Did Jesus Die for Klingons?

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Jesus and Klingons Did Jesus Die for Klingons?

 

SOMETIMES an article like this requires a disclaimer. I am an unabashed follower of Jesus Christ and an unashamed lifelong Science Fiction junkie. You heard me right. From before the time I could walk I heard the old old story of Jesus and His love. And from the time I could pick out my own books from the book mobile I devoured anything about the stars.

By the time I was ten I had already read every word of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Series and Edgar Rice Burroughs was a friend long before his stories made their way to the big screen as John Carter. And in more recent times I even confess to having watched the 14 episodes of Firefly more than once (okay more than three times). Should anyone care about why these stories captured my imagination you can read more about that in Fiction and the Story of Life.

With that out of the way (unless you younger ones are still trying to figure out what a book mobile is) I turn my attention to a report issued by Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. It seems the Pentagon spent $100,000 on a workshop that included a session entitled “Did Jesus Die for Klingons, Too?”

The session was part of the 100-Year Starship Symposium held last year in Orlando, FL. That event was hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA is the advanced research arm of the Pentagon that’s known for sponsoring way-out-there research. The seminar focused on the implications for Christianity if intelligent life were to be found on other planets.

To lend authority to the symposium a couple of theologians along with Lavar Burton (Lieutenant Junior Grade Geordi La Forge) and Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) of Star Trek fame were called in. From there attendees discussed and debated what effect the discovery of alien life would have on the tenants of the Christian faith.

What this had to do with defense is a mystery to me. But then again I feel the same about the swimming patterns of gold fish which received its own chunk of Department of Defense change.

In light of recent revelations in the CIA and elsewhere however, Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post may be right that considering Jesus and Klingons makes more sense than a lot of other things connected to the DoD. He writes:

“After all, we are but dust. Man’s life is but the blink of a gnat’s eye. We are but the weird, whitish substance that appears at the corner of the cosmos’s lip when the cosmos is yelling. Why should we not, while we remain here, try to gaze into the deep, to answer the questions whose fulfillment will enable us to know our own souls? In fact, why do we build tanks at all? Let us have more workshops instead, where we untangle questions like … How does God feel about George Lucas’s recent sale of Lucasfilm to Disney? Does Ecclesiastes affect the crew of the Serenity in any way? Can tauntauns become Calvinists?”

But in all seriousness, there is a reason I like Science Fiction. Too often Christians who write fiction turn their stories into a polemic to persuade. In other words they preach a sermon. There’s nothing wrong with that but it’s just not the best medium for it. Fiction is far better suited at asking questions. And no genre asks questions better than Sci-Fi.

A couple of years ago I had a chance to interview Stuart Stockton and Kerri Nietz, both Christians who write outstanding Science Fiction. They agreed that the kind of fiction they write provides a perfect platform to ask big questions that leave people searching for big answers.

So why not give the answers in their stories? My guess is because if they tried we would end up with “Did Jesus Die for Klingons – The Sequel.” The better thing is to just tell a great story, weave in a theme if it fits, and send readers off with questions that are best answered in a different forum: like a sermon, or the Bible, or the life of a true believer.

So, “Did Jesus Die for Klingons, Too?” Check out Ephesians 1 and see what you think. Odds are you may still have a question mark or two. Perhaps some answers are reserved for the final frontier. You know the one beyond the veil of this life.

Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

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image thumb1 Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca LeeThursday Review
Forbidden (The Books of Mortals) by
Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee
Fantasy – Faithwords 2011

While I’m finishing up reading and reviewing Book Two in the The Books of Mortals,  here is a review of Book One to bring readers up to speed. Check back next Thursday for a review of Mortal as we return to watch our world began to realize what life and death truly are.

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Imagine a world, our world, where every person on the planet is dead and doesn’t know it. Not zombies according to the current literary fad but rather a planet populated by people who are but shells of what they were created to be. Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee paints a picture of what might happen to a world so bent on eradicating its inner demons that it strips itself of all emotion. All that is, except fear.

Nearly five centuries have passed since a select group of scientists worked to tinker with humanity’s genetic code. Their discovery of a way to eliminate all emotions save fear gave way to a unified world ensured peace by the Order. But then, on one seemingly uneventful day, 24 year old Rom, finds his life altered forever thus beginning the first installment of what will ultimately be a trilogy called The Book of Mortals.

Ironically, Rom is a funeral singer. A funeral in which, like with most of his world, there is no body and no real sorrow. When Rom leaves the funeral he witnesses the unthinkable, a murder. As the old man who has been attacked is dying he gives Rom an ancient vial of blood that can grant something Rom did not even know he was lacking – life. The kind with real emotions: love, hate, jealousy, betrayal, passion, joy, ecstasy and despair. Real life. A life the world does not even know it is missing. To tell more would be to rob the reader of embarking on this journey with Rom and seeing it unvarnished through his eyes.

As with any fantasy or epic there is a fairly large cast of characters. Central to Book One is Rom, the ultimate unlikely hero. With no frame of reference to understand the emotions he now feels all he knows to do is to employ aid from the few friends he has. And he will need them because someone else has discovered the secret of emotions as well. Saric has to be one of the most unsympathetic villains ever created. His discovery of emotion only proves what man’s heart is capable of when all boundaries are removed. Other characters of note include Feyn the soon-to-be Sovereign of the world and sister of Saric, Avra, Rom’s best friend since childbirth, and though only introduced late in the story, the boy Jonathan.

