Gods do not need starships

Posted on Fri May 1st, 2020 @ 1:12am by Lieutenant JG Maxmillio (Max) Solanga MA, Rev.,
Edited on on Fri May 1st, 2020 @ 1:51am

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: various locations
Timeline: currtent time and date
1015 words - 2 OF Standard Post Measure

On:

Looking a bit frazzled, Max came out of the chapel and went down to where his office was. Though he had ample space in the chapel for an office, it was still a bit crowded, so he met Chief Aguon who was sitting at one of the small coffee shops on the ship, and sat down.

There at the back of the coffee ships outside table area was the Chief who was engage in talking with several Filipino crewmen, all of whom were born on other Federation colonies, or on earth. And from what he could deduce from their broken style of speaking in Ikay's own dialect, and the slight hesitation as they tried to formulate a complete sentence is that none of the crewmen there had been born in their homeland.

Though Ikay's spoke her own dialect, but though they tried to speak, much of what they spoke was mumbling mutterings. Seeing Max appear out from out of the the small crowd of ships personnel, civilians, and others; all got up and said "Good morning Reverend", then they all departed, leaving Ikay and Max alone.

As Ikay was still continuing to curse at them for leaving her, the sudden appearance of Max, made Ikay turn around..."Good morning Reverend" replied Ikay, who now turned from being a part-time unofficial chaplain into her usual administrative attitude. About to get up, Max said 'Ikay you can just sit and don't worry, you can take another hour before returning back to work. As Max continued to speak he noticed that Ikay was a bit frustrated, and now wanting to get something off her chest, Max said; Ikay go ahead and spit out whatever you have on your mind, replied Max.

Letting Ikay speak her own dialect, Max who understood around 80% of the dialect that came from his mothers side, he listened as Ikay began to talk about many things, and an especially, the one question that seemed to burn through her mind...."Reverend, does god need a starship"?

Waiting for Ikay to finish her rant about the issues she saw among the crew, and their so-called independence from a centralized idea that Starfleet was godless, or becoming an Atheist society.

Though the Federation had done away with organized religions after the end of WWIII, there were still some parts of the Federations immense borders, and their smaller frontier/wilderness settlements that no strike of the pen banning religion would interfere with their own religious beliefs. The majority still believed in a so-called organized religion and followed almost every type according to their own beliefs. Some followed the ideas of the Bajaoran Prophets, others believed in the Vulcan IDIC, others took a more warrior like approach, from the Klingon beliefs that it far better to die in battle, rather than in a hospital bed. Some even followed the Betazed form of religion where everyone took off their clothes during services, but in reality there was a sense of some type of deity that had a hand in forming the universe.

Detecting a mind clouded in mixed emotions and religious ferver, Ikay was now speaking in her usual sing song voice that began at a low tone then increased in pitch then lowered once again, and usually ended in a questioning voice.

Max continued to listen, as he grabbed a menu, and would nod in agreement to some of the issues Ikay had. Finally deciding on a plate of Shrimp fried rice, heavily seasoned with fresh garlic, and green onions, a plate of what was called Pork Adobo, and a side dish of a dark thick stew made out of fresh pigs blood, boiled till the red blood cells had turned dark brown, then cooked altogether with the intestines of a pig, vegetables, all highly spiced, now sat in front of Max, and once Ikay smelled the concotion, she calmed down as Max said in Ikay's own dialect..

"Kain, Kain, indi ng gutom ka, diri" (Eat, eat, NO being hungry here), and soon Ikay began putting things in her bowl, then she began to eat the food with her fingers, as she shoved mouthfuls of the rice, mixed with the pork into her mouth.

Watching Ikay slowly begin to calm down, Max once again said in their dialect...

"Alam mo, Ikay" (You know, Ikay), Man does not need to believe that "God/Gods made mankind in his own image, or that Biblical principles guide morality. My vies is that "Man created God as a projection of his own mind, and the mind of man guides morality. So God does not need a Starship. Besides what the bible teaches many is that during Jesus's "Sermon on the Mount" where he fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and twelve fishes, can be explained by a superior alien being who began teaching a different type of morality had a small food replicator in his basket, and was able to feed the more than 5,000 people.

And Ikay, remember you are not a Chaplain, nor are you allowed to give any pastoral counseling; that's my job and that of the Counseling departments duties. Now if you want to do it unofficially and do it so I don't hear about it, you are free to do so, "pero" if I hear complaints of your religious ferver getting in the way of the counselors and myself, and I have to bail you out.....

"Then I will have your ass sent back to Starfleet, faster than you can say Klingon, on the next Starship"!.

Now do I make myself clear on the subject of faith', replied Max who was now deadly serious, as he watched Ikay begin to sputter, and mumble some illogical contradictory reasons why this was not possible, Max smiled and said

"Now Ikay, as my mother once told me that a Filipino should always eat; now how about some Lumpia", replied Max as he watched Ikay once fiery religious fervor slowly disappeared, into the background.


End:

Rev. Max Solanga, MA, Lt.
Chaplain
USS Elysium

CPO, Frederika Aguan
Chaplains Assistant
USS Elysium