Straw Man Trek
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
Star Trek:The Next Generation has given me some ideas (such as "Engineered Nanobot Evolution"), and I obtained another inspiration. This time, it is the 1989 episode, "Who Watches the Watchers". The Star Trek franchise is very strong on secular humanism (atheism) and evolution. While science fiction and fantasy require the viewers to suspend their disbelief, creationists have to work a mite harder to do this in order to enjoy something. "Watchers" quickly became annoying with its straw man presentations and moral posturing against religion, but I cowboyed up to see the conclusion.
Before riding the trail further, we need to remember that atheists and evolutionists presuppose religion itself evolved. They assume that primitive people had recently evolved from apelike ancestors, so when something happened in nature, these ancestors supposedly considered everything to be supernatural. Biblical creationists know that humans were created as intelligent beings from the get-go. I'll allow that there are some relatively modern instances of the cargo cult idea where modern humans and technology would be worshiped, but the extrapolation of that idea on a large scale over many thousands of years is quite a stretch.
Now let's continue.
The Federation has a Prime Directive which dictates they cannot interfere with a civilization's natural development. It was not only a law for the Federation, but also considered their moral duty and they followed it religiously. However, atheists believe that we are simply sacks of chemicals dancing to our electro-chemical impulses, so they cannot have a consistent standard of morality! To say that something is right or wrong, they are appealing to their arbitrary, man-made standards that are subject to change and are not ultimate, but are really standing on the biblical worldview.
Federation people had an outpost on the planet used for stealth observations. The duck blind effect went on the fritz and Lito, a resident of the planet, saw the outpost, so he went up the hill to check it out. There was an accident and he was hurt, so he was transported up to the Enterprise. He was in a semi-conscious state and saw the medical facility. He also saw that Captain Picard was in charge. Picard was angry that the ship's doctor did not let Liko die (a dubious morality). Liko was fixed up and returned to the planet.
Using a cargo cult motif, "The Picard" was perceived as a god and Liko wanted to worship him. Picard was outraged — outraged, I tell you — that this happy atheistic culture would be falling back to their cargo cult ways, and had to find a way to restore them to the "rational" views of atheism and evolution. Atheism and evolution have no real foundation for morality, but that point was not mentioned in the show (nor would it be, since many of these episodes preach the hubris of secular humanism). The entire show was a straw man based on atheistic presuppositions about God, and how much better life is by "outgrowing" such beliefs.
On a side note, Stargate SG-1 has occasional snide remarks about theism. In one episode, a technologically advanced society looked down on people of Earth for being less advanced. The "intellectual" Dr. Jackson said,
And now, back to Picard and his amazing friends.
One thing that makes a straw man argument seem reasonable is when there is a veneer of truth. Obviously, people do stupid things in the names of their gods, to curry favor, assuming what their gods (or other people they want to impress) want, and so on.
While this self-appointed denizen of the Thought Police was relying on prejudicial conjecture, incomplete information, and a double standard, there is a grain of truth in the concern that people will take action based assumptions of what will please their god. Atheists and evolutionists are no prize (just tally up the murders by Stalin, Mao, Lenin, and other atheistic despot in the 20th century alone, for example). Professing Christians have the Bible, so to do acts of vigilante "justice" are contrary to the teachings of Scripture.
In "Watchers", Liko wanted to execute someone to please "The Picard". When Captain Picard arrived, Liko did not believe Picard's claims to be a moral man just like he was. Instead, Liko was usurping the will of his imagined deity.
Some professing Christians are guilty of the same thing. Obviously, Christians have to grow in Christ and learn and are progressing in our sanctification, but we do have an ultimate starting point in the written Word of God. As mentioned before, Picard and other atheists do not have such a moral standard.
We learn that atheistic and evolutionary propaganda in the media can make falsehoods palatable. That's what propaganda does. People are given false information in a manner that is pleasing to them or supports their biases (it often does both of those things). Biblical creationists point out that we are constantly bombarded with evolutionary and atheopathic material to influence us away from the truth of Scripture and the foundations of the gospel message in Genesis. That is why we need to remain vigilant and stay in the Word of God.
