Last night I watched the first episode of season 4 of The 4400, a show that parallels Heroes in certain respects, but also involves time travel and other elements that are popular on LOST, Doctor Who and a number of other shows. The first episode of the season is entitled “The Wrath of Graham” and is about a teenager who is a loner and unpopular, and thus injects himself with promycin, the chemical that gives the special abilities the 4400 have developed. His ability turns out to be that he turns those around him into his worshippers, devotees with blind allegiance that knows no limits.
This is probably every uncool, unpopular teenager’s fantasy. But it got me thinking about the way we depict God. It is one thing to say that an attitude of reverance and worship before the ultimate is healthy and humbling. It is quite another to claim that God demands our worship, perhaps even our unquestioning allegiance. Isn’t to do so merely a projection onto God of one of humanity’s less mature traits? Before responding too quickly, keep in mind that Biblical monotheism doesn’t automatically lead to God being portrayed in this way. I am reminded of the instances in the Rabbinic literature where God is said to look with pride at his children who manage to “defeat” him with their clever arguments. Such a view of God, while no more literally true, has the benefit of imagining God as a parent who wants his children to grow up and become mature, rather than remain in a state of infantile dependence forever.
This becomes an all the more pressing issue as the astronomical proof mounts that the Flying Spaghetti Monster exists, and may be stretching his noodly appendage our way…
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