Ozymandias Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 So I ran across this article in the most recent issue of the Humanist and found it extremely eloquent (and truthful, for my own experiences with ST) Star Trek Made Me an Atheist, by Nick Farrantello I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with a brand of Star Trek, or another particular piece of media that opened your eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Absolutely. The episode that sticks out in my mind is the TNG episode Who Watches the Watchers. In it, the enterprise and crew are exposed to a primitive, pre scientific people who mistake the advanced technology at the command of the captain as "The Picard", a god. It made me realize that just because something is all (or at least more) powerful, it does not give it god status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franko47 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 DS9 was interesting in the perspective of the Bajorans, who believed that the "wormhole aliens" were prophets, or who had divine dominion over thier destiny. To the Federation they were just mysterious aliens who lived outside of our regular time and space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentLoner Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I was an atheist before I saw Star Trek, but its something I've enjoyed it from an atheist perspective immensely. Plus I'm a huge fan of Gene Roddenberry: "We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing god, all-powerful god, who creates faulty humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes." -Gene Roddenberry Great article btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Absolutely. The episode that sticks out in my mind is the TNG episode Who Watches the Watchers. In it, the enterprise and crew are exposed to a primitive, pre scientific people who mistake the advanced technology at the command of the captain as "The Picard", a god. It made me realize that just because something is all (or at least more) powerful, it does not give it god status. That ep was fucking great. It is one of the very few Trek eps I still like to watch when they're on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 Great article. I've just started getting into the original Star Trek shows and movies because I saw the new movie and liked it so much. So far it's good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulQ Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 The real question is, what does god need of a starship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotdibbler Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Everyone seemed to hate "Enterprise" but one time the encounters a humanoid species that was split into two perpetually warring factions whose purpose was to guard some giant spheres surrounding a wormhole. Archer picked up a sympathetic member off planet who begged for their advanced weaponry to defeat the other evil faction. Archer asked a lot of questions about why they were fighting and it turned out that one side believe the "creators" made the spheres in 4 days while the other side side it took 6 days. <Long, pregnant pause by Archer> So this disagreement resulted in the death of 100s of millions, WTF. The Enterprise refuses to help and dropped the guy off on his planet and it turns out that the entire population was destroyed, the end. I liked the way it pointed out the futility of religion. This was bit of a rip off of the original series episode with Beal (played by the incomparable Frank Gorshwin) and Loki arguing over whether the orientation of the half black and white made a difference. Beal tells Loki that the "mono-colored trash" aren't going to help you now" which I always thought was funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddbird1963 Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Absolutely. The episode that sticks out in my mind is the TNG episode Who Watches the Watchers. In it, the enterprise and crew are exposed to a primitive, pre scientific people who mistake the advanced technology at the command of the captain as "The Picard", a god. It made me realize that just because something is all (or at least more) powerful, it does not give it god status. That ep was fucking great. It is one of the very few Trek eps I still like to watch when they're on. I think that's the episode where Picard says something like, "That's the thing with gods. You never quite know what they want from you." Wisdom. Sage and true! I'll have to find the actual quote to make sure I got it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I know a number of Trekkies who are lifelong Christians. I once met a pastor who was a Trekkie. So no, I don't think Star Trek makes one an atheist. Although, I did hear Gene Roddenberry himself was, and he did not want religion brought up in Star Trek. I will have to say reading a wide variety of books helped me learn to *think* about things. If one can make up an entirely detailed world with a fictitious religion, one of course has to wonder whether our holy books are all made up, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiddlingAround Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Not directly, no... But I do credit Star Trek (along with other works of fiction) with giving me a good dose of common sense which helped to counteract the case of christianity I developed later in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Broke Free Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Absolutely. The episode that sticks out in my mind is the TNG episode Who Watches the Watchers. In it, the enterprise and crew are exposed to a primitive, pre scientific people who mistake the advanced technology at the command of the captain as "The Picard", a god. It made me realize that just because something is all (or at least more) powerful, it does not give it god status. That ep was fucking great. It is one of the very few Trek eps I still like to watch when they're on. That episode has always stood out and has always been one of my favorites. Total Roddenberry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ephymeris Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I watched TOS as a child (obviously in syndication) every weekend and I loved the greek god episode especially. I was a bit obsessed with mythology and sci-fi as a kid and I had already made the parallels between mythological gods and the christian "true" god. Did the show make me an atheist? No but I think it was another piece of the puzzle that led me to free thinking and ultimately allowed me to cast off christianity for the sham it was. This makes me want to buy the series on DVDs and watch the series all again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I know a number of Trekkies who are lifelong Christians. I once met a pastor who was a Trekkie. So no, I don't think Star Trek makes one an atheist. Although, I did hear Gene Roddenberry himself was, and he did not want religion brought up in Star Trek. I've also known several Christians who are Trek fans. My mother isn't a diehard Trekkie but she's a fundie and she loves Star Trek TOS and she went with me to see the new movie and we both really enjoyed it. I always wonder though how do xtians reconcile their love of Star Trek with the belief that Gene Rodenberry is probably in hell according to xtian doctrine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonXNonExX Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I've always been a Star Trek fan and an agnostic leaning towards being an atheist, but i never really connected the two before now. But now that it's been pointed out, i can definitely see the connection. The episodes involving the Borg are especially thought-provoking. I particularly like satire, though, so the TV program that really sticks out in my mind is the Simpson's episode about the Rapture. I like the Simpson's in general, but i laughed the whole way through that one because i know there are people who actually believe the Rapture will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.god Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I've never been able to stand star trek, as it's always seemed to be a glorified soap opera set in space. The "science" part of the "science fiction" seemed very hollow. And actual sci-fi novels seemed to have a lot more interesting philosophical questions. One of the most convinced christians I knew in school whose life seems to revolve around the church is also one of the biggest trekkies i've met. blech to both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I've never been able to stand star trek, as it's always seemed to be a glorified soap opera set in space. The "science" part of the "science fiction" seemed very hollow. And actual sci-fi novels seemed to have a lot more interesting philosophical questions. One of the most convinced christians I knew in school whose life seems to revolve around the church is also one of the biggest trekkies i've met. blech to both. Sounds to me like your talking about Deep Space 9, which I never liked. IMO, Star Trek died with Roddenberry. All other TV sci-Fi seems to fit that profile of your though. Well, maybe not Stargate SG-1, but Battlestar Galactica and the like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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