James Blish's famous novel, A Case of Conscience (winner of the Hugo award in 1959.) Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez, Fellow of the Society of Jesus is part of an investigatory team sent to Lithia to determine if the planet should be opened to human contact. Lithia is lush- a paradise. The Lithians are intelligent reptiles, scientifically advanced and seemingly more advanced than humans socially and ethically. They have no criminals or deviants, or even the concept of such. What frightens the priest is that the Lithians are governed by reason alone; they are incapable of faith. Yet they echo Christian morality exactly. So does their existence prove the possibility of goodness and morality without God?... or could the whole planet be a cunning trap set by the Devil to destroy the faith of humans? Father Ruiz-Sanchez is torn between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity. This book builds to a shattering ending, and what impressed me most about it is the balancing act that Blish achieves - his resolution works for both believers and unbelievers.