{"id":48308,"date":"2018-06-21T05:19:53","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T09:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=48308"},"modified":"2018-06-19T15:00:12","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T19:00:12","slug":"a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html","title":{"rendered":"A Wrinkle in the Expanse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time<\/em><\/a> recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most recent episode of\u00a0The Expanse<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"Madeleine L\u2019Engle\u2019s novel\u00a0A Wrinkle in Time<\/em><\/a> was one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading as a young person, and I loved the other books in the series as well. It was very strange watching the movie and feeling as though, on the one hand, it was very clearly not aimed at someone my age and is on so many levels a parable of elementary school angst. And yet I felt a lump in my throat and was profoundly moved as well as I reconnected with this story.<\/p>\n

There are two reasons that I felt it natural to connect the\u00a0Wrinkle in Time<\/em> movie with\u00a0The Expanse<\/em>. One is the contrasting engagements with Christianity. The movie removed<\/a> the references to Jesus<\/a>, God<\/a>, and angels that gave poignant expression to L\u2019Engle\u2019s faith<\/a> in the novel. The TV show has a sympathetic, human, believable and believing Methodist minister, who lets down a fellow Methodist in a time of need, feels great remorse, and preaches a beautiful sermon. There has been a great deal of discussion of this online, and I would probably have to reread the novel to have any chance of doing justice to it myself.<\/p>\n

But the other reason I thought the two connect naturally is because there is a common theme that is at the heart of human religion that also connects both shows, and perhaps all science fiction. That is the theme that humanity will find or be found by some power that will enable us to experience and accomplish things that currently seem magical. Flying into the heavens. Seeing other worlds. Everything else that is part of imaginative storytelling among human beings.<\/p>\n

In many versions (including both Corey\u2019s and L\u2019Engle\u2019s) otherworldly intelligences reach out to us to open the door. Typically, they reveal that the key was something we held all along. In other cases, we discover the thing that holds powerful potential in the world around us, whether that be dilithium crystals, vibranium, or zohar.<\/p>\n

What seems noteworthy to me is that, in all of this, there is a recognition of our own non-ultimacy as human beings. It is a recognition that is profoundly religious. Whether one articulates it in theistic, pantheistic, panentheistic or other terms, there is a recognition that the universe has bestowed gifts upon us, and faith that it has other gifts yet to give.<\/p>\n

In the classic Star Trek episode\u00a0Arena<\/em><\/a>, the Metron are highly advanced beings who place Captain Kirk and his Gorn counterpart in a setting that provides resources that allow them to fight one another \u2013 or find a way to peace. The universe has clearly done the same to us on a much larger scale, whether one inhabits the secular universe envisaged by Gene Roddenberry, the magic-filled one envisaged by Madeleine L\u2019Engle, or the scientific yet spiritual one depicted under the pseudonym of James Corey.<\/p>\n

And so whatever one\u2019s thoughts about\u00a0A Wrinkle in Time<\/em> or\u00a0The Expanse<\/em>, whether in print or on screen, it does seem that they all reflect a view of the universe that is widely shared, and which hopes for magical possibilities in our future. Even when those are thought of in scientific terms, the perspective in question really doesn\u2019t leave room for atheism. A cosmos that gives life and then offers resources for life to spread to the stars may not be the view of God that most atheists are interested in, but failure to acknowledge the divine, the metaphysical<\/a>, the numinous, the profoundly mysterious in it leaves something huge out of the picture.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\" <\/a>\"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most recent episode of\u00a0The Expanse. Madeleine L\u2019Engle\u2019s novel\u00a0A Wrinkle in Time was one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading as a young person, and I loved the other books in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":48314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,15323,159,90],"tags":[15131,870,15329,4005,4029,5677,6839,8661,15332,10890,11819,15326,12485],"class_list":["post-48308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atheism-religion","category-expanse","category-pantheism","category-star-trek-science-fiction","tag-a-wrinkle-in-time","tag-atheism-religion","tag-expanse","tag-god","tag-gods","tag-jesus","tag-madeleine-lengle","tag-panentheism","tag-pantheist","tag-science-fiction","tag-star-trek","tag-the-expanse","tag-theism"],"yoast_head":"\nA Wrinkle in the Expanse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Wrinkle in the Expanse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-06-21T09:19:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-06-19T19:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/719\/2018\/06\/wrinkle-in-time.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"554\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html\",\"name\":\"A Wrinkle in the Expanse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-06-21T09:19:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-06-19T19:00:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Wrinkle in the Expanse\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Wrinkle in the Expanse","description":"I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Wrinkle in the Expanse","og_description":"I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2018-06-21T09:19:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-06-19T19:00:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":554,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/719\/2018\/06\/wrinkle-in-time.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html","name":"A Wrinkle in the Expanse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-06-21T09:19:53+00:00","dateModified":"2018-06-19T19:00:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"I finally got to see the movie version of\u00a0A Wrinkle In Time recently, and it was interesting to have that experience coincide with watching the most","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2018\/06\/a-wrinkle-in-the-expanse.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Wrinkle in the Expanse"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}