What would the bajorans think of Q
- Thread starter Voth commando1
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The Bajoran prophetism provides a lot more than knowing cryptic riddles of the future and protecting against evil pah-wraiths. It provided solace during the occupation, interpretation of prophetical orbs influenced education, the caste system, and so on.
And I didn't say their gods are all powerful nor do they believe them to be but power is an aspect in any worship.
Q as a trickster and bringer of doubts and chaos(TNG era) I can almost certainly imagine screwing up that society.
Also, the level of abilities. What can the founders really do in terms of extraordinary abilities? Morph in any form desired and 'linking' together. Nice, but AFAIK, that's about it. Oh yes, and they might be immune to aging, but they certainly can die.
Founders score about the same here. They can appear in a form they desire (Sarah), and though they don't seem to die of natural causes, they are vulnerable to chronoton beams)
But next to that they can do a lot more. They give people dreams and visions, transport themselves or others through time and space, make a fleet of 2700 ships disappear at will, change someone's character (made the Grand nagus nice and gentle), 'posess' the body of mortal beings., and those are just the first things that come to my mind.
Even as an impartial observer that would prefer to see them as 'wormhole aliens', I'd much sooner call them 'gods' than I would the Founders.
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Q didn't do anything to Bajor's faith or the prophets themselves in that episode. Why would Kira react otherwise?
The post you quoted was asking about what if Q actually did get involved with the prophets or interfered with the Bajoran faith....
I don't think claim to Godhood is related to how powerful you are, I just give more respect to freely given worship than compelled worship. I'd make the analogy to Stargate, the difference between the gu'ald and the Asgard.
Sorry to upset you, but you will see I've written more on the subject in this thread. Moreover, the one bit of evidence of the reaction of Bajorans to Q that actually appeared in the series simply cannot be rejected out of hand.
I think you need to work on your writing.
I think you need to work on your substance.
I'll do this only once. I didn't need substance because I didn't set out to make multi-paragraph post. All I did was point out that Q didn't do anything to undermine the Bajoran faith when you implied otherwise by saying the highly religious Kira had no issues in the episode Q showed up... Yes, Q could have done something in a theoretical situation with the wormhole aliens. However, no such episode exists nor is there a novel as far as I know.
You tried to make several posts about some kind of analysis of a divine role involving either the wormhole aliens/prophets and the Q with the people of Bajor. But the phrasing is a bit off and a bit confusing. I'm not sure it truly addresses a hypothetical situation in which the Q somehow influenced the Bajoran faith..obviously in a way where they would realize that their religion was manipulated by Q instead of thinking he was their god.
Thank you.
It shows that the concept of the Q was not unknown to the Bajorans, or at least to our foremost Bajoran. At the very least, this is a starting point for answering the question. If we were pondering what influence two scholars had on one another, then it would be noteworthy that they had been in the same place at the same time. If that were true but they had no meaningful interaction, it could be taken that they were not interested in one another, as disappointing as that realization may be.
Since we are looking at how Bajorans might react to metaphysical and theological uncertainties, it makes since to look at why they would have chosen to revere and worship the prophets. It reveals the role that it plays in their culture. Obviously, they seek the prophets blessing, but what they specifically expect is not well define. The most obvious thing is the Orbs, which allows Bajorans (or at least the priesthood), to gain a sense of events and experiences beyond their current time frame. That is at least partially shown whenever we see some farmer asking about the fate of his crops. To some extent, Sisko embodies the role of the Prophets in Rapture as he dispenses advice based on his knowledge of the future or individual Bajorans and Bajor as a whole.
Conversely, there are those who seek empowerment from the Prophets. Winn and Akora believed the Prophets empowered them to enforce a conservatism on Bajoran society that would push out the Federation and protect them from Cardassia. Late in the series the object of such devotion shifted to the Pah Wraiths.
From what is shown in the series, there are two approaches to religion that Bajorans can take. What's common to both of them is that the objects of their devotion are beings with whom they have a relationship. It is not based on them being creators. It does not require them to be universal. And it does not deny the existence of other religious systems.
What does that mean to the question of what would happen if Q started fucking with them? Looking at human experiences, catastrophes and extreme experiences cause people to reevaluate their beliefs. There's nothing peculiar in the direction they take, whether they are religious or not. Like I said, Jews who lived through the Holocaust mostly became more secular. Romans became more religious, turning to Mithraism and Christianity, after the collapse of the 3rd century. Some are fond of saying that there are no atheists in foxholes, but many who lived through trench warfare during World War I abandoned religion. The more there is an element of active disruption in one's experiences, the less relevant the beliefs they once had become. Bajorans aren't looking for the next all-powerful diety, so if Q screws with them, its not clear it would change their beliefs ... unless of course he sets out to traumatize them.
I seem to recall Kira not interacting with Q one iota nor any other Bajorans on the station in Q-less. Also when he is mentioned Kira states she has never heard of him.
Having rewatched Q-Less I retract my previous statement Kira does interact with Q briefly and not at all beyond a "get security here level!" Q responds by calling her a go getter.
Also Q pretends to be a Bajoran when trying to dissuade Bashir.
Other than that he he doesn't interact with the crew or the inhabitants of the station in any deeper way.
Also Q pretends to be a Bajoran when trying to dissuade Bashir.
Other than that he he doesn't interact with the crew or the inhabitants of the station in any deeper way.
They will consider him a pah wraith 
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I'd say Q is more powerful, if for no other reason, than because he actually is a master of time and space. He manipulates the multiverse with ease, even going so far as to construct entirely new realities on a whim. In comparison, the Prophets have a very limited understanding of time -- even after Sisko's attempts to explain it to them -- and don't seem capable of manipulating very much of time or space outside of the Celestial Temple itself.
We've seen a few instances in which individual Prophets leave for various purposes, but in the same vein as Captain Kirk's question, "What does God need with a starship?" why would a true god need to physically travel anywhere to do what he/she/it wants?
Speaking of Kira more in depth when O'brien mentions him Kira goes "What's Q?!" She had never heard of him and when Sisko she says he is a "extremely powerful and unpredictable entity" she doesn't respond she just follows him down toward Ops.
^ Well that was just because the Bajorans had never happened to attract Q's attention before.
Although, if the Prophets are what I suspect they are...
...they just might soon do that.
(well, they DO like to say "We are of Bajor", don't they?
)
Although, if the Prophets are what I suspect they are...
the far future descendants of the Bajorans themselves
...they just might soon do that.
(well, they DO like to say "We are of Bajor", don't they?
)
I hated the Pah-Wraiths storyline.
I think they are rebel Organians who wondered into the sector and decided to live in the wormhole^ Well that was just because the Bajorans had never happened to attract Q's attention before.
Although, if the Prophets are what I suspect they are...
the far future descendants of the Bajorans themselves
...they just might soon do that.
(well, they DO like to say "We are of Bajor", don't they?
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