The Gospel According to Star Trek
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I’m delighted to announce that Cascade Books, a division of Wipf and Stock Publishers, has agreed to publish The Gospel According to Star Trek! I’m honored to be with the same publisher as noted authors like Stanley Hauerwas, Jürgen Moltmann, John Milbank, John Howard Yoder, Margaret Miles and Walter Brueggemann.
This new book will cover the scope of Star Trek, from the Original Series to the Abramsverse, including my analysis of Star Trek: Into Darkness! Some of the topics I’ll be discussing in the book include:
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Here’s a description of the book from my proposal:
The Gospel According to Star Trek
What’s Christian about Star Trek? Nothing. That’s the way most people see it and that certainly seems to be the way the franchise is intended. There’s no question that the Trek universe is based on a doggedly humanistic worldview and is set in a future time when religion has essentially vanished from Earth. If that’s the case, how can there even be a “Gospel According to Star Trek?”
Perhaps we need to ask better questions―questions like, “How is Star Trek congruent with a Christian worldview?” or “Is Star Trek really atheistic?” or “What can Christians learn from Star Trek?” The answers to these questions are, quite simply, fascinating.
Star Trek is the story of a spiritual quest. It is an exploration, not just of the stars, but of humanity―our longings, our questions, our hopes. If that humanity finds its ultimate fulfillment in the gospel (and it does), then it is only logical to expect that such an exploration would naturally show evidence of humankind’s hunger for God.
In The Gospel According to Star Trek, you’ll discover how the continuing voyages of the Enterprise and her sister ships (and space stations) tell us more about our need for Christ than we ever imagined. You’ll learn how Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s own theology and spiritual quest have permeated the franchise, about the influence of Scripture on its stories and the amazing images of Christ contained in its most popular characters.
You’ll also see the important aspects of our humanity and the gospel that Star Trek can recover for us, encouraging us to embrace the call of both Spock and Christ:
Perhaps we need to ask better questions―questions like, “How is Star Trek congruent with a Christian worldview?” or “Is Star Trek really atheistic?” or “What can Christians learn from Star Trek?” The answers to these questions are, quite simply, fascinating.
Star Trek is the story of a spiritual quest. It is an exploration, not just of the stars, but of humanity―our longings, our questions, our hopes. If that humanity finds its ultimate fulfillment in the gospel (and it does), then it is only logical to expect that such an exploration would naturally show evidence of humankind’s hunger for God.
In The Gospel According to Star Trek, you’ll discover how the continuing voyages of the Enterprise and her sister ships (and space stations) tell us more about our need for Christ than we ever imagined. You’ll learn how Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s own theology and spiritual quest have permeated the franchise, about the influence of Scripture on its stories and the amazing images of Christ contained in its most popular characters.
You’ll also see the important aspects of our humanity and the gospel that Star Trek can recover for us, encouraging us to embrace the call of both Spock and Christ:
“Live Long and Prosper!”
(John 10:10)
(John 10:10)
