Star Trek - effective tool for de-conversion

Still from Star Trek episode, "Who Mourns for Adonais?"

I came across this interesting article that was linked to by Friendly Atheist and thought it was worth sharing. The writer discusses the atheist and humanist messages that have almost always been a huge part of Star Trek, and how Star Trek influenced his own atheism. Star Trek, much like The Twilight Zone, would often hide profound and even controversial themes behind goofy costumes and campy drama, and in the article, the writer largely focuses on the common Star Trek themes of gods turning out to be just deeply flawed aliens and general secular humanist values.

I do disagree with the author on a few points. Namely, I think Voyager sucked, that Deep Space Nine (DS9) wasn’t always easy on religion. Let me take a moment to defend DS9. First of all, the main religious leader of the Bajoran people (basically their pope) was almost always treated as an opportunistic villain throughout the series. Second, like with the “gods” of previous Star Trek series, the Bajoran Prophets were nothing but an advanced alien race. And in the first season finale of that series, religious fanatics blew up a school because they thought their beliefs were being threatened when the teacher taught the secular, scientific interpretation that “The Prophets” were just “warm hole aliens.”



But aside from featuring the reoccurring, mischievous and omnipotent character Q, three particular episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) that I think were worth mentioning but were left out of the article were Who Watches The Watchers, Devil’s Due, and Justice.

In the first, Who Watches the Watchers, an alien from a primative, pre-industrial culture becomes convinced that Captain Picard is a god and Picard has to convince him that the alleged “magic” that he seems to wield is nothing but advanced technology.

In Devil’s Due, a woman arrives on an alien planet claiming to be the devil of their religion while seemingly fulfilling scriptural prophecies that demand the population unconditionally accept her rule for a 1000 years. Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew then have to prove that she is not who she claims to be and is merely a con artist. And while it seems on the surface as though the episode is about putting the devil on trial, in actuality it’s about putting god on trial.

And then there’s the episode Justice. When visiting a peaceful Eden-like planet with the rest of the Enterprise crew, teenager Wesley Crusher accidentally falls into a flower bed only to discover that according to this culture’s religious law, his crime is punishable by death. When the Enterprise crew tries to bargain for Wesley’s life, the legal authorities on the planet insist that all laws in their society are absolute by divine command and there is no room for negotiation. Wesley’s mother tells the legal authorities:

“Then your god is unfair!”

And when the Enterprise tries to take Wesley by force, they’re prevented by a mysterious creature in space, which may or may not be the god of this alien race. Ultimately, Wesley is finally allowed to go free after Captain Picard reasons with the mysterious authority guarding over the planet:

“There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute!”

And I can’t believe there was no mention in the original article of Star Trek V, which is CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED, especially within the context of a discussion about Star Trek and religion. I myself frequently cite 3 quotes from the film when debating with the religious. The first is:

“What does God need with a starship?”

Though I usually replace the word “starship” with something more appropriate to the discussion like, “What does God need with a blood sacrifice, etc?” Borrowing from IMDB, here’s the entire context of the excerpt, which concludes with my second favorite quote from the movie, uttered by Dr. McCoy:


Kirk: What does God need with a starship?
McCoy: Jim, what are you doing?
Kirk: I’m asking a question.
“God”: Who is this creature?
Kirk: Who am I? Don’t you know? Aren’t you God?
Sybok: He has his doubts.
“God”: You doubt me?
Kirk: I seek proof.
McCoy: Jim! You don’t ask the Almighty for his ID!
“God”: Then here is the proof you seek.
[Hits Kirk with lightning]
Kirk: Why is God angry?
Sybok: Why? Why have you done this to my friend?
“God”: He doubts me.
Spock: You have not answered his question. What does God need with a starship?
“God”: [hits Spock with lightning; then addresses McCoy] Do you doubt me?
McCoy: I doubt any God who inflicts pain for his own pleasure.

And the last quote I often use from this film is uttered by Captain Kirk within this exchange:

McCoy: We were speculating. Is God really out there?
Kirk: Maybe he’s not out there, Bones. Maybe he’s right here.
[points to his heart]
Kirk: Human heart.

http://www.examiner.com/x-9090-NY-Atheism--Skepticism-Examiner~y2009m7d6-Star-Trek--effective-tool-for-deconversion