In honor of Gene Roddenberry's birthday, a few quick comments about Science Fiction, anxiety, hope, and the prophets. Okay, maybe we'll see how "quick" this is.
It strikes me today how utterly and completely different, and yet how complimentary, are the universes of two of my favorite sci-fi TV series: Star Trek (and its many spin-off's) and Firefly/Serenity. In one vision, the future is bright, clean and civilized. Humanity exists alongside many other alien races in mutual cooperation and, all things considered, relative peace. In the mid-1960's, less than a decade out from the Cuban Missile Crisis, at a time when humankind's surviving even one more generation was in doubt, Roddenberry gave us a vision of an earth united: Black and white, human and Vulcan, American and Russian, serving together on the same "wessel." An interplanetary Federation, searching the galaxy for new life, not to conquer but merely to learn. Shoot, even the Klingons would eventually come aboard! Sure, there were crises (that's what makes things interesting!) and in every episode, one or two loyal "red-shirts" gave their lives for the cause, but on the whole, Roddenberry's vision was of progress. Here's a quote from him in 1991, the year he died:
"It speaks to some basic human needs...that there is a tomorrow — it's not all going to be over in a big flash and a bomb, that the human race is improving, that we have things to be proud of as humans. No, ancient astronauts did not build the pyramids — human beings built them because they're clever and they work hard. And Star Trek is about those things."
Flash forward almost forty years. In comes a new era for Civil Rights (although many struggles remain). Down comes the Berlin Wall, and with it, the Iron Curtain. It turns out this funny little race of humans may be in it for the long haul: and despite all our progress, we're not at all sure how we feel about that. A short-lived, yet critically acclaimed show comes on Fox network from Joss Whedon, the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" guy. It depicts a humankind that spans the stars, but finds the galaxy--and our own nature--to be a much darker, lonelier place than we had imagined. Many hundreds of years out, it is not any alien invasion against which humans struggle (in fact, any talk of aliens is conspicuously absent). No, as it has been for thousands of years, humanity's greatest enemy remains humanity itself. In this hardscrabble "wild west in the sky", not a single one of these earthlings' social ills has gone extinct--not greed, not addiction, not crime, not even civil war--and in fact, one or two (such as cannibalism?!?!) have come raging back. The hero of this cult classic is no buttoned-down starship captain, but Malcolm Reynolds: a former "browncoat" resistance fighter, who saw the vast majority of his close friends killed in a losing battle. His very life is devoted to flouting the oppressive "law and order" of "the Alliance", which bears a strange resemblance to the Federation in many respects...and yet are unquestionably the "bad guys."
What's odd about this, I think, is that I'm not alone among Sci-Fi nerds in being a rabid fan of both shows. Different as they are, conflicting as they are in their view of the future, I love them both. And I think that's because we need both versions. Science Fiction has a valuable role in our society, both as cautionary tale and as a "finish line" ideal; both as a "change your ways or else this..." or as a "If we try, we can achieve that!"
And since I'm also a "Bible Nerd", I see where this bears more than a passing resemblance to the role of Old Testament prophets. In the modern era, we've gotten our heads hopelessly twisted around the notion of prophets as "all-seeing oracles," declaring history written in advance, telling us about an immutable future on which God has already decided. So whether it's good news or bad news for folks currently living, this is how it shall be, end of story.
But that wasn't the point of prophecy at all. I mean, for those of us who have actually bothered to read the prophets, the writings are chock full of statements like, "If you turn from your wicked ways," or "If you continue on your current path..." etc. If, if, if, over and over. The whole point of prophecy was not to smugly deliver humankind an unchangeable fate, but to speak to particular people, in particular historical settings, with the particular message they need in order to be faithful to God in the present moment. In The Rapture Exposed, my very favorite book about Revelation (and Biblical prophecy in general), Barbara Rossing compares prophecy to the "ghost of Christmas future" in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Sure, the ghost is there to scare the hack out of Scrooge, but not just for kicks: to help him change his course!
Sure, if you want or need doom and gloom (even some cannibalism), it's there in the prophets. Not as a sure declaration, but as a warning. But also, there are some of the brightest visions of the future you can imagine. Because we need that too. We need to know God can get us there.
Humanity needs both a bright, clean "Star Trek" and a dark and dirty "Firefly." We need both carrot and stick, something to strive for, and something to avoid. in a very real way, science fiction is the prophecy of today. Not fatalism, but a shot in the arm to get our lives on track. And even in the darkest moments, the assurance that there will be hope: with God's help, there will always be a tomorrow.
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