 columns of 9 character names on each sheet. Ive found the nine billion names of god as a nicelypresented free pdf download here. The names of god the names of god in the bible a persons name is a description of his character. The monks want the computer to help them print out all the possible names of god, of which they believe there are about nine billion. Feb 15, 2014 in nine billion names of god a group of monks have been writing down possible names for god for three centuries.
To call on gods name in prayer is to appeal to that aspect of his character that relates to. And assuming 500 pages per enormous book, that equates to 37,500 books of names. There are also some stories that are precursors for. As far as i know, its the vrst time anyones been asked to supply a tibetan monastery with an automatic sequence computer. Clarke this is a slightly unusual request, said dr. In a broad sense, then, gods name is equal to all that the bible and creation tell us about god.
Praying through the names of god is a tool you can use to call on the name of god for a specific need. Help with the theme of the short story the nine billion names of god. Ten names of god 10 5 ab, abba father ab, abba the name though the old testament provides many rich names and titles for god, the new testament reveals him most fully. There was also a belief they had that the universe would come to an end once their task was complete. There are some stories about antigravity, new worlds, horse like creatures who meet tiny creatures who may outsmart them before too long. Does science prove religion or does religion prove science. The nine billion names of god is my most cooperative brickfilm so far. Discussion questions for the nine billion names of god. The list that the engineers printed was much longer than 9 billion. This task is a variation of the short story by arthur c. Clark was british, so in american english the title would be the nine trillion names of god. Francisco urquijo, laura candrian, gloria banuelos about author characters and setting key vocabulary comprehension questions the nine billion names of god, arthur c. Clarke wrote a very short story, entitled the nine billion names of god.
The reason is because it is the ultimate purpose of god and when they finished, everything disappears in the second part, one of the engineers george thought that this work was the. Apr 25, 2016 another science fiction writer actually borrowed arthur c. A sect of tibetan monks were researching every possible name of god. As far as i know, its the first time anyones been asked to supply a tibetan monastery with an automatic sequence computer. The nine billion names of god follows three employees of a computer company as they sell, deliver and maintain a relatively large and fast computer to a group of tibetan monks. The nine billion names of god by borja ruiz porras on prezi. Apr 09, 2014 most importantly, what i can not figure out is why tibetan buddhist monks are so concerened with writing down all the names of god when they dont believe in god themselves. Why would they want to fulfill god s purpose for humans and end the world if they dont think a god exists. In the story, the monks have been compiling a list which shall contain all the possible names of god. The nine billion names of god the secret the wall of darkness no morning after the songs of distant earth the first chapter of the novel, presented as a short story. They ask for a super computer named the mark v to be installed at their monastery to speed up the process and request that instead of using number sequences it should use their special alphabet and that no letter must be used more than three time consecutively and should. The command, you shall not take the name of the lord your god in vain. To ask other readers questions about the nine billion names of god, please sign up. The nine billion names of god 1967 collection by arthur c.
I wont say much about the story here, apart from posting a link to where you can read the entire tale i think it is well worth study, for anyone curious about theistic ideas, regardless of where you are in the spectrum of faith or nonfaith. Ive found the nine billion names of god as a nicelypresented free pdf download here this link has four short stories. Note that it saves the file as arthur without a file. If you have not read it and would like to here is a link. They ask for a super computer named the mark v to be installed at their monastery to speed up the process and request that instead of using number sequences it should use their special. Assuming 100 laser printers spitting out a page a second, names a page, thats. If anyone has read the short story the nine billion names of god by arthur c. The nine billion names of god is a 1953 science fiction short story by british writer arthur c. Note that it saves the file as arthur without a filetype suffix. The nine billion names of god was the first arthur c clarke story i ever read, and within a week of reading it i was devouring his work. Mar 18, 2008 the nine billion names of god follows three employees of a computer company as they sell, deliver and maintain a relatively large and fast computer to a group of tibetan monks.