Fringe is Back (to Where It's Never Been)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fringe returned last night with the episode "Back To Where You've Never Been." It featured all the surprises, twists and turns we have come to love from\" \/>\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\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fringe is Back (to Where It's Never Been)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fringe returned last night with the episode "Back To Where You've Never Been." It featured all the surprises, twists and turns we have come to love from\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.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=\"2012-01-14T16:50:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/scifiempire.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Back-to-where-youve-never-been-Elizabth-Bishop-Orla-Brady-300x168.png\" \/>\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=\"2 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\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html\",\"name\":\"Fringe is Back (to Where It's Never Been)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-14T16:50:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-01-14T16:50:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"Fringe returned last night with the episode \\\"Back To Where You've Never Been.\\\" It featured all the surprises, twists and turns we have come to love from\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fringe is Back (to Where It’s Never Been)\"}]},{\"@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_head_json":{"title":"Fringe is Back (to Where It's Never Been)","description":"Fringe returned last night with the episode \"Back To Where You've Never Been.\" It featured all the surprises, twists and turns we have come to love from","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\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fringe is Back (to Where It's Never Been)","og_description":"Fringe returned last night with the episode \"Back To Where You've Never Been.\" It featured all the surprises, twists and turns we have come to love from","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2012-01-14T16:50:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/scifiempire.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Back-to-where-youve-never-been-Elizabth-Bishop-Orla-Brady-300x168.png"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html","name":"Fringe is Back (to Where It's Never Been)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-01-14T16:50:39+00:00","dateModified":"2012-01-14T16:50:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"Fringe returned last night with the episode \"Back To Where You've Never Been.\" It featured all the surprises, twists and turns we have come to love from","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fringe is Back (to Where It’s Never Been)"}]},{"@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\/5772","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=5772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":5772,"date":"2012-01-14T11:50:39","date_gmt":"2012-01-14T16:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=5772"},"modified":"2012-01-14T11:50:39","modified_gmt":"2012-01-14T16:50:39","slug":"fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/01\/fringe-is-back-to-where-its-never-been.html","title":{"rendered":"Fringe is Back (to Where It’s Never Been)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Fringe returned last night with the episode \u201cBack To Where You\u2019ve Never Been.\u201d<\/a> It featured all the surprises, twists and turns we have come to love from the show, and from J. J. Abrams shows in general, while continuing to feel more satisfying than LOST in giving answers as well as raising questions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While this post does contain spoilers inasmuch as it talks about a specific scene in the episode, it is not going to recap the episode in detail. Others do that well elsewhere<\/a>. Instead, I would like to focus on one scene and reflect on its relationship to a major component of numerous religious traditions.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ When Peter travels to the alternate universe, and meets that universe\u2019s version of his mother, she realizes it is him. However she became convinced that other universes exist, she says that after her own son Peter died, she took comfort from the knowledge that somewhere else there was a version of her son that survived, grew up, fell in love, and lived a happy and full life.<\/p>\n

This struck me immediately as being akin to the comfort that many people take from belief in an afterlife \u2013 the belief that, even though a loved one has died, that person exists somewhere else and is happy.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m curious whether there are in fact people who eschew any traditional sort of belief in an afterlife, but take comfort from something based in scientific possibility, such as an infinite universe or a multiverse in which there are other versions of ourselves and those we love.<\/p>\n

LOST fans may note that what Fringe is doing here appears to be the opposite of the final season of LOST, in a sense. There we saw what we thought was a parallel universe and it turned out to be an afterlife. Here we see an alternate universe and it is being thought of as providing comfort of the sort belief in an afterlife might.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"