In the episode "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" there is a protected mystical shrine that only one can access. Kirk and Spock infiltrate the sacred chamber and discover that this knowledge is being held back by the religious leaders and that the people of ancient Yonada were actually quite advanced in medical science--science that cures Dr. McCoy of his "incurable" xenopolycythemia. It seems a call to understanding, rather than obscuration with ritual, a call to look behind ritual to see objective facts? In other episodes, the dangers of blind adherence to religion is shown--"The Apple," where natives sacrifice to "Vaal," which turns out to be less than divine, and "Who Mourns for Adonis," that posits Apollo as a deposed extraterrestrial who longs for worship in exile. "Where no Man has Gone Before"--man given godlike powers and misusing them. There are other examples--the original Star Trek was really quite forward thinking in this way. What are your thoughts?
2007-03-12
07:55:10
·
13 answers
·
asked by
Black Dog
6