"What it requires of it's God, Doctor..."

[Chrisisall]

"What it requires of its God, Doctor..."

Are Trek fans here God-fearing? God respecting? God believing?
Personally, I believe Jesus Christ was a revolutionary man, ready to die for what he stood for.
But Son of God? No more than we all are IMO.
Were the Gods of Olympus space travelers?
Is the Devil real?

How does religion fit into Trek fandom?
(I'm a modified Buddhist myself)

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Personally, I do not see why I should be kept from being a Trek fan because of my faith. Granted, that does mean there are certain episodes that grate, from time to time...but yes, I am a Christian believer.

 

[JustKate]

Oh, Chrisisall...

These do not tend to be fun threads, at least in my experience, and the reason is that there will be people who won't be content with saying "This is what I believe" and will instead insist on saying "This is where I think people who disgree with me have gone wrong."

And that's never good.

But for the record, I'm a Christian, a moderately liberal one or perhaps a liberally moderate one, and I'm extremely tolerant about most things except when people assume I'm a Christian because I just haven't thought hard enough about it. If I had read _____ or talked to _____ or seen _____ - if I had really considered the issue, such people would say - I wouldn't be Christian any more.

Please believe me - please - I've thought hard enough about it. I'd like those who believe differently to extend to me and to everyone who responds to this thread the courtesy, which I shall of course attempt to extend to others, of assuming that I know my own mind and that my reasons for believing what I do are just as carefully considered as yours are for believing what you do.

Edit: And I agree with Nerys that there's nothing incompatible with being religious and enjoying Trek and other scifi. At least it's never been a problem for me.

And now let the fun begin.

 

[RyuRoots]

Religious topics seem like they kind of ask for trouble, but here's hoping it remains a civil discussion. Me, I'm agnostic. I had Christianity shoved down my throat since I was a kid, but I started questioning a lot of things that didn't make sense to me as I got older I got until the point where I just couldn't buy into it when I was old enough to think for myself and not just listen to what my parents told me. For a while though, I really tried to believe, but I never had 'God talk to me', had my prayers answered, etc. which didn't help that along exactly.


I've looked at other religions, but in general I find the notion of an absolute power or a guiding force or whatnot difficult to believe. The leap of faith is something that I've never really been able to make. Not just on other people's words and nothing else. Not to rule out the possibility, but I'll believe it only when/if there's something that I find more personally substantial.

Again, fingers crossed for civility.

 

[Chrisisall]

Personally, I do not see why I should be kept from being a Trek fan because of my faith.

Nor do I.

Oh, Chrisisall...

These do not tend to be fun threads

How do you define "fun"?

Religious topics seem like they kind of ask for trouble

Trouble is my middle name.

For a while though, I really tried to believe, but I never had 'God talk to me', had my prayers answered, etc. which didn't help that along exactly.

As a kid, I used to invite Satan to a fistfight, but he was too much of a punk to ever respond.

 

[DonIago]

I'm agnostic, and I'd like to think this thread will go well, but I admit I'm just waiting for someone to suggest that I either do have or will have a less fulfilling life (or afterlife) because I don't subscribe to the same philosophy they do.

As far as I'm concerned, if there is a higher power out there, then presumably what's going on with me is what they want to have going on with me, and nobody who's not privy to The Plan (meaning everyone) is in a position to comment.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I personally am in the atheist category. My experience here is you'll probably find it evenly divided between atheists, agnostics, and Christians with a smattering of Jews and Buddhists and pagans. The Christians here seem to run the gamut between hardcore evangelical and ultra-liberal. Sci-Fi is a pretty imaginative and broad ranging subject which attracts people from every part of the spectrum.

 

[Green Shirt]

fingers crossed for civility.

I pray this will be the case.


"Civility, gentlemen. Always civility.": Cyrus Redblock, The Big Goodbye.

 

[xortex]

Gene Roddenberry thought God was a giant can opener.

 

[Crewman47]

Parents and grandparents on my dad's side are chrsitians, myself, brother and sister got taken to church way into our teens but I'm not a christian myself, nor is my brother and sister, although I do believe in God, Jesus and creation and like to combine the theory of evolution, which I don't fully subscribe to, with creation, believing that it may have been God himself who used the Big Bang to create the Universe and that the six days of creation were in fact thousands of years of evolution, like myabe a thousand for each day. Also like to go on the belief that since Adam and Eve there are only less than 10,000 years of recorded history, not millions.

This is my personal belief and as a result I know I'll probably go to hell if I die unexpectedley.

 

[Shazam!]

I'm as atheist as it gets. I find the idea of magical sky wizards to be pure hokum. There is literally no evidence whatsoever so I honestly find it baffling why anyone would subscribe to religious dogma or even want to.

 

[xortex]

God is a concept and concepts float the boat.

 

[Trek Survivor]

I'm as atheist as it gets. I find the idea of magical sky wizards to be pure hokum. There is literally no evidence whatsoever so I honestly find it baffling why anyone would subscribe to religious dogma or even want to.

Sigh, and we were doing so well at the "civil" and "respect" bit. You could have said you're an athiest without a dig about wizards in the sky, hokum and stuff.

I won't sink to your level and start belittling athiests (though I very easily could), because my BELIEFS taught me to respect others and their right to believe what they want, even when they do not show that same respect

Christian, BTW.

 

[xortex]

He believes you're a targ.

 

[Deckerd]

My experience of the TrekBBS is that the religious people on this board are not hard line fundies, since that would preclude them being interested in science fiction.

 

[Dane_Whitman]

I think religion was created by man because man in his most primitive form fears the unknown. Also, a lot of people have a need to look forward to an eternal paradise in order to give meaning to their lives.

Me, I cherish the unknown and consider discovery and philosophizing about life and the universe by using our own minds rather than a pre-written set of 'thinking rules' one of the most imporant aspects of life. I choose to oppose religion by growing in my knowledge and experience.

 

[xortex]

Gene Roddenberry thought God was a giant can opener.

My mistake, it was a giant toaster.

 

[Anwar]

I'm a Muslim myself. But I'm not the kind of stereotype you see on the news.

 

[Shazam!]

Sigh, and we were doing so well at the "civil" and "respect" bit.

Well of course you were. Mine was the first reply to state that God that does not exist.

Also, it's literally impossible for me to respect belief in higher power, God, creationism etc. It works the other way because to religious people, belief is kinda rational and likewise not believing is kinda rational, but to me - an atheist - believing is so unbelievably irrational that to respect it is to basically betray my own position.

 

[Timo]

My position, too, I guess. Believing in things that probably aren't real? Part of the human equation, and part of what makes it so damn exciting to be human. Handing over any part of your moral responsibility to things that probably aren't real? The sign of an evil or retarded mind, one fit to attend a bonfire from the best vantage point. I don't particularly care about gods one way or another - I just deeply despise religion as a moral guideline.

Unless it's a flexible religion in terms of moral guidelines, but that's sort of irrelevant and redundant. Morals are our way of coping with the perplexing complexity of the world where there is no simple right and wrong, and as such they have to adapt to the world to some degree. Religion nicely serves as a snapshot of our morals at any given century or location - but global religions thousands of years old do a dubious job on that, by definition. The thing about gods is sort of unrelated to all this, and belief in their existence as such is probably a positive thing for the most part...

Timo Saloniemi