The book, like the movie, did not cast a positive light on organized religion. The TV preacher Billy Jo Rankin was also a "bad guy" in the book. That doesn't bother me at all. As far as I'm concerned TV preachers hold about as much credibility as professional wrestling. Professional wrestling, like TV preachers, can be very entertaining but entertainment is as far as I will go with it. TV preachers are fair game. On the other hand Palmer Joss, the other religious figure in both the movie and the book, had compassion and humility and through him the book did cast a positive view on general religious beliefs.

By the way, Palmer and Ellie did not sleep together in the book. Also, the first machine was destroyed in the book but there was no mention of who did it. Hollywood doesn't like religion.

The book uses a classic argument against religion by stating that religions contradict each other, they cannot all be true so therefore they all must be false. I believe this to be a reasonable argument. I also believe that my religion is the true one (this is the only way to get around that argument).

One of the first things Ellie does in the book is to conclude that the Bible is false because of the contradictory genealogies of Jesus in two of the Gospels. Give me a break. It's hard to believe that Sagan's bright fictional character could not figure out that one line was Mary's and the other was Joseph's.

The book also presented a classic argument for the Bible and Jesus, one that I've heard many times. It goes something like this: Jesus is God because it says so in the Bible and the Bible is the word of God because it says so in the Bible, the Bible is truth because all of the prophecies in the Bible have come to pass in the Bible, the Bible must also be truth because there is some archeological evidence to support it. In my opinion this is the poorest argument for Christianity that could ever be made. It is an attempt to prove the divinity of Jesus. This type of thinking is a direct contradiction the most fundamental principle of Christianity: faith.

Paul (the guy who wrote much of the New Testament) states: "faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen". The way I interpret that is to believe, and act, on something that cannot be proven. Everything in Christianity hinges on one concept: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection Jesus becomes a nice guy with a lot of great ideas and nothing more. How can the resurrection be proven? It can't! There is no way to do it. The only supporting evidence of the resurrection of Jesus are the testimonies of those to have claimed to see him. In the book (Contact) five people had the experience in the Machine and they were discredited the same way Ellie was in the movie, through conspiracy and/or delusion, because they presented no evidence. Except for some hidden evidence, the only thing they had was there own personal experience. The people who wrote the new Testament could be discredited the same way. Mass delusion, is it possible? In the last few decades hundreds of intelligent people have been willing to take there own lives because of it. So it all comes down to faith.

The question was raised in the book along these lines: If God really wants us to believe in him why doesn't he send us some type of undisputable proof of his existence? There is a simple answer to that one: God wants us to be free to make our own choices. If we had proof we would have no choice.

The book and movie wanted to prove the Machine experience enough that they both provided evidence to support it. In the movie it was 18 hours of static on video tape and in the book it was a hidden message in the number Pi. Sagan could not allow for some straight forward faith. For me this is a sad frame of mind. I could not imagine what it would be like to live without hope. The death of a loved one would be horrific if I had to have proof that we could be united again in an after life. Hope is the reason for faith.

I understand the need for skeptical science. I'm glad that all of the smart guys in history have discovered what they have through scientific method. I love science. I believe that "the artist's signature" is written throughout the universe and science is finding bits and pieces of it. I believe that science reinforces faith, it does not diminish it. In the book Palmer Joss (and maybe even Carl Sagan) in conversation with Ellie said, "Any faith that admires truth, that strives to know God, must be brave enough to accommodate the universe. I mean the real universe. All those light years. All those worlds. I think of the scope of your universe, the opportunity it affords the Creator, and it takes my breath away...your universe has room enough, and time enough, for the kind of God I believe in".