The Prophets...of Bajor? What's the deal?

[rick]

Alright guys...whats the story with the Prophets. Were they benevelent, malicious, or just a plot device to keep the story running?

It seems like the Prophets and Sisko were the core of the entire series, but I just dont see them doing much, other than give Sisko faith in something.

They saved Bajor by closing the eliminating that huge Dominion attack through the wormhole. They provided the orbs (and I am still not sure what their purpose really was). They provided The Sisko, and gave The Sisko a purpose.

Can someone explain more of a significance?

 

[Odo's_Bucket]

I have a theory that the Bajorans are supposed to eventually evolve into the wormhole aliens. Just like humans are supposed to one day evolve into the Q. That is why the Q care so much about humans and the Prophets care so much about Bajor. The mortal species will evolve to the point of omnipotence. When that happens, space and time will become irrelevant and both the mortal embodiment and immortal disembodiment the species can exist within the same time and space, shaping one another profoundly through both intellectual and emotional influence.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Where do we have proof that humans are supposed to evolve into the Q?

 

[2 of 10]

IMO Having the prophets was essential for the Bajorians to keep the faith, if you will. Being under Cardissian occupation for close to 50 years, at times faith is all you may have to hold onto. Reading the book Night by Ellie Wiesel in the extermination camps during WW2, in such a hidious nightmare of an existence, faith was all that they had. Kira is a great example of a person who keeps the faith in spite of all the people who thought it was just a silly superstition that she should get over. In the final scene of Treachery, Faith and the Great River, she is trying to make Odo understand what her faith means to her, and what Weyoun 7 faith meant to him when he asked Odo to give him his blessings...

 

[Hermiod]

Where do we have proof that humans are supposed to evolve into the Q?

No, only that the Q have an interest in us.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well...one Q has an interest in us. There is no real evidence that any of the rest give a shit.

Although, since it was humans who helped end the Q Civil War, they might care a little more.

 

[Hermiod]

^I kind of got the impression that his first encounter with humans was a result of him being sent to investigate.

 

[Odo's_Bucket]

Where do we have proof that humans are supposed to evolve into the Q?

Google the word theory. I'm sure there's a definition of the word posted somewhere.

 

[Timo]

Well...one Q has an interest in us. There is no real evidence that any of the rest give a shit.

...Of course, it could be that humanity evolves into that one Q, while Klingondom evolves into another Q, and Bolianity into yet another...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[RoJoHen]

^I kind of got the impression that his first encounter with humans was a result of him being sent to investigate.

It's been half a lifetime since I've seen Encounter at Farpoint, so I can't really say for certain. I'm mostly going on my knowledge of later TNG and VOY episodes.

Honestly, though, I really do not like the theory of us and the rest of the "lower" races evolving into Q-like entities. Seems like something that, if possible at all, would take several million years. I just doubt that any of these races will survive that long.

 

[Odo's_Bucket]

^I kind of got the impression that his first encounter with humans was a result of him being sent to investigate.

It's been half a lifetime since I've seen Encounter at Farpoint, so I can't really say for certain. I'm mostly going on my knowledge of later TNG and VOY episodes.

Honestly, though, I really do not like the theory of us and the rest of the "lower" races evolving into Q-like entities. Seems like something that, if possible at all, would take several million years. I just doubt that any of these races will survive that long.

How young do you think the Human race is?


http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html

 

[RoJoHen]

Young enough that I think it would take millions of years for us to evolve to a point where we can make anything and everything happen just by snapping our fingers.

 

[Odo's_Bucket]

Young enough that I think it would take millions of years for us to evolve to a point where we can make anything and everything happen just by snapping our fingers.

.... and Humans have existed for a few million years. What's a few million more?

 

[RoJoHen]

Um...no. Humans have been around a few hundred thousand years. We're not even close to a million yet.

 

[Jono]

I don't think there is any great connection between the Prophets and the Bajorans. I think the only reason the Prophets interact with the Bajorans is because they live on a planet that serves as a prison for their (im)mortal enemies. So the reason for the orbs was to counteract the efforts of the Pah-wraiths in twisting people to help free them. The main reason for Sisko seemed to be to seal the Pah-wraiths in their prison forever and not really to foster closer relations between them and the Bajorans that worshiped them.

As for the "of Bajor" comment. Maybe the Prophets evolved on the planet first or at least lived there. Then again Bajor might be "of the Prophets" in the sense that it was created by them purely to serve as a prison and life just happened to evolve there.

 

[Trevacious]

I have a theory that the Bajorans are supposed to eventually evolve into the wormhole aliens. Just like humans are supposed to one day evolve into the Q.

As I recall, Q's worry was that humanity would one day evolve into something Beyond the Q.

 

[TheGodBen]

Where do we have proof that humans are supposed to evolve into the Q?

Google the word theory. I'm sure there's a definition of the word posted somewhere.

A theory is a framework to explain a known thing, such as the theory of gravitation and the theory of evolution by natural selection. We do not know that humans in the ST universe evolved into the Q, thus your use of the word theory is incorrect. You should have used the word hypothesis. It's a common mistake.

As for the Prophets, it is a matter of faith. Gods and religions never seem to have proper explanations in the real world, so I see no reason why the writers needed to give an explanation for the Prophets. Maybe they were gods, maybe they were just highly evolved beings that were mucking about with stuff they didn't understand. It is up to you to decide.

 

[Timo]

Honestly, though, I really do not like the theory of us and the rest of the "lower" races evolving into Q-like entities. Seems like something that, if possible at all, would take several million years. I just doubt that any of these races will survive that long.

Why should the races "survive"? Isn't the whole point that they don't survive - that they evolve into something else, with the Q as the endpoint?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Honestly, though, I really do not like the theory of us and the rest of the "lower" races evolving into Q-like entities. Seems like something that, if possible at all, would take several million years. I just doubt that any of these races will survive that long.

Why should the races "survive"? Isn't the whole point that they don't survive - that they evolve into something else, with the Q as the endpoint?

Timo Saloniemi

I think he means that the "lower" races wouldn't live long enough to evolve to that point before extinction brings the end of their genetic lines.

 

[Odo's_Bucket]

Um...no. Humans have been around a few hundred thousand years. We're not even close to a million yet.

http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html