I have always been a big fan of the 'Star Trek' series and all Science Fiction and Fantasy works. I was an uncritical admirer when I was loosing and lost my faith, but when I started to pray I became a lot more uneasy about the story lines.... For underlying the Star Trek series is a philosophy that is deeply hostile to faith and God. This is the transplantation of Liberal ideas form the world. The main one is that man kind is progressing towards a future Utopia. For instance in Star Trek there is no more money. People have grown beyond that. People in the Federation are mostly, altruistic and gift themselves to a collective ideal. Instead of the supernatural or mystical we have the miracles of science, instead of heaven , the angels and the saints we have extraterestial marvels and aliens. Medical science has mostly removed ill and physical woes, few people have disabilties of ailments and those who have have them greatly mitigated by science. The heroes of Star Trek are Godless but saints. Brave enterprising they wish to spread the ideals of the Federation to the Universe. Peace, justice, mutual understanding. The craft of the Federation are not war craft, but explorers and missionaries.....of a Brave New World. Things are getting better and better, thanks to man and without the help of God and prayer..... to be continued
The interesting thing about Star Trek is that it involves the use of what underlies much of Western Media and political philosophy today. That having effectively rejected God as having any impact in the world...if they accept his existence at all...is that man becomes their own God. That mad is moving forward to some wonderful future existence, through progress in which wars, disease, poverty will be existed and more and more at present, that man will eliminate 'superstition' {faith' to go a magical messianic existence, the New Jerusalem of the Liberal Progressive. This is true also of Totalitarian States such as Communism and Facism, that man, collectively will pull himself up by his own bootstraps and 'Progress' to a Brave New World.
Hi Padraig, I like Star Trek too, and I've noticed many of the things you've mentioned. Gene Roddenbury There's at least one episode though with a strongly Christian flavor. Did you see the episode called Bread and Circuses? The people on the alien planet live like 20th century earth, but in their time line the Roman Empire never fell. There are gladiator fights mixed with television and slavery. A group of sun worshiping slaves are being persecuted by the empire. Captain Kirk helps set them free. I can't remember how everything is resolved, but once they're safely back on the ship, the crew discusses how sun worshippers are usually primitive people, but these slaves were very advanced in their philosophy of peace. Uhura who has been listening to the transmissions all along It is at this point that the landing party learn the true meaning of the repeated references to the "Sun/Son". Uhura, who has been monitoring radio transmissions from the planet and has heard the slaves continually referencing their Sun God, points out the slaves might not have been worshipping the sun as in a star, but the Son of God. KIRK: Gentlemen. MCCOY: Captain, I see on your report Flavius was killed. I am sorry. I liked that huge sun worshiper. SPOCK: I wish we could have examined that belief of his more closely. It seems illogical for a sun worshiper to develop a philosophy of total brotherhood. Sun worship is usually a primitive superstition religion. UHURA: I’m afraid you have it all wrong, Mister Spock, all of you. I’ve been monitoring some of their old-style radio waves, the empire spokesman trying to ridicule their religion. But he couldn’t. Don’t you understand? It’s not the sun up in the sky. It’s the Son of God. KIRK: Caesar and Christ. They had them both. And the word is spreading only now. MCCOY: A philosophy of total love and total brotherhood. SPOCK: It will replace their imperial Rome, but it will happen in their twentieth century. KIRK: Wouldn’t it be something to watch, to be a part of? To see it happen all over again? Mister Chekov, take us out of orbit. Ahead warp factor one. CHEKOV: Aye, sir Gene Roddenberry said this: "I have always been reasonably leery of religion because there are so many edicts in religion, 'thou shalt not,' or 'thou shalt.' I wanted my world of the future to be clear of that." But he also said this: "I think God is as much a basic ingredient in the universe as neutrons and positrons. This is the prime force, when we look around the universe." I think he believed in a higher power, but rejected the traditional view of god. Science was his religion and he had high hopes mankind would continually better itself through its own human philosophies and inventions. I venture to say if he lived another hundred thousand years he'd be in for a big disappointment.
I think the way it works is this, Deanna. Many people believe in a thing called, 'Progress', in others words they believe that mankind can pull itself up by its own bootstraps.Its a bit like the story of the Tower of Babel were they tried to build a Tower to reach heaven. Whereas Christians believe in the Second Coming of Christ as the End Point of Time, Progressive Liberals and others believe that mankind is heading, through 'Progress ' to a Millenium of peace and plenty, heaven on Earth as it were. The Universe of Star Trek, where man fights battles it is true but against himself, the Federation is perfect. This is really the underlying philosophy now of Barrack Obama and the vast majority of leaders, maybe all, in Europe. This all sounds fine in a way until we see that, effectively God is left out of this equation and Man becomes his own God. Religion will be permitted but only in so far as it fits in with long range plans. The huge difficulty in this is that it eventually and inevitable leads to dictatorship, for progress is like a huge steam roller that must move forward. We already see the first leaves falling , like Fall before the Winter of Dictatorship. For from thier perspective the 'Liberals' have to repress those who stand in the way of Progress...and of course the Catholic Church is a real big thorn in the side as far as 'Progress' goes. Barrack Obama reminds me so much of Star Trek in this. He is guiding things towards a Utopian future, he is young, highly intelligent, charismatic, very fit, with huge ambitions for his country and the world. Now if you look at the actors in Star Trek, especially the Captains of Star Fleet they are exactly the same way. So that in their own persons they incarnate the future to which we are all supposed to be heading. The real danger is that most of our fellow Catholics simply do not see the danger in electing these secular/liberal/ progressives. Any Catholic who votes for such people is like a turkey voting for Christmas.
I agree Padraig that we are on the road to a dictatorship and the victims of that will be those who believe that there is good and evil whereas with the liberal relativists the only evil is moral certitude. The European Union has become anti-Christ in its structures - the Church is a real obstacle in its path as are believing Christians. I have always felt uneasy about Barrack Obama and his smooth honey words - he can talk the talk but for me he lacks substance. Everything is so controlled in his mannerisms and demeanour. He is the consumate modern politician able to say what an audience wants to hear with excellent delivery but he has a secular mind-set and a secular agenda and thus he too has an anti-Christ mentality.
The sad thing about such people is that they are very attractive to the young and lets face it Catholics all over the world are voting for them in huge numbers. I admit, if I were young I would vote for them myself. Finding good people to vote for, people you can really trust is harder and harder. For instance all the parties here, pretty well say they are against abortion...but some times I wonder, they say they are against it, but are they really?
