Many attributes of Kirk came directly from Shatner, looks, mannerisms, voice, etc.
So would that make Kirk a Jew?
Shatner implied that Kirk was in one of his Trek novels IIRC.
The Gods or God
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Shatner implied that Kirk was in one of his Trek novels IIRC.
Only in the sense Christians are polytheists.
That is, Christians have three gods who are one and the same (at least in the most recent consensus, reached after the necessary holy wars, persecutions and whatnot - previously, these were often considered a hierarchy of some sort). Bajorans have a horde of Prophets who are one and the same - that is, indistinguishable. The Jem'Hadar have the Founders who apparently are literally one and the same factual creature, only with many heads...
Incidentally, Bajorans may also have a God, or perhaps several. At least Dr Mora Pol once exclaimed "My God!", without bothering to tell us whether his was one out of many.
Timo Saloniemi
The Founders, yes, the Female nameless one tells Odo we are many and we are one, so could go either way depending upon your perspective, but, I see no indication that the Prophets are a "Multi-headed" single being. The Pah-Wraiths are fallen Prophets and The Emissary is definitely a completely seperate being, so I disagree they are a single being. plus, doesn't really matter about the actual singleness or plurality of the Prophets is, the bajorans obviously see them as seperate beings, so, IMHO, that counts as Polytheism, they are worshipping multiple Gods in their point of view. The Founders, we don't know if the Dominion knows of their "Single Being" nature or not, if they see the Founders as seperate beings, it is Polytheism, even if they are in actuality a single being.
I always assumed (yes, dangerous I know) that by the time of Trek, humanity had moved beyond the belief in gods. It made a point of explaining away deities (powerful aliens etc.) whenever they were stumbled upon.
I believe Gene said that in the future, 'everyone was an atheist and better for it' although Gene described himself as agnostic.
I believe Gene said that in the future, 'everyone was an atheist and better for it' although Gene described himself as agnostic.
Yea, but, Humans aren't the only race in Trek. The OP asked for Multi-Theistic Religions in Trek
"We make assumption you have a deity or deities or some such beliefs which comfort you."
--Balok, "The Corbomite Maneuver" (TOS)
For me, this "whatever works for you" approach was sufficient as far as the subject goes.
--Balok, "The Corbomite Maneuver" (TOS)
For me, this "whatever works for you" approach was sufficient as far as the subject goes.
Saying humanity was a mistake - I would probably have been better saying within the Federation.
Although the major races (even Klingons and Romulans) seem to have 'old' religions - and I believe the Vulcans and Romulans had multiple gods - they don't seem to have believers any more.
It's a big universe out there though - there's probably someone out there believing in pretty much anything you can imagine !
Something I always expected to see explored in the series, but alas, can only be speculated about. I always got the feeling that perhaps the ancient Bajorans actually created the Prophets either intentionally or otherwise, based on the fact that the Bajoran Wormhole was established as an artificially created one. I thought that would have been a great ironic twist for them to discover, and would explain why the Prophets are so keen on Bajor.
They are interesting.
Some fan literature claim that the Prophets are Bajorans after evolving in a far distant future.
And then there is the issue of whether they are even aware of the Bajorans-they don't always seem to care much.
They're kind of lucky though, because at least they can confirm their "gods" exist. Even if they're barely interested in their welfare.
The Klingons as usual, are even weirder. They originally killed all their gods, but revere Kahless as some type of God/prophet/saint.
Some fan literature claim that the Prophets are Bajorans after evolving in a far distant future.
And then there is the issue of whether they are even aware of the Bajorans-they don't always seem to care much.
They're kind of lucky though, because at least they can confirm their "gods" exist. Even if they're barely interested in their welfare.
The Klingons as usual, are even weirder. They originally killed all their gods, but revere Kahless as some type of God/prophet/saint.
to get to the other side.
Tuvok's wife sent him this message: My husband, we have been given the news that you are alive. Your children and I have asked the priests at the temple of Amonak to say prayers for your safe return.
Tuvok described the temple as one of the most sacred on Vulcan.
So priests, prayers, temple and sacred. In the year 2375.
