Parliament of Dreams (B5)
Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 3:09 am
http://sfdebris.com/videos/babylon5/b5s1e05.php
This review and episode got me to thinking of religion, particularly the difference of how Star Trek and Babylon 5 handled it. JMS himself is openly atheistic, yet religion is an integral part of Babylon 5 and I don't think you could ever discern his personal ideology from how the subject matter is handled there. I remember reading where he was asked about this, how as an atheist he can write so well about religion:
This review and episode got me to thinking of religion, particularly the difference of how Star Trek and Babylon 5 handled it. JMS himself is openly atheistic, yet religion is an integral part of Babylon 5 and I don't think you could ever discern his personal ideology from how the subject matter is handled there. I remember reading where he was asked about this, how as an atheist he can write so well about religion:
As an atheist, I believe that all life is unspeakably precious, because it's only here for a brief moment, a flare against the dark, and then it's gone forever. No afterlives, no second chances, no backsies. So there can be nothing crueler than the abuse, destruction or wanton taking of a life. It is a crime no less than burning the Mona Lisa, for there is always just one of each.
So I cannot forgive. Which makes the notion of writing a character who CAN forgive momentarily attractive...because it allows me to explore in great detail something of which I am utterly incapable. I cannot fly, so I would write of birds and starships and kites; I cannot play an instrument, so I would write of composers and dancers; and I cannot forgive, so I would write of priests and monks and Minbari...