Church Voices

I was recently listening to a podcast novel produced by an author who was upset at the ending to the series Battlestar Galactica (BSG). I’m not a viewer of that particular show so I can only relate his displeasure with it and can make no judgment on the accuracy of his remarks. The core of his critique is that BSG didn’t provide a satisfactory ending because they used magical or mystical elements to resolve the conflict.

He then went on to explain that in his stories he would never take that route, and also went on to lump God into the same category as magic.

This particular author has completed a novel which features a third type of human chromosome that produces both monsters (that have things like wings, or claws, or the ability to produce camouflage) and humans that have super strength, and super healing abilities. In his current novel he has a parasitic alien invasion that takes over human hosts and communicate with each telepathically.

Do those things sound like reality based science? Or to quote Niven’s Law: Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology. Because those things, along with many other elements of his fiction don’t exist in reality, and are far closer to magic than technology.

My goal here, isn’t to make slam this author, but rather to use this example as a chance for self-reflection. He believes there a clear bright line that distinguishes his work from Battlestar Galactica’s finale. The reality though is that line is much broader and faded.

Its easy to delude ourselves into thinking there’s a clear, bright line that separates us from others. Whether we use the types of sin, the quantity of sin, or some other human created category to explain why we’re just fine, and everyone else is gnashing their teeth in the outer darkness its just not true. The salvation and the savior who provided that salvation is just as much for us as it is for the groups we try to demonize and differentiate ourselves from.