On Mon, 01 Jan 2001 14:43:42 -0500, JDG wrote:
>Right..... and I'll admit that one of the things I find most
>frustrating about sci-fi is how often modern-day religions just drop
>off the face of the Earth. I mean, Christianity has been around
>for 2,000 years, yet in so much sci-fi it seems to disappear in the
>next 500.
Some authors may feel that the constant secularization of religion in
general, and Christianity in particular (esp. in this country) combined with
a historical shift in theology from spirit worship, to paganism, to
monotheism could lead one to conclude that atheism is the next "logical"
step in man's theological development. Not necessarily a position I
suscribe to, but it could be seen as a logical conclusion.
>When I encounter morals, however, that are foreign to me - I just
>accept it as cultural differences and go on. If the message is
>something I disagree with (for example, the ST:TNG episode where
>Riker lands on a planet of homosexuals, and attempts to pursue a
>taboo heterosexual relationship),
If memory serves, that planet's population was *asexual* rather than
homosexual. The taboo of their relationship was not that it was
heterosexual, but that it was sexual *at all*. Sexuality in their cuture
was deviant in any respect, IIRC.
An interesting side note: In the Star Trek universe, interspecies romance
is not only acceptable, it's fairly commonplace. However, homosexuality is,
apperently, non-existent. There was even an episode in ST:NG where Dr.
Crusher has an affair with an alien that's actually a symbiote (the Trill).
The symbiote changes bodies, and becomes female rather than male, and she
terminates the relationship.
I find it interesting, what's acceptable and what isn't. I'll grant that ST
is not a "real" SF universe, being essentially a corporate owned cash cow.
But still, it's kind of funny...
Jim
"What can change the nature of a man?" - The Nameless One
_______________________________________________________
Send a cool gift with your E-Card
http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/
