I recently watched the trailer for Trek Nation, a documentary about the impact of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future. Gene Roddenberry was a secular humanist and believed that through our own efforts, humanity could fully achieve a utopian society free of war, disease and brokenness.
I love Star Trek but I can’t buy into Roddenberry’s vision of the future. In spite of our best efforts, the depth of humanity’s brokenness can never be filled independent of God’s love.
All of the ills solved by humanity in the Star Trek universe are a result of human brokenness. War, disease, injustice and poverty all have their root in sin and brokenness. No matter how good we get, no matter how advanced our technology, we will never be able to address our brokenness apart from God.
It would be amazing to board the starship, Enterprise, and boldly go where no one has gone before. Without God, though, and his redeeming work, when we got there we would still wrestle with the same earthly brokenness.
If we really want to experience the best life possible, whether now or in the 24th century, we can’t depend on our strength and power. We have to trust in the redeeming power of God as displayed through the cross. And that redeemed life is better than warp speed, photon torpedoes or troubling tribbles.
How does God’s redemptive power encourage you today?
Most of that is an informed trait interestingly enough. The areas where the characters actually are, generally have fairly fammiliar problems. The peace the Federation brings is an interstellar pax romana which isn’t so bad all things considered but hardly the same thing Gene Roddenberry proclaims. And there are wars and rumors of wars on the frontier regularly. In general Star Trek belies this assumption. The reason of course is the Rule of Drama. Utopias are all very well but on tv you need Jem’hader to slaughter.