Many collaborations fail miserably but not this one. Dekker’s imagination and sometimes almost maniacal focus on darkness and light coupled with Tosca Lee’s eloquence of prose is magical. Generally I can pick out who wrote what part of a novel but 50 pages into Forbidden I simply did not care. I was no longer reading a story by Ted Dekker or Tosca Lee. I was riding along side Rom, suddenly awakened to his former deadness and unsure if he can stand this new life on the ragged edge. Unsure if it is worth it.

This hero’s journey is summed up in an exchange between Rom and the man they call Book, a keeper of the truth of former times:

“Keep your words. This pain is no life.”
“You only feel pain because you’re alive, boy!” the keeper thundered. “This is the mystery of it. Life is lived on the ragged edge of the cliff. Fall off and you might die, but run from it and you are already dead!”

The setup at the end of Forbidden leaves one impatient for what follows. Even so it can stand alone with its powerful prose, intense action, compelling characters, and premise that leaves one wondering how many walking our world are really dead and don’t know it. It’s been seven years since Ted Dekker revolutionized a genre with Black, the first in his Circle series. I have no doubt a new revolution is about to begin.

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image thumb3 Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

TED DEKKER is a New York Times bestselling thriller author. Heralded as a “master of suspense” by Library Journal, Dekker has sold millions worldwide, establishing himself as one of the most widely recognized author brands.Ted Dekker’s fans are comprised of readers of all ages, backgrounds, and belief systems who love his compulsively readable stories, authentic characters, and universal and relatable themes that he explores from a unique point of view.

image thumb4 Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

TOSCA LEE  is the NY Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed DEMON: A MEMOIR, HAVAH: THE STORY OF EVE, and the Books of Mortals series with NY Times bestseller Ted Dekker: FORBIDDEN, MORTAL and SOVEREIGN (2013). Tosca received her B.A. in English and International Relations from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She also studied at Oxford University. In her spare time, Tosca enjoys adventure travel and makes her home in the Midwest.

Where will you be when Eternity Falls?

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image thumb2 Where will you be when Eternity Falls?Thursday Review
Eternity Falls by Kirk Outerbridge
Science Fiction – Marcher Lord Press

Rick Macey, a decorated war veteran, takes special jobs as a freelance private investigator. After a stellar career with the Department of Civil Defense and Intelligence he can now solve the crimes that interest him and pick and choose from jobs his old bosses throw his way.

When Rick first meets a new potential client by the name of Sheila Dunn it looks like this is a case he will pass on. He has seen it all, done it all, and feels no need to prove anything to anyone. Sheila, on the other hand, is Senior Executive Vice President of Gentech Corporation and expects everyone to be impressed with her.

At first Rick has little interest in the case but when he is shown a piece of evidence that belonged to a now dead movie starlet he changes his mind. The Bible, rarely seen these days, contains a name inscribed within its pages. And that name opens a floodgate of regrets from the past that Rick Macy cannot ignore.

In many ways Eternity Falls almost reminds one of the best of Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spillane. Rick Macy is a no-nonsense, time-worn, and take no prisoners kind of guy. Even his first name makes one wonder if the author didn’t watch Casablanca before naming the character. The action is relentless, the characters powerful but tortured, and the settings unforgettable.

But when Rick Blaine demanded Sam play that song one more time he just thought he had problems. You see Rick Macy is 140 years old, has fought in more wars than he can count, and has a nearly indestructible prosthetic body. And after over a century of fighting for his country has enough ghosts in his closet to drive 10 men mad.

Author Kirk Outerbridge does a masterful job of using this near future thriller to provide great escapist action while tackling some profound issues at the same time. Much of the plot revolves around Gentech Corporation’s Miracle Treatment, a drug that greatly extends the lifespan of those who use it. The death of a famous client requires Rick to find out if religious fanatics are trying to sabotage this product that offers eternal life?

10th crusader lg Where will you be when Eternity Falls?Eternity Falls and its sequel the 10th Crusader are certain to not please everyone. Consider these two comments from reviews at Amazon.com.

  • “I wish Amazon would create the sub-genre of “Christian Sci-Fi” so I can avoid them. I wish we did, indeed, have a Freedom from Deity law.”
  • “It was very hard to tell if this book was favorable to Christian beliefs or not.”

So one reader thinks a law named in the novel that bans any mention of God in the public marketplace is a good idea. Another is unsure if the book is even Christian at all.

To both I would say, your mixed reviews tell me the author did his job well. Outerbridge explores the meaning of life and death and what is beyond from a variety of viewpoints. Like the culture around her, Sheila is a practical atheist. Life is all about grabbing all you can and figuring out a way to cheat death as long as possible. Others are so immersed in technology their connection to the real world is all but erased. And there are fanatical Muslims and Christians alike intent on imposing their will on others rather than trust in the one in whom they say they believe.

And then there’s Rick Macy. By reading these two novels together you find him to be a complicated man. On the one hand he is a technological marvel of a killing machine but on the other a man of faith. But even Rick’s faith is complicated. Sometimes he is certain of what he believes while at other times he seems to be a man who has lost his way.

What makes this action packed story refreshing is that it is populated with people who act like, well, people. You know – real people who struggle with real issues and sometimes even make sinful decisions. Kudos to Kirk Outerbridge  for creating a character who transparently deals with a double life time of  joys, sorrows, victories, and defeats.

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After college Kirk Outerbridge returned to his homeland of Bermuda where he reunited with his childhood friend and future wife, Ria. But before marrying his lovely wife, Kirk entered an even greater marriage and devoted his life to Christ in 2002. After much prayer and contemplation, Kirk purposed his writing for God’s Will, seeking to draw to Christ those who shared his passions for all things futuristic and Sci-fi. Kirk currently lives with his wife Ria and 18 month old son Miles in beautiful Bermuda.

Copyright © 2013 · Dare to Look
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