Star Trek:The Next Generation has given me some ideas (such as "Engineered Nanobot Evolution"), and I obtained another inspiration. This time, it is the 1989 episode, "Who Watches the Watchers". The Star Trek franchise is very strong on secular humanism (atheism) and evolution. While science fiction and fantasy require the viewers to suspend their disbelief, creationists have to work a mite harder to do this in order to enjoy something. "Watchers" quickly became annoying with its straw man presentations and moral posturing against religion, but I cowboyed up to see the conclusion.
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| Credit: Pixabay / Gerhard Janson |
Now let's continue.
The Federation has a Prime Directive which dictates they cannot interfere with a civilization's natural development. It was not only a law for the Federation, but also considered their moral duty and they followed it religiously. However, atheists believe that we are simply sacks of chemicals dancing to our electro-chemical impulses, so they cannot have a consistent standard of morality! To say that something is right or wrong, they are appealing to their arbitrary, man-made standards that are subject to change and are not ultimate, but are really standing on the biblical worldview.
Federation people had an outpost on the planet used for stealth observations. The duck blind effect went on the fritz and Lito, a resident of the planet, saw the outpost, so he went up the hill to check it out. There was an accident and he was hurt, so he was transported up to the Enterprise. He was in a semi-conscious state and saw the medical facility. He also saw that Captain Picard was in charge. Picard was angry that the ship's doctor did not let Liko die (a dubious morality). Liko was fixed up and returned to the planet.
Using a cargo cult motif, "The Picard" was perceived as a god and Liko wanted to worship him. Picard was outraged — outraged, I tell you — that this happy atheistic culture would be falling back to their cargo cult ways, and had to find a way to restore them to the "rational" views of atheism and evolution. Atheism and evolution have no real foundation for morality, but that point was not mentioned in the show (nor would it be, since many of these episodes preach the hubris of secular humanism). The entire show was a straw man based on atheistic presuppositions about God, and how much better life is by "outgrowing" such beliefs.
On a side note, Stargate SG-1 has occasional snide remarks about theism. In one episode, a technologically advanced society looked down on people of Earth for being less advanced. The "intellectual" Dr. Jackson said,
Just reign in that hoss a moment there, pilgrim. The "Dark Ages" is an atheistic pejorative against the Middle Ages. They began shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire. The line that "science was heresy and anathema" is a blatant lie, as many cultural and scientific advances occured at that time.We'd be colonising space right now if it hadn't been for the Dark Ages. There was a period of over eight hundred years where science was heresy and anathema. Maybe [those beings] didn't have that setback.
And now, back to Picard and his amazing friends.
One thing that makes a straw man argument seem reasonable is when there is a veneer of truth. Obviously, people do stupid things in the names of their gods, to curry favor, assuming what their gods (or other people they want to impress) want, and so on.
While this self-appointed denizen of the Thought Police was relying on prejudicial conjecture, incomplete information, and a double standard, there is a grain of truth in the concern that people will take action based assumptions of what will please their god. Atheists and evolutionists are no prize (just tally up the murders by Stalin, Mao, Lenin, and other atheistic despot in the 20th century alone, for example). Professing Christians have the Bible, so to do acts of vigilante "justice" are contrary to the teachings of Scripture.
In "Watchers", Liko wanted to execute someone to please "The Picard". When Captain Picard arrived, Liko did not believe Picard's claims to be a moral man just like he was. Instead, Liko was usurping the will of his imagined deity.
Some professing Christians are guilty of the same thing. Obviously, Christians have to grow in Christ and learn and are progressing in our sanctification, but we do have an ultimate starting point in the written Word of God. As mentioned before, Picard and other atheists do not have such a moral standard.
We learn that atheistic and evolutionary propaganda in the media can make falsehoods palatable. That's what propaganda does. People are given false information in a manner that is pleasing to them or supports their biases (it often does both of those things). Biblical creationists point out that we are constantly bombarded with evolutionary and atheopathic material to influence us away from the truth of Scripture and the foundations of the gospel message in Genesis. That is why we need to remain vigilant and stay in the Word of God.