The Expanse
This is a very long read at almost 4,000 words
including the references. Something that has been on my mind as of late is from
a television show, as I was unaware of the book series by the same name. I
would like to say aside from some pornographic scenes, which are totally
unnecessary in storytelling, the Expanse has been one of my favorite science
fiction series. James S.A. Corey is the pen name used by authors Daniel Abraham
and Ty Franck for their book series. Which has since been adapted as a
television series. Both media’s have won critical acclaim in their portrayal of
a “Space Opera” (Wikipedia, n.d., p. 1). If you were a fan of Battlestar
Galactica this show might be something you could enjoy. I’m not sure if there
is a family edited version as some episodes could be considered R-Rated. From
the futuristic space narrative, it has an almost western frontier story feel to
it. Add in very detailed spacecraft design, fleshed out back stories, suspenseful
spaceship fights, and use of “some” scientific principles. The latter has
received praise for its scientific realism when real world science is used, but
of course there is fiction in there for story telling elements.
*Spoilers ahead for “The Expanse.” *
I was a little shocked to see the in this story which
takes place several hundreds of years into the future on earth, members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These future saints are following
the revelation of their time and are building a space ark to go to where God
dwells. Christ had not come in his promised Second Coming, and the faithful
were to come to Him. A space ark, also known as a generational ship, is a
conceptual theory of building a massive spaceship, which could hold enough
people, and supplies, to make it to another planet for colonization (Arthur,
2018; Winston, 2017). Well here we have 23rd century members of the
faith striving to be obedient to Gods commands. Detractors of the faith would
use this as an argument to the delusion of religion. I have been thinking on
this lately, and have been thinking if this did happen, “Does this make our
faith really irrelevant?” or, “Does God change his mind?” How about, “is this
something that could happen, but what of all those previous prophecies?”
Note.
The L.D.S.S.
Nauvoo can be seen adorned with an Angel Moroni atop the antenna relay. Image
Retrieved from “Mormons in space: Sci-fi or no lie,” K. Winston, August
7th, 2017.
“When
science peered beyond Earth's atmosphere and did not find proof of God, Smith
placed God's throne somewhere distant - but a real place that, given the right
technology, humans could travel to” (Winston, 2017). Now as much as I would
like to go in this direction I would be distracted from my real purpose in this
post. I’m not concerned about us maybe one day having to leave this earth.
Personally, in a secular mind I know we must leave earth for our species to
continue; think about this along the lines of, “not all your eggs in one
basket.” I also don’t see how there is any issue with the story the Expanse
tells, with respect to future saints building a generational ship. Given the
theology in which I feel, and what I say I know to be true (from the things in
which I have experienced), this is not a farfetched idea to discount something
like this beyond the realm of possibility; our god is a god of the impossible
(Luke 1:37). Deep diving into the research I wish to frame the my research boundaries.
1. “Does a deviation from revelation to actual events
make the prophet a false prophet?”
2. Further, “Does that mean that god is not
omniscient?” To address this, we need to look at instance in which revelation
was given, and what followed could be considered contrary.
Definition
of Prophecy
Why this may be obvious to some, and not so to others,
understanding what a prophecy is, or rather the paradigm in which we interpret
the meaning of prophecy; is an important consideration. Merriam-Webster (n.d.)
defines prophecy as “1) an inspired utterance of a prophet, 2) the function or
vocation of a prophet (specifically: the inspired declaration of divine will
and purpose), 3) a prediction of something to come” (p. 1). Davison (2005)
notes that in “philosopher rarely argue about who has actually prophesied what,”
in some tradition’s prophecy isn’t always a foretelling of the future, and
often deals with revealing the will of the divine (para. 1-2). Prophecy is
something that all three Abrahamic religions agree on, the difference is whose
prophecy is correct. In Islam there are five pillars of faith, and of one of
those pillars is prophecy (nubuwwah). Further, Muslim’s believe that Muhammad
is the greatest, and last of all prophets, that the prophet is bearing a
message of god; given a book, signs, or miracles in testimony of their divine
appointment by deity (Saleh, 2019, para. 1-2).
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (n.d.) defines prophecy as “divinely inspired words or
writings, which a person receives through revelation from the Holy Ghost” (para.
1). Revelation 19:10 says “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy,” that this prophecy may come to all by the power of the Holy Ghost
(see Moroni 10:4-6). While Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, all argue to whose
prophecy is correct, they all three equally agree that a prophecy foretells the
future or of Gods will at that time its revealed. In trying to make sense of
this philosophy and theology, the Abrahamic religions crossed over each other’s
theological lines on their way to resolution to an answer.
