Star Trek is a Christian TV show in the same way that the United States is a Christian nation. There’s very little explicit reference to Biblical teachings in the show’s scripts and in our country’s founding documents, but they are baked into the core concepts that gave rise to the various aspects found in each product.

A Few Questions

All we have to do is ask a few questions about the story elements of Star Trek to understand their philosophical basis.

For example, why would mankind venture forth into the unknown with no hope of monetary rewards to carry a message of peace to other peoples and worlds? That sounds like a missionary effort.

Why is it logical for different races, nationalities, and creeds to work together for a common purpose? Perhaps because we are all children of the same God.

Why do Captain Kirk and his crew view the Mirror Universe as a nightmarish place where everyone is obsessed with power above all else, and no one cares about the suffering and death of others? Because that runs counter to the Golden Rule and is completely anathema to Christ’s teachings of peacemaking and turning the other cheek.

Moral Foundations

One might argue that those parts of Star Trek are human values created by humans for the benefit of ourselves, but that is simply not true. The world we live in right now is an abnormality in many ways. Most of Earth’s history is one of stagnation, war, and destruction. We stand on centuries of struggle to build the most technologically advanced society ever imagined. Everything we see is based on a few simple ideas:

• The universe was created by a Supreme Being to be orderly and comprehendible, not chaotic and incomprehensible.
• There are right and wrong choices that are not the result of manmade morality but moral absolutes inherent in us as rational beings.
• Our lives have a purpose beyond random chance, and we have a responsibility to make good choices.

All scientific, governmental, and civil achievements have come as the result of basing our view of reality on these fundamental principles. Those same principles are also found at the heart of Star Trek, as we will soon see.

From Latent to Blatant

Although the teachings of Christ are usually left latent in Star Trek, there are times when they become blatant. I recently watched a wonderful video by David Wood on his Acts17Apologetics YouTube channel that makes this abundantly clear. The video is about the season 2 Star Trek episode entitled “Bread and Circuses.” I’ll let David explain the rest. He’s much bolder in his testimony of Jesus Christ than I am, but I find his message inspiring, nonetheless.

A Message of Hope

Isn’t it amazing? In the 1960s, it was perfectly normal to explicitly affirm Christian teachings on national television. Just look at the “Obsolete Man” episode of The Twilight Zone for further confirmation of that fact. The older I get, the more I realize we can look to the past for a glimpse of a brighter future than we could imagine if we only had our current culture to go by.

What propels Star Trek forward isn’t warp speed, antimatter, or nacelles. Those are powerful tools in the TV show, but its most potent propellant is the inherent goodness of the characters. They are fueled by Christian values, such as universal brotherhood, sacrifice for a greater cause, forgiveness of sins, and the worship of the one true God. Not the sun, but the Son of God. While I may not be as bold as David Wood in my testimony, I do wish to boldly go wherever I am called to go by the Lord.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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