tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post1241701464698755658..comments2024-03-14T10:32:29.233-05:00Comments on Blood of Prokopius: Thoughts on Sci-Fi RPGs Part 1FrDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00459281821319914530noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-39850819349308670552012-12-09T13:03:17.539-06:002012-12-09T13:03:17.539-06:00;) Unfortunately, yes we do...;) Unfortunately, yes we do...FrDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459281821319914530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-12450594698553970552012-12-09T12:44:25.571-06:002012-12-09T12:44:25.571-06:00The Prime Directive was conceived with good intent...The Prime Directive was conceived with good intentions, but we know how that sometimes goes.Gordon Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12907319916602597979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-9714389232827487352012-12-08T00:27:28.523-06:002012-12-08T00:27:28.523-06:00Yes, the original Star Trek under Roddenberry was ...Yes, the original Star Trek under Roddenberry was vastly superior to what followed and there are a lot of things to like about it from a Christian perspective; however, the underlying assumptions of the Prime Directive are still anti-Christian and ahistorical.<br /><br />We tout the 15th-17th centuries as great eras of exploration (and exploitation) as if ancient peoples didn't or couldn't travel long distances or that ancient societies were somehow on more of a level playing field when it came to technology. Both of these assumptions are false. The ancients travelled far and wide (remember, both St. Thomas and Alexander the Great went all the way to India). There have also been great disparities in technology. Trust me, both the chariot and the stirrup had just as a significant an affect on the warfare of their time as did the gun. Thus, the interaction of radically different civilizations of different tech levels has been happening since the beginning of time.<br /><br />Thus, Prime Directive comes out of a sense of anti-Westernism that sees all cultures as equally valid. The West, in its ascent to predominance, must have cheated and done great and evil things. No doubt that bad things happened, but they always do and no civilization is guilt-free. To single out the West is historically dishonest.<br /><br />One of the reasons the West has been as successful as it has is due to the Christian foundation upon which it was built. Thus, the Prime Directive, by its ahistorical and anti-Western assumptions, is a corrosive attack upon Christianity. <br /><br />This is born out when we see what happened to Star Trek after Roddenberry. Those basic assumptions (including the nascent utopianism) were simply brought to the fore and the results were some pretty awful and offensive stuff.FrDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459281821319914530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-16972963361814908332012-12-07T22:26:07.090-06:002012-12-07T22:26:07.090-06:00I apologize for the lateness of this comment.
In ...I apologize for the lateness of this comment.<br /><br />In the true <i>Star Trek</i> (a.k.a. "The Original Series") there were numerous positive references to Christianity and monotheism. The captain's surname is Kirk, which means "church," the nurse's surname is Chapel, Uhura mentions the Son of God in reference to what is obviously a native Christian movement in "Bread and Circuses," and there are other references as well. Roddenberry was very fond of promoting the compassionate aspects of Christianity. At the same time, he took delight in depicting aliens of "godlike" power as tyrants, especially if they expected or demanded worship. The idea of the Prime Directive was not meant to prevent any exchange of <em>ideas</em>, but to prevent the exploitation of primitive people by their technological superiors. Insofar as the Federation's technology is godlike in comparison to that of a primitive civilization, there would be a temptation by unscrupulous spacefarers to portray themselves as gods and a tendency for primitive people to assume such visitors were gods even if they claimed not to be. The original Prime Directive was created in the interest of supporting a form of exploration that would not have the catastrophic consequences that it had in the Age of Sail. I would call this not a rejection of history, but a strenuous attempt to avoid repeating the errors of the past.<br /><br />Most of the moral crimes committed in the name of the Prime Directive occur in the spin-offs such as TNG, and it is just one of many examples of both revisionism and political correctness that plague the spin-offs. (As far as I've always been concerned, everything after the original series is an alternate universe. The contradictions are staggering in their magnitude and numerousness.) I, too, found it disturbing, but it doesn't taint or change the meaning of the original <i>Star Trek</i> no matter how much later writers and producers would like to.<br /><br />As an aside, I would also point out that there are strong arguments that the Federation in the original show was a lot less utopian than is often claimed. There is ample evidence of an economy based on private wealth (with wily traders, Orion pirates, and rich dilithium miners); there are plenty of alien diseases to make up for the Earthly ones that have been eradicated; and human imperfection remains a common affliction at all levels of society.Gordon Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12907319916602597979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-21696219076461186312012-05-13T16:10:38.372-05:002012-05-13T16:10:38.372-05:00The Admiralty in Trek often represents the negativ...