Gospel of Starfleet by Miz Pink

I have a really good reason for bailing on the old Deacon for a few days here, really. And Deke, I’ll tell you and everyone else about it later. Honest. Okay, now to give Deke a little time off so that I can tell you about how Star Trek will explain God’s hands-off approach. Or maybe not. Anyhoo, it will make my little brother happy, since he’s a huge Trekkie or Trekker or whatever the politically correct term is. He watched the shows incessantly, every dang series Roddenberry and gang put out.

So, what’s Spock and Kirk and McCoy and Picard and Data and all them have to do with God? Well not much in the shows themselves but there is an interesting little element that crops up in many episodes called the Prime Directive. Basically, it’s a law that says folks in Starfleet are supposed to leave folks alone until their technology and cultural maturity are high enough that they can handle being exposed to folks with warp drives and tricorders and phasers. Until then, it’s a watch but don’t let them know you’re watching system.

I was reminded of this concept when I saw someone make the case the other day that the seeming intelligent design behind our genetics and the whole missing link thing and all that could be explained better by the idea of some alien race mucking around with our planet a bit than it could by an “invisible man” up in the sky who wants us to follow a set of ten laws carved on some rocks.

Okay then. So, why haven’t we met these little green men or big gray men or slightly pudgy violet men or Silons or whatever yet? Well of course the answer is clear. They don’t want to set us back by making contact before we’re mature enough. They have a Prime Directive just like Starfleet.

Now I know a lot of people will think that theory is whacked too and just as much as the idea of God as creator. But I also know there are plenty of folks who will say, “Hey that makes sense” who would never consider God a viable alternative theory.

But why is it so hard to imagine that God has a Prime Directive?

The reason God doesn’t just plop down on an easy chair in your living room and tell you you need to listen to him or risk hell is because, well, as Jack Nicholson said in A Few Good Men  — You can’t handle the truth! We are immature, self-centered and altogether not ready to experience God in person. And he remains invisible and makes us rely on faith to find him because to do otherwise would be to screw up our development. We need to find him because we are ready to. not because he tells us to.

I know these are some random, wobbly thoughts, but I just found it interesting that we can imagine aliens tinkering with genetics here and then moving on and we can watch Star Trek: The Upteenth Generation and see a future that seems plausible to us, but somehow, many of us just cannot credit the possible existence of God. People who can imagine all sorts of sciience fictiony possibilities will write off Christians as a bunch of folks who are stuck in super-old superstition and unable to come to grips with reality. And on this matter, really, I take issue with some people that I know Deke likes to visit the blogs of, like the Deus ex malcontent guy.

The universe is a big place. If Star Trek can take us on an enjoyable ride, why can’t we let God do the same for us sometimes?

(Okay now that you’ve seen the image for this post, you know my secret I’ve been keeping all this time. I’m really Halle Berry. ………..Don’t I (and my husband) wish……..)

One thought on “Gospel of Starfleet by Miz Pink

  1. Deacon Blue

    It’s “Cylons,” Miz Pink…not “Silons.” 😛 But I will forgive you, even though Battlestar Galactica in its current incarnation is one of the best shows to ever hit the small screen. I’m not sure that Commander Adama or Starbuck will give you a pass though, so watch your back.

    Reply

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