From which episode please?
.
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I suppose the fact that (in the Trek universe) religion is found to exist beyond the Earth may be a suggestion that it develops naturally and is not a local peculiarity.
Separate in what way? We never hear them address a specific Prophet, or assign specific qualities to it - say, there is no Prophet of Time in charge of miracles related to the Orb of Time.
If a religion lacks a pantheon, can it be considered to be polytheism? Christianity has the Devil and Saints, at least in some cases, and God has His own preferred Emissary, who happens to be the same God in disguise; all that is still monotheism, because there's no menagerie of competing and specialized gods, just the confusingly multi-bodied One and then a hierarchy of supernaturals and favored ones under Him.
If only the belief in a single supernatural entity qualified as monotheism, then we'd have to disqualify at least Christianity and Judaism and probably Islam as well; the best match would be Hinayana Buddhism, which lacks God altogether but acknowledges the generic supernatural with some attributes of authority.
Intriguingly, there's little information on what sort of gods the various cultures have.
-Did the Klingon gods create the world? Did the Prophets? Did the Vulcan gods?
-Do these entities pass judgement, in this life or the next?
-Are they related to afterlife at all?
-Do they control fate?
Since things like "creation of world" are rather mundane events in the Trek context, and afterlife is sometimes a verified phenomenon and sometimes a humdrum technological step, we might have difficult time defining religion through these things. Does religion really require belief in the supernatural, or will mere belief (say, in Kahless or in ice cream) suffice?
Timo Saloniemi
Well, firstly it was just an impression (probably reflecting my own beliefs and prejudices) based on the Federations perceived lack of religion and 'politically correct' approach to other cultures.Tuvok's wife sent him this message: My husband, we have been given the news that you are alive. Your children and I have asked the priests at the temple of Amonak to say prayers for your safe return.
Tuvok described the temple as one of the most sacred on Vulcan.
So priests, prayers, temple and sacred. In the year 2375.
From which episode please?
.
I assumed current Vulcan prayers and temples were deity free - reverence of logic, wisdom and preserved Katras...
Well, firstly it was just an impression (probably reflecting my own beliefs and prejudices) based on the Federations perceived lack of religion and 'politically correct' approach to other cultures.Tuvok's wife sent him this message: My husband, we have been given the news that you are alive. Your children and I have asked the priests at the temple of Amonak to say prayers for your safe return.
Tuvok described the temple as one of the most sacred on Vulcan.
So priests, prayers, temple and sacred. In the year 2375.
From which episode please?
.
I assumed current Vulcan prayers and temples were deity free - reverence of logic, wisdom and preserved Katras...
Well, your impression is somewhat backed up by Picard's attitude in "Who Watches the Watchers," but he might have just been speaking for himself. And NONE of the regular Human characters in any of the series are shown observing any sort of religion which I think is probably not coincidental.
Also I agree on the Vulcan temple thing. It's probably more of a spirituality thing than a worship of deities. I can't imagine Vulcans going for that, but I could be wrong.
Supposedly the logic religion prevalent on Vulcan holds in esteem Kiri-kin-tha's First Law of Metaphysics: "Nothing unreal exists". That would seem to rule out belief in the supernatural, which in turn would suggest Vulcans direct their worship and prayers towards the natural. Which is logical, I'd think, because you are likelier to get a response from something than from nothing.
Or are we to think that the First Law of Metaphysics is considered outdated on Vulcan, and is in fact in contradiction of the logic religion?
Timo Saloniemi
Or are we to think that the First Law of Metaphysics is considered outdated on Vulcan, and is in fact in contradiction of the logic religion?
Timo Saloniemi
Seperate in the fact they refer to them in the plural "The Prophets", and a Prophet, is the same race as the Pah Wraiths, the Pah Wraiths (Again referred to in plural) are fallen Prophets. So, Prophets in the Celestial Temple, and Pah Wraiths locked away in the Fire Caves are seperate Beings. A Pah Wraith got into the Celestial Temple and was defeated by Sarah returning to the Celestial Temple. All these are proofs of them being seperate beings, IMHO.
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