<i>The Admiralty in Trek often represents the negative aspects of establishment and bureaucracy, but our "man on the scene" often goes with his or her gut and does what a Christian would consider "the right thing."</i><br /><br />Certainly this does happen, but when the base line is a politically correct utopia, rather than a world based on shared human experience even this conflict feels forced. In addition, with Christianity substituted by a ship's counselor, "the right thing" isn't necessarily the right thing (from a Christian POV). This is particularly true of TNG where forced euthanasia was once deemed "the right thing."FrDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459281821319914530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-89457876550461687662012-05-13T06:50:16.458-05:002012-05-13T06:50:16.458-05:00And yet Trek prominently features captains who ign...And yet Trek prominently features captains who ignore the Prime Directive in favor of compassionate intervention when necessary. Their sense of the good overrides adherence to the law. The Admiralty in Trek often represents the negative aspects of establishment and bureaucracy, but our "man on the scene" often goes with his or her gut and does what a Christian would consider "the right thing." Clearly the Prime Directive is also a device for establishing conflict between heroes and headquarters. That, too, is a part of the human condition Star Trek explores.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-32021501956002357852010-09-21T20:03:44.313-05:002010-09-21T20:03:44.313-05:00Maroon,
I am not arguing that Star Trek is comple...Maroon,<br /><br />I am not arguing that Star Trek is completely void of all cultural pastiche, I am arguing that what it has pales in comparison with the culture that it specifically rejects. I'll deal with the similarities of Sci Fi and Fantasy in a later post...<br /><br />I would kindly disagree with you about the Great Commandment, by the way. The "unless they'd really rather you didn't" is understood. God cannot make us do anything we don't want to without destroying His image and likeness (thus, He doesn't). He is ultimately free, therefore we are created with free will. We are always free to accept Him or reject Him. As you pointed out, the Prime Directive never allows anyone that choice.FrDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459281821319914530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-68006452905539426982010-09-21T19:52:28.073-05:002010-09-21T19:52:28.073-05:00JB,
Oh, I read all those things...a long time ago...JB,<br /><br />Oh, I read all those things...a long time ago. I am more referring to more recent encounters I've had. I will acknowledge that religion as a concept does get some play; however, I find that most of it isn't historically honest (which is a nice way of saying that Christianity has had a huge impact on human history and yet it very rarely plays a role in most sci fi).FrDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00459281821319914530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-58002947901700669052010-09-21T16:01:40.053-05:002010-09-21T16:01:40.053-05:00Fantasy and science-fiction really aren't as s...Fantasy and science-fiction really aren't as separate as you think. What are the <i>Vulcans</i> and the <i>Romulans</i> if not cultural pastiches of real civilisations? And I've never read a science-fiction story that didn't have someone or something I could relate to. Star Trek in particular is all about the human drama and discovering foreign-but-familiar cultures. But I'd agree hard sci-fi is as accessible as a scientific article.<br /><br />Personally, I'm wishy-washy sort-of-new-ageish when it comes to religious questions, but I can spot the fatal flaw in both the Directive and the Commandment: No consideration for the wishes of others. I can think of a number of occasions where the clause "unless they really, <i>really</i> need you to" to the Prime Directive would come in handy, and cases where the clause "unless they'd really rather you didn't" to the Great Commandment would be far more compassionate.<br /><br />As far as I've seen, in Star Trek, the whole point of the Prime Directive is to think before you break it. It's playing it safe. It's knowing people have a tendency of meddling in the affairs of others and making a mess, and reminding yourself that even if it seemed like a good idea at the time, you still have to face the consequences of your actions.Maroonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02360872886639277389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290828421410624791.post-21723609165314072932010-09-21T14:30:40.826-05:002010-09-21T14:30:40.826-05:00I must just be reading different science fiction t...I must just be reading different science fiction than you, Father (not that I read all that much, but I occasionally try my hand)...religion and religious questions often seen a cultural backdrop to the works I've been reading, including Bradley's Darkover books, the Dune series (at least the original works), Orson Scott Card's Ender books, post-apocalyptic fiction like The Canticles of Leibowitz...even Stirling's books have more than a sprinkling of religion (though emphasis would be on the Wiccan religion, at least in his Dies the Fire series).<br /><br />But then, I was never a fan of Asimov or most "hard" scifi. My one buddy that was actually ended up going off to seminary and becoming a Dominican...<br />: )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08532311924539491087noreply@blogger.com