On Sci-fi and reality

John 20:24 This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my clothes among themselves and threw dice for my robe.” So that is what they did.”

One thing that always amazes me about fantasy and sci-fi is the propensity to turn characters into near God like beings. In Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game and its sequels, we see a boy with hyper intelligence who can seemingly do anything as a result. In Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, we see Richard who is the most powerful wizard alive, but who doesn’t know how to use his power. In deep need, however, it strikes out with inevitable finality. And in Frank Herbert’s Dune series, we see the godhood of prescient insight (seeing all the infinite possibilities of the present and future) and other memory (having the memories of all one’s predecessors). Mankind has a since of what it means to be god, but keeps trying to cast themselves into the roll. But it fascinates me how these contrivances of godhood can give us insight into the True God.

In Herbert’s God Emperor of Dune, I think we see one of the most striking demonstrations of Predestination. It takes place thousands of years after the original Dune book and is about the sone of Paul Atradies, Leto II, who in (if I remember correctly…) the third book, Dune Messiah, finds a way to become one of the great sand worms of Dune so he can live long enough and be indestructible enough to shape the course of mankind’s future down what he calls his Golden Path. Leto II, like his father, can see the future, not as a single possibility that has already been determined, but in the infinity of possibilities which can result from mankind’s decisions, and his Golden Path is the only path he sees through that infinity of possibilities which will guaranty humanities survival. His million year reign is felt for another million years throughout the events in the books that fallow God Emperor, and the characters of these books usually realize at some point that their very own actions could quite likely be a part of the God Emperor’s Golden Path, the only path to mankind’s salvation.

Yet the God Emperor is called a Tyrant and in the end of the book he is killed by a trusted ally, yet this too is a part of the God Emperor’s Golden Path. He legislated peace and denied people the right to travel. He got rid of many struggles by limiting freedom. His reign was stiflingly peaceful. In centuries to come, he is hated and feared, even when he is respected. And those who worship him do so more in a desire for power rather than an understanding of who he really is. No one understood his actions, though his reasons were the best.

Consider how often we are confused by God’s actions: the early death of a parent, a marriage gone horribly wrong, or an overwhelming financial burden, or any other number of things, from the simple to the complex. Now overlay that with The Tyrant’s perspective which was so deep and wide no one could fathom it. God, obviously has this perspective and more. God already knows the end results of every action; he knows just how far flung the effects of each choice will be felt. And above all he knows the purpose of our lives, something few sci-fi writers have got even close to. I think each even in history is key. Have you ever been amazed at how small the new testament is compared to the old? The old is a gross history of man’s complete ability to keep to God’s plan. It’s long and complex. Then Christ comes (and I would say he comes at the only time in history that he could have come and still have been able to accomplish his goal) and we have the new testament, which is comparatively speaking, small! Yet the depth and power of the new testament always amazes me. It is concise and powerful and could have contained all the history of church growth and events up until today, but it doesn’t. God knew just what to put in it.

The plan of God (hehe… as best as I can see it) is to glorify himself my showing his love to a universe of people who are completely undeserving. He is creating a web of every conceivable circumstance so that every possible life can have lived and still experienced the Love of God. In eternity, I don’t think you will ever be able to find a type of life that has not lived and been saved. And eternity will be sharing our Story, our experience with the All Mighty, the All Loving God, and glorifying Him in it.

And what we will find is that everything He intended to happen, has happened, and that in every pain, there was an awesome purpose which we will then rejoice over eternally.