Contingency
For philosophers they need
to decide one of two things. Is the will of gods message necessary or is it
contingent? Simply does it need to happen (necessary), might it happen
(contingent), or it will never happen (impossible, see Philosophy Terms chart
on page 1 explaining the difference between contingent and necessary; Philosophy
Terms, n.d.). Davison (2005) uses the story of Jesus prophesy of Peter
betraying him three times, as Peters actual act of denial is contingent in nature
(agency in his choice, or “free will”; para. 4). It’s this all-knowing nature
of God that make in some cases, like Christ prophecy of Peter’s denial, a
problem in philosophy. If Jesus, with god like knowledge, knew that Peter would
deny him, what of any free will does that leave Peter with? Its this divine
foreknowledge that make examination of certain prophecies a puzzle to the
philosopher.
If this sounds very familiar to you
then you may have heard of predestination which came from this philosophical
debate of Gods knowledge. Predestination argues that Peter, once Jesus
prophesied of the denial occurring three times, meant that Peter without will
of self was only able to do anything but deny Christ three times. One such
answer to this is known as open theism. Which Davison (2005) explains “there
may be future contingent events, but God does not know about them, and that to
some open theists argue that foreknowledge “would be providentially useless to
God” (para. 9). Skipping through a philosophical lecture on contingency and
foreknowledge you arrive to the open theist problem. Does God limit future
knowledge, and only wields such when the probability of the individual actions leads
to no other option. Think of it like a teacher telling their students, “If you
don’t study for the test you will fail!” Until you take the test your
probability of passing or failing is equal, but if you start to not take that
study time in class it becomes clearer to the teacher that you will fail the
test; in which you do since you did not study, you do fail the test that day.
William Ockham. Was a
medieval Christian philosopher who found a way to, philosophically, account for
the foreknowledge of God and contingency. Ockham argued that what a prophet may
have said could or may now be false. “Ockham’s idea is that were Peter to
choose freely not deny Jesus instead, then Jesus would never have prophesied
that Peter would deny him” (Davison, 2005, para. 14). This idea agrees with
foreordination, and says that if there was any other option, then why did Jesus
prophesy specifically? Ochamism leads to interesting logical puzzles which to
some philosophers, such as Finch and Rea (2008), argue that its incompatible
with some other belief system or rather perspectives (Davison, 2005).
Atemporalism. Some biblical passages have
led to interesting philosophical ideas, one of which is that God exists outside
of time. Doing so would allow foreknowledge to coexist with contingency,
allowing agency, while not necessarily accepting forced destinies as
predestination asserts. Looking at the perspective of such biblical passage
such as Isiah 55:8-9 gave evidence to suggest this might be the case. An
unceasing eternity would allow god the ability to know everything. This idea
can be seen the works of Christian theologians as early as 500 CE such as
thought by Boethius.
“[Since] God has a condition of ever-present eternity, His knowledge,
which passes over every change of time, embracing infinite lengths of past and
future, views in its own direct comprehension everything as though it were
taking place in the present” (Boethius Consolation, 117)
In
the cannon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there are some
scriptures that also suggest that God might exist atemporally. “The course of
the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:19). This phrasing is unique to the scriptures
and invokes some powerful mental images. This similar phrasing was also
revealed to Joseph Smith Junior as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants which
said:
“For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the
right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said,
therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round”
(Doctrine & Covenants. 3:2; see also Alma 7:20, Alma 37:12; italics added
for emphasis).
Al-Qadr. Islam agrees with some Christian theologies of predestination, and that
is Allah knows everything then nothing happens unless Allah willed it to be so.
Al-Qadr is that “Allah already knows everything that will ever happen in the
universe” (British Broadcasting Channel, n.d.). In the Qu’ran one verse has led
to Islamic scholarship that accepts predestination, “the Lord has created and
balance all things and has fixed their destinies and guided them” (Surah
87:2-3). However, in Islam individuals have free will to make morally correct
choice, but of course its caveating that Allah new they would either fail or
succeed in discipleship. “And you cannot will unless (it be) that Allah wills”
(Surah 82:29). The idea is seen throughout the Qu’ran is the theology of
nothing happens unless Allah allowed it.
“Verily, this (verses of the Qur’an) is an admonition so whosever wills,
let him take a Path to his Lord (Allah). But you cannot will, unless Allah
wills. Verily, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise. He will admit to His
Mercy whom He wills and as for the Zalimun (polytheist, wrongdoers), He has
prepared a painful torment” (Surah 76:29-30; italics added for emphasis).
Incomprehensible
In
the inspired revelation of the Book of Moses, we see an expanded telling Moses
experience. He is caught up to a high mountain, received a portion of the “glory
of God” to be in the presence of God (Moses 1:2). When God (Heavenly Father)
introduces himself to Moses he says, “Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless
is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this
endless?” (Moses 1:39). How can the human mind comprehend Endless? To remain in
the boundaries I set previously, I will stay away from the Trinitarian view of
God. Simply it is not biblical in nature and was set through various creeds. It
attempted to combine Greek Philosophy with Scriptural texts. The doctrinal
position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that of the
Godhead. “We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings”
(Holland, 2007, para. 9). While this theology may seem incorrect to others its
historically, and scripturally accurate, and doesn’t require any creed to
justify reasoning.
Knowing that God the Father, and Jesus Christ, have bodies
does make the essence of deity more comprehensible. The scriptural quotes of God’s
love to us become even more real and tangible to our fragile minds. However,
let us remember how God introduced himself to Moses, he said his name was Endless.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
So
shall my aword be that goeth forth out
of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Tesseract. While pondering these ideas, I thought
of the tesseract (If you do not know what that is or are unfamiliar with the 4th
Dimension Theory go and watch the video. Carl Sagan explains this eloquently the
theory of the 4th dimension [Link - https://youtu.be/N0WjV6MmCyM]). We are
a 3 dimensional being trying to comprehend a deity that is Endless. Previously,
I discussed contingency in relation to prophecy, is prophecy something that
might happen or must happen? Can Jesus tell Peter he will deny him three times,
and not negate the will of Peter? Or in doing so does that mean we are all
predestined to Gods will as in the Islamic doctrine of Al-Qadr? God exists
endlessly as his ways are “one eternal round?” (Doctrine &
Covenants. 3:2). If you believe you have choice in choosing right or wrong, can
a prophecy also exist in the same manner? Can you think of a prophecy that has
been unfulfilled, or a prophecy that can never be fulfilled?
Unfulfilled Prophecy
Digging up accounts of unfulfilled prophecy is a
difficult task, and I was almost decided to not continue this post. In my research
I came across several instances that the apologists over at Fair Mormon cover.
These are often used as evidence of Joseph Smith being a fraud. Fair Mormon
(n.d.) examines 16 claims of false prophecy by Joseph Smith (p. 1). Half of
these false prophecies are claims that are hard to attribute to Joseph Smith having
said even said them. Example, D&C Section114 is used as claim of false
prophecy for the David Patten did not serve a mission and was dead “sixth
months later” (Fair Mormon, n.d. p. 1). Evidence sides with Section 114 being a
mission call, and not a prophecy as some claim. For this case the prophecy was
the revelation that David Patten should prepare to serve mission.
Other instances of prophecy are declared false all deal
with situations in which the prophecy is predicated on an individual, groups, and
their faithfulness. Sometimes hostile individuals prevent the prophecy from being
fulfilled. Fair Mormon (n.d.) points to D&C Section 57 about the building
of a temple at Independence, Missouri, but as history shows this is unfulfilled
in that hostile parties drove the Saints from the area in 1833 (p. 1). Another
example would be the Law of Consecration, the revelation that church members would
join all their property, and the bishop would give out from supply equally to
all as they had need. Yet again, history shows the Law of Consecration was a failed
prophecy in one since of the word. It was the members unfaithfulness prevented
the fulfillment of the revelation. Section 84 has several verses which critics
of the church argue to be false prophecies, from the temple at Independence, the
destruction of New York and Boston.
When it comes to Joseph Smiths revelation, visions, or
opinion, detractors are quick to declare Joseph as a failed prophet. Yet, it is
obvious that at times Joseph was chastened, and corrected, such in trying to discern
the time of the Second Coming. Ultimately, Joseph reveled he was asked to not
inquire any more about the time of Christ’s Second Coming. If you look at anti-Mormon
Christian writers, they like to point out how often in Joseph Smiths revelations
mentioned the soon coming of Christ. “Old Joe claimed it to be soon, but its
been 175 years. That doesn’t seem soon!” Yet they turn around on Sunday and
preach to their congregations that Christ will soon come so be ready!
Second Coming. The scriptures repeatedly tell of
the signs of the Second Coming, they are yet to happen with many left unfulfilled.
This is true for Christian, and Islamic traditions. Some Jews scholars argue
that Jesus of Nazareth was not the messianic figure of their bible. From the events
that followed the crucifixion of Jesus to present day are enough for these Jewish
scholars to denounce Jesus as being the foretold messiah.
“First of all, we find
this to be a contrived answer, since there is no mention of a Second Coming in
the Jewish Bible. Second, why couldn't G-d accomplish His goals the first time
round. Most importantly, the Second Coming idea is just an attempt at answering
an obvious question but it certainly does not constitute proof of messianic
claims” (Somayach, n.d.).
If we continue the line of logic, which
is used against Joseph Smith prophethood, we can extend this to all prophecies
of the Second Coming. “Old [Insert Prophets
name] claimed soon it’s been 1,988 years, that doesn’t seem soon!” Avi Loeb is
an Israeli astrophysicist that hinted at a recent discovery possibly being extraterrestrial
in nature. While being interviewed by several different podcasters, and journalists,
he made a striking point which I will summarize. He said for the proof of which
religion (Judaism, Christianity, or Islam) is correct relies on Christs return.
All three must wait until Christ comes again. Until that happens neither three
will be completely certain who is correct, as all three must hear it from Christ.
Summary
In the beginning I asked
some questions, and I attempted to find evidence that might answer them. I
asked if one day we might be told in revelation that we are to leave this planet
and go to where god dwells. If this does occur does it make previous
revelations irrelevant? Does God change his mind? From there I framed what prophecy
is, and how it’s contingent on the cultural or theological paradigm. Prophecy informs
us of Gods will such as a commandment or is a warning of things to come at a
future time. When examining prophecies philosophers ask does it need to happen,
will it happen, or must it happen. By doing this it helps determine essence of
the prophecy. If God is all-knowing then does a specific prophecy invalidate one’s
choice or are, we all governed by predestination? As seen some arguments are
for predestination, and there are arguments against predestination. That God
can know for certain an event how it will occur, but equally allows us to choose.
Some argue that god ignores knowing all events, or that god can examine events independent
from time.
In trying to frame whether something
God said can happen, or if something declared might not ever happen, we must
remember our ways are not his. If a prophecy is unfulfilled it does not make it
null and void. The saints were promised many things in the early history of the
church, but due to events those remain unfulfilled. It doesn’t mean that they
won’t happen, nor does that mean that the person who revealed such isn’t a prophet.
Rather we see a loving God that allows us still the opportunity to choose
between right and wrong. In researching this question and writing this out my
faith has been bolstered. I don’t deny that God can’t yet change the script on
us. I’m not saying that the Second Coming will not happen, or that the promised
blessings won’t occur.
I think I’m simply stating that our God is god of
Wonders, Endless is his name, His ways are incomprehensible to my natural mind.
I feel that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His ordained
church, because I feel and know the Book of Mormon to be true. This leads to my
trust in the current President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints President Russell M. Nelson being a prophet and holding all the keys of
the Priesthood. If at the next General Conference President Nelson reveals we
are to work to building a space ark, I would recall the promise of the Lord to
know by the power of the Holy Ghost the truth of all things. Next thing I would
do is eagerly look forward to the Church’s Space program.
References
Arthur, I. (2018,
July 12). Generational ships & interstellar colonization [YouTube].
YouTube. https://youtu.be/H2f0Wd3zNj0
British
Broadcasting Channel. (n.d.). Authority in Islam: Presdestination, free will
and judgement. British Broadcasting Channel. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zkdkw6f/revision/2
Davison, S. A.
(2015, February 18). Prophecy. Stanford University, Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Revision August 2, 2018. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/prophecy/
Fair Mormon. (n.d.) Joseph Smith: Alleged false
prophecies. Fair Mormon, Answers. https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Prophet/Alleged_false_prophecies
Finch, A., & Rea, M. (2008)
Presentism and Ockham’s way out, in Jonathan Kvanvig (ed.), Oxford
Studies in Philosophy of Religion (Volume 1), Oxford: Oxford
University Press, pp. 1–17.
Holland, J. R. (2007,
October). The only true god and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng
Merriam-Webster.
(n.d.). Propechy [Dictionary]. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prophecy
Perry, L.T. (2013).
Obedience to law is liberty. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/image/quote-perry-ocean-50e8278?lang=eng
Philosophy Terms
(n.d.). Contingency [Dictionary]. Philosophy Terms. https://philosophyterms.com/contingency/
Sagan, C. (2011,
August 10). 4th dimension – Tesseract, 4th dimension
-made easy – Carl Sagan [YouTube]. YouTube, Astronomy Corner. https://youtu.be/N0WjV6MmCyM
Saleh, W. A.
(2019, September 23). Prophecy and revelation in Islam. British Library,
Discovering Sacred Texts. https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/prophecy-and-revelation-in-islam#
Somayach, O. (n.d.).
Why Jews don’t believe in Jesus. Ohr. https://ohr.edu/ask_db/ask_main.php/2637/Q1/
Winston, K.
(2017, August 7) Mormons in space: Sci-fi or no lie…Macomb Daily. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.macombdaily.com%2Flifestyles%2Fmormons-in-space-sci-fi-or-no-lie%2Farticle_c9ffc5f5-9f7b-5b21-914f-defa5f2a076c.html&psig=AOvVaw1QiOGF5t7FmTLZO1p5R5qw&ust=1610336549634000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=2ahUKEwi9yqyhuZDuAhUOFKYKHT3aCPsQr4kDegUIARCmAQ
Wikipedia (n.d.) The
expanse (TV series). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(TV_series)
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