Star Trek and the lack of God

I've loved the original Star Trek series since I was very young. Now, being older and Catholic, I find myself looking into the nature of Captain Kirk's perception of the universe more critically.

The nature of God (specifically as part a monotheistic faith) is hinted at very briefly in only a handful of episodes. In one episode, "Who Mourns for Adonis?", Kirk and company are forced to give worship to an ancient Greek god, Apollo. In the end, Kirk vanquishes the god, telling him, "We've outgrown you." Apollo, virtually powerless as a result of the Enterprise's destruction of his power source, literally fades away, saddened that mankind no longer needs gods.

Gene Roddenberry was big on the concept of humanism...the philosophy that man can discern their own morality, self-worth and respect for others without supernatural or transcendental means. For Star Trek, it's a powerful philosophy that works only because of a strong captain, crew, and immensely powerful starship that could devastate a planet's surface all by itself if the captain willed it.

But we're not Captain Kirk. We don't have incredibly intelligent first officers to explain the otherwise unexplainable, or powerful technologies to pierce through the guises of god-like creatures to explain their true nature and intentions.

And while Kirk's universe appeared to write off the preternatural, explain it away to evil aliens or other beings that once posed as mythical beings of Earth's past, followers of Islam, Judaism and Christianity in the real world know, through faith, that evil does exist.

Star Trek is not alone in the use of humanism, of course. Pick your finest science fiction story and you will likely find how God is, at the least, minimized there as the human (or humanoid) characters take point to solve a problem.

I realize that asking God to step in to solve problems in most stories would result in terrible fiction. (It's an ancient plot device for which this blog's name is based.) It's just something I'm throwing out there to think more about.

What stories could be improved with more than a terse mention of faith and not a synthesis of humanism? Can you think of any examples where faith is mentioned positively and affects the storyline without turning the tale into a deus ex machina situation?

I can think of one show at the moment.

Christianity, infighting, and charitability

As I listen and read questions and answers on the nature of Catholicism, it never escapes my mind how adversarial the Christian community can be against the original Christian Church. The Catholic's claim on this isn't just a matter of faith; it's a clear historical record, not just from the earliest Church leaders, but from non-Christians alike.

But the larger point is that, frankly, to consider yourself a Christian in good stature, all sides must remember to hold to charitable questions and inquiry.

As John Martignoni has recommended, when someone from another Christian tradition comes to you with questions, perhaps charitably or not, remember that people who discuss their viewpoint on why their faith tradition is more important than what they believe your faith implies is giving you a compliment. People who rationally criticize what you believe are likely genuinely concerned with you and your soul.

The arguments that such debaters give you may not be correct in Catholic (or even dominant Christian) doctrine, but if you thank them first for their concern while also making a firm, rational defense of Catholic doctrine, both sides may take away something that guides them closer to the true nature of Christ and his truth. And as many other apologetics remind their patrons, the purpose of discussing faith is not to convert or to "win the argument" for your own self-aggrandizement, but for truth to have it's say.

Despite what the secular world may want you to believe, it is quite possible to keep a logical debate on the nature of faith. Catholics have been doing this far longer than any other Christian tradition, supported by sacred Scripture (the Bible), traditions passed down from the Twelve Apostles and St. Peter and the earliest Church fathers (long before the New Testament was fully put to paper), as well as a magisterium, the teaching body of the Church that aids all Catholics in the final interpretations of Scripture and tradition when its needed.

It's not that Catholics can't or don't read the Bible--of course we do. The slight downside of being Catholic is that we don't have to debate the reasoning behind one Scripture passage or not...that's been done for us for thousands of years, and the serious questions settled. So quite of a few of us Catholics, as a result, are a bit lazy when understanding the doctrines of Catholic faith (if not its practices), especially when non-Catholic Christians (most of whom are sola Scriptora advocates) launch their questions based solely on Biblical passages.

But what should you do when people present attacks, not logical arguments or genuine concerns? How do you handle not just the occasional door visit by Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, but what do you do when you meet up with friends in SF fandom (where diversity in thinking and belief seem gravely confused with the prudence of worshipping in pagan ideals or mucking about in powers that can't be mastered)?

I'll dig more into my understanding about this in later posts. Just look for the labels "rant" or "soapbox" in posts to know when I'm trying to speak from the position of a neophyte Catholic apologetic.

To add a twist, I plan on exploring the nature of Christianity in the sci-fi community. How does Hollywood and New Age practices shape things? Does the Internet give people a false sense of self-authority in spiritual and technicial matters? What percentage of SF convention goers are Catholic, Christian, or something else?

And why is it so uncool in fandom to not pick a side spiritually, preferring to say that you're spiritual, but don't subscribe to any "organized religion"?

(I'm guilty of such thinking, too. Anyone who loves The Matrix is dabbling about in Gnosticism dangerously unless you set yourself right.)

Entertainment, Catholicism and Violence

It's hard to find entertainment with a Catholic message, I've learned. Harder still to find games that reflect Catholic values. As time goes on, I'll relate some research I've done on how to handle what is available, determine its suitability for yourself or your friends or family, and what messages you can take from it, in my opinion.

Since I'm still a neophyte in explorations of faith, don't take my word as the complete story. I'm interested in your own research on the subject as well. Sites such as decentfilms.com will play a lot in my movie discussions, and my own study in one of my favorite (but violent) movie series, The Matrix trilogy, will often come to the forefront. I admit to a lack of breadth in recent reading, so I'll catch up with the rest of you as fast as I can.

Basic Tool for the TechnoCatholic #1

I'll periodically make note of some interesting, ingenious (or infamous) bit of technology that Catholics and others in the Christian community should consider or avoid.

One is iBreviary (link to Apple opens in iTunes), a brilliant iPod touch/iPhone app from a brilliant young developer that provides anyone with daily readings from the Roman missal, as well as prayers for everything from confession to the Rosary, as well as lauds and other offices of prayer for non-ordained religious. Great when you'd like the readings but the parish's run plum clean out of missals. And, iBreviary costs just $.99.

Why this blog is different.

Welcome.

When blogs were a new thing (circa 2002), I jumped in and created a blog called "Mac OS Prose," a blog where I spouted opinions on Mac OS technology from my experience and expertise in Apple technologies at the time. I soon fell out of updating that blog because there wasn't much to say that a few hundred others weren't saying.

Now, I have a lot to say. First, however, you should know a little about me. I enjoy technology, but I don't (hopefully) allow it to rule my life. And, with my recent conversion to Catholicism, I've re-discovered a new "eye" in looking at all things, from the political, the personal, and the technological.

My purpose here is to talk about the technological things in our lives that strengthen and weaken us as it relates to the spiritual, as well as how ideology is glorified, damned or otherwise affected by our technology. I'm not much into avoiding so-called "touchy" subjects. The truth is the truth, and odds are I won't hesitate in commenting on what's not truthful and what is. Your opinion (or my own) doesn't define what reality (or spirituality) is.

"Christus ex machina" means "Christ from the machine." Basically, everyone else uses "Deus ex machina," and the name fits better for me as a Catholic. Specificity works.

I plan on making this a fun ride, but be warned: I don't subscribe to political correctness. Being a black man, you might think I'll see things more from the liberal point of view than not. You'd be very wrong. The world owes me nothing. As a follower of Christ, I owe the world. And that's just for starters.

The blog's just getting built, so patience while I add essential links to things related to technology and spirituality as I find them.