Saturday, September 19, 2009

Do We Christians Believe in Parallel Universes?

I have to say that Jeffrey Jacob "J.J." Abrams is a brilliant and talented man. Writer, producer, director and musician, he keeps on pouring out wildly popular movies and TV series. He is both an Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner. He's obviously an amazing man--and he's only 43. 



J. J. Abrams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Recently I viewed Fringe, a TV series he has written and is directing. I'm planning to watch them all. Information on FOX follows: 


Set in Boston, the FBI's Fringe Division formed when Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (Anna Torv) enlisted the help of institutionalized "fringe" scientist WALTER BISHOP (John Noble) and his son, PETER (Joshua Jackson), to save her partner and lover from a mind-bending death. Through unconventional and unorthodox methods, the FRINGE team imagines and tests the impossibilities while investigating unbelievable events, macabre crimes, and mystifying cases involving pyrokinesis, neuroscience, cryonics, genetic engineering, astral projection, and other fantastical theories. When the unimaginable happens, it's their job to stop it.


What are Abrams and Fox tapping into? What draws people like me to watch this stuff? My children watch it. My grandchildren watch it. So what's going on? Why the interest in aliens, parallel universes, demons, angels, sci-fi, shape shifters, etc. The list goes on. You get the picture. 
For starters, let me emphasize that the Bible has always had its own list of strange beings with unexplained powers and a parallel universe. Try your hand at explaining this.  

  • The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:4). 
  • Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again (Numbers 22). 
  • He (Jacob) had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying (Genesis 28). 
Who can stop asking where heaven is? What does it mean to ascend and descend to and from that place? Is heaven a parallel universe of some sort? Is there more than one? 

Since angels are creatures of God, as are the rebel angels, what are they made of? Of what does their matter consist? And what energy do they employ to do what they do, e.g. destroy entire cities? How do they move about? Why are they able to inhabit human bodies? 

That ought to be enough to get you going with your own TV series. Or is it already being done? Oh well, there's always room for creative twists.  


3 comments:

  1. John 14:2 - "in My Father's house there are many mansions" - is that a reference to parallel universes?

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  3. If we allow the Holy Spirit in Scripture to interpret Scripture, then 'Father's house' must refer to the place where the heavenly Father dwells, i.e. Jesus casting out the money changers in John 2: ". . . do not make my Father's house a house of trade." However, Jesus cannot be speaking about the Temple in Jerusalem, since that is not where He went by way of the cross and His ascension. So your question: where is the Father house in which there are many mansions, i.e. rooms? The reference appears to be part of the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus brings. That would suggest something more than a building or a place. It suggests that we who are born anew in Christ are part of His family, His 'house' (Ps.45:10). Among that vast crowd each of us has a 'room'. We will be part of the awesome and wondrous eternal plan of the Father, stretching into eternity—all because of Jesus. Side note: parallel universe? The question must remain open. No one can even imagine the things the Father has prepared for His children (1 Cor.2:9), not even J J Adams.

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So what do you think? I would love to see a few words from you.