USS Galileo :: Episode 20 - Reconstruction - Questions? Answers?
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Questions? Answers?

Posted on 27 Dec 2024 @ 1:32am by Lieutenant JG Hovar Kov & Theo Winters
Edited on on 21 Jan 2025 @ 1:36pm

2,883 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 20 - Reconstruction
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 3, Counselor's Office
Timeline: MD04 - 1530

[ON]

Theo didn't know much about religions, especially Terran ones. He may have looked human, but he wasn't, or if he was his people, not that there were any of them left now, were too distant for it to matter.

He was however a pretty typical teenager, which meant that he was curious and at the stage where he was questioning so many things.

His heritage, his relationship with his adoptive father, his orientation, his spirituality. So many questions so few answers. He'd gotten some guidance from the Counselor but that wasn't enough.

He'd never thought of asking a chaplin before, but it couldn't hurt. Right?

He pressed the chime at the office door.

The Chaplain in question was writing down the notes from the previous appointment he had. Said appointment concerned a brand new member of Star Fleet, a Crewman Recruit, and this being his first long term assignment. It was a mountain that would need to be climbed, gradually, but Hovar had confidence. The chime did not interrupt his train of thought. Hovar kept his face on the report as he was just about done. As soon as he was done, only seconds after the chime was heard, Hovar spoke,

"Come in."

The young teen stepped into the room, the doors hissing shut behind him.

"Hello," he introduced himself. My name is Theo Winters, you may know my father, Serran? He's the Operations Chief. Though to be honest, we really haven't attended any of your services."

Hover gazed upon the young teen and thought about it for a quick moment, he hasn't had a one on one with the Operations DH, but he was sure that would change at some point in time. Nodding slowly, he addressed the young man.

"Do not worry about not attending services, Mr. Winters. Few on this ship actually do."

Hovar, the Chaplain, lamented about the lack of religious individuals aboard the ship, but Hovar wasn't there just for religious reasons. He was also a philosopher and a student of behavior. This new individual before him was a unique individual, and Hovar would act accordingly. There was also a slight concern about the word "parent" being used. That might bring problems later...

"How may I be of assistance to you?"

"Curiosity mostly, if I'm being honest. I was just doing some research about Halloween, and All Saints Day. If we're supposed to be saved by grace and are all supposed to be saints, or servants, or whatever term you want to use, why are some people designated as. But, as far as I know only by one..." he paused searching for the right word, denomination."

Hovar nodded, and he immediately glanced down taking a deep breath. In his mind, he thought about how in God's name was he going to take a subject that countless people have researched over centuries and be able to condense it down into something in a few words. He nodded his head once as his shoulders shrugged, glancing back up at Winters.

"Think of all the people that wore this uniform, and I am not talking about Chaplains. There are doctors, nurses, security, tactical, engineering, command, and operations officers. I do not know the numbers to an exact certainty, but there are a lot. Of those countless people, there are only a few that people either Star Fleet or the Federation has given special commendation to, the heroes who we all aspire to be, the prime examples of what it means to be a member of Star Fleet regardless of rank or grade."

Hovar paused before he continued.

"The Saints are the same way. These men, women, and children, are given the title of sainthood through a special canonized of the Church. They are examples of what we all strive to be: virtuous, brave, loving, rooted in faith, what have you. Just because we are not canonized by the Church does not mean we are not called to follow in their example. It would be akin to just because your father, for example, did not win the Medal of Honor he does not live a life of gallantry and self-sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty."

"I get that," the teenager replied after listening to the chaplain's words, and I don't disagree with your point. It does make some sense to me."

"But aren't Christians supposed to follow Christ, not other people? I'm not a student of the Bible, but didn't Paul say that?"

"And why does only one branch of Christians canonize people?
And what criteria do they use?"

Hovar was warned about the natural curiosity of children, especially teenagers. Religion, regardless of which one, dealt with the unknown answer to the question: what happens after death.

"To the first, contrary to popular opinion, it is impossible to follow Christ. Yes, he is the way, the truth, and the life, but it is impossible to follow Christ word for word, step for step."

Hovar leaned back slightly and pointed to himself.

"Take me for example. I am a Klingon. I have been trained from birth to kill everything I see. However, according to Jesus, if I am so much as angry at someone else, say, the Captain, I am just as guilty than if I plunged a dagger into her heart. This is because Jesus is concerned not only with the sins of the flesh, but also with the sins of the mind."

He took a breath to pause.

"To your second, yes, we are supposed to follow Christ in thought, word, and deed. As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible. Paul does tell us to follow him by the virtue of us being part of the Church, or the mystical body of Christ. He told the Ephesians that we 'are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.' When Jesus sacrificed himself as the Son of God, he helped bridge the gap so that our shortcomings are accounted for and not held against us."

The Klingon really hoped that he still had the young man's attention.

"Why others don't do it, I have no clue. For Latin rite Catholics, there are a number of ways one can be canonized. The most numerous of them that come to mind are martyrs. For example, Saint Ignatius of Antioch was told to either abandon his Christianity, which in his time was actually a capital offense, or face his maker. Needless to say, he was taken to the Roman Colosseum and was ripped apart by beasts. Other paths to sainthood involve long investigations, sometimes lasting centuries, of miracles or intercessions that are attributed to a particular person."

Hovar sighed,

"It is a little tricky to explain it all without asking you "what are your plans for the next month?" Sainthood is deceivingly complex."

"It certainly sounds like it. I'm still not sure I fully understand, but I think I get the basics."

"I have a few other questions. When I started doing my research about Halloween, it led me down some interesting side trails when it comes to your religion."

"My dad is gay and I'm, well I'm not entirely sure what I am. It used to be a big deal in the church that there was not hope for someone like us, or at least for someone like Serran and it was a one-way ticket to Hell."

"Is it still that way?"

Hovar shook his head, remembering much of his history class.

“It used to be. The justification was that we are meant to procreate through a natural process that is shared with other life forms such as animals, insects, even plant life. Anyone that hindered that process or denied it's virtue was considered sinful behavior."

Hovar pondered for a moment.

"No one knows exactly who or when, but there was a reckoning where the powers that be realized that they had become the very hypocritical people that Jesus of Nazareth admonished during his time. How can one claim to be a judge of character if they are twice the children of Hell themselves? Hypocritical much?“

"That is what I thought as well, but I haven't really studied the Bible much. I am at least curious. What could you say to me to convince me that your faith is the only true path?"

Hovar took a deep breath as he closed his hands gently in front of him. Such a question was easily answered by Apologetics, but Hovar had a much more personal reason.

"I can at least tell you what convinced me to become shunned by my people."

Bad memories came to his mind, but he pushed them down for now.

"The first thing you have to believe is that the greatest miracle of the universe, and the Bible, happened as it said it happened. No I am not talking about the resurrection, but Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God created..." God is a being that is space-less and time-less, because it created space and time. It had to be powerful and intelligent in order to create the universe and the constants that sustains the universe. It has to be a very logical being so that creation can be understood in a logical way. It also has to be immaterial because matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, but something had to have created something from nothing. To make the claim that nothing created something out of nothing would be as illogical as proposing the question of what created God, because that question will fall into the fallacy of infinite regression. God is the un-caused first-cause, and we know that everything in the universe that was created has a cause, and the universe was created, therefore the universe has a cause, and that cause is God."

Hovar provided a gentle delay in his second reason.

"Next, us mortals are flawed creatures. We abuse our wills and our passions for egotistical reasons when looking at it from the macro scale. The shadows of darkness, of hatred, and of error creates a shroud over us all. What is the Galileo's fundamental mission? To become illuminated with knowledge that was darkened, to seek the light as it were. We all do it in our own way, but we seek the light, we seek the truth, and we all seek to be loved on an emotional level. So if you seek a light that is without the shadow of darkness, a truth that is without the shadow of error, and a love that without the shadow of hate, and most importantