A classic of speculative fiction

I read this a long time ago, and I think it's fair to say that I didn't understand it. I didn't have the knowledge of, or interest in, the religious and philosophical speculation it embodies. Now I do, and I realize why it's a classic, and why it remains controversial.

The story is in two parts, and the first part is the more engaging. It tells of the first human encounter of an intelligent alien species that has a sense of personal morality with no apparent religious belief. You have to have at least a minimum knowledge of Christian theology to understand why that would be such a challenge to conservative believers. The implications are worked out in the story in great detail, from a number of different angles.

The second part of the story, which I think Blish added later, is about the life of one of the aliens, having been raised on Earth. To be honest, I think the story would work as well without this part.

For oldies like me, it's good to be transported back in time to when we really thought that faster-than-light travel would be invented before digital electronics. The story is engagingly dated -- the space-ships carry magnetic tape recorders, for example. Many of the socio-political attitudes are also rather dated but, of course, the story is a product of its age, as every story is.

For the a book that explores similar themes, but in a more modern way, I recommend Mary Doria Russell's 'Children of God'.

But Case of Conscience remains a powerful and thought-provoking story, tor all its flaws.

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