Babylon 5: Part 2 (Christianity)
Loose Ends, Pop Culture May 30th, 2007Impact of Alien Contact on Human Religion
*spoilers*
In 2156, contact with alien civilizations had a mixed response from Earth religions. Some rose to the challenge, some fractured into new sects and several new religions were formed. Note: The series B5 is based in 2258 and after. The Catholic mission on the station aims to discover “learning all the names of God from our non-human brothers”. I imagine that discovery of alien life would put to rest the 7 day creation story in Genesis except for the most fundamentalist Christians (about 46% of Americans believe in strict creationism in 2006).
One of the new human religions featured in Babylon 5 is Foundationism – I will discuss this separately in a later posting. Unlike human history and religious first contacts, there is no mention in B5 of alien evangelism or humans attempting to convert aliens.
The impact of alien contact might be quiet unsettling. We can look back at historic first contacts from Earth:
“Similar stories abound among coastal peoples, from the Chinook at the mouth of the Columbia River to the Algonquians of Manhattan Island.” … “The people went to the water’s edge with tobacco and white deerskins to greet the newcomers. The French in turn fired their guns, which were immediately seen as thunderbirds.” Memories of Contact
In one episode there is the core of a Christian sermon discussing tolerance and alien life:
“Every day, here and at home, we are warned about the enemy. But who is the enemy? Is it the alien? Well, we are all alien to one another. Is it the one who believes differently than we do? No, not at all, my friends. The enemy is fear. The enemy is ignorance. The enemy is the one who tells you that you must hate that which is different. Because, in the end, that hate will turn on you. And that same hate will destroy you.” Rev. Dexter, And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
Passing through Gethsemane: Christian Belief in B5
I don’t want to spoil this single episode so I will talk generally about it. The crucification of Jesus is referenced several times. Several very interesting questions are raised:
For serious crimes, is total character rehabilitation (in the story an artificial “mind wipe”) a viable alternative to the death penalty? “Where does revenge end and justice begin?”
Can a victim forgive the sinner? “Forgive them for they know not what they do” Luke 23:34
Can a 3rd party forgive a sinner?
Would a Christian have the courage to stay in the Garden of Gethsemane knowing the consequences? ‘Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”‘ Matthew 26:33
Can God forgive sins the sinner has forgotten? Can you seek atonement and justice for your own sins? Can you be “forced” to atone by rehabilitation (or mind wipe)?
The TV show leaves the issue of justice open to interpretation.
“We won’t tell you what to think about an issue, because I don’t have an answer myself…but if it made you stop and consider this stuff, and decide for yourself where you fall in the discussion, then it’s done its job.” JMS
On the matter of forgiveness, it seems more straight forward, settling on “forgiveness is a hard thing, but something ever to strive for” but the writer commented:
‘…I have lost people. Too many people. Lost them to chance, violence, brutality beyond belief; I’ve seen all the senseless, ignoble acts of “god’s noblest creature.” And I am incapable of forgiving.’ JMS
That’s it for the time being. There is one more area of Christianity in B5 to cover but I need to rewatch the episode (Deconstruction of Falling Stars). The next posting will be on one of the fictional religions in B5.
Anti Citizen One
May 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Look foward to the forthcoming posts.
What is interesting is the ‘Catholic Mission’ in B5 searching for the many names of God would suggest that it had embraced a mystical philosophy and had moved away from scholastic philosophy. It is a tension that exists today, on the one hand scholastic theology attempts to rationalise a number of doctrines both with a broad range of reference including science and ancient greek wisdom. On the other hand there is still a powerful force that pushes for the supremacy of mystery.
I dont think it can be any coincidence that the East has stuck to its Mystical roots in alsmot every religion, whereas in the West it has been severely diminished. Eastern Orthodox Christianity limits its theological scope so as not to damage the mystique or mystical. In Islam Sufism represents a wonderfully mystic strain, that is particularly interested in knowing and experiencing the many names of Allah. It is also a Hindu notion that ‘god’ has many names.
Does this mean that Wittgenstein won and theologians and philosophers rejected attempts to reconcile faith with reason, favouring the ineffable experience of the numinous?
May 30th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I’m not so confident Creationism would be so easily defeated by first (or second or regular) contact. The adjustment in belief would be that the alien planet in question was similarly created ex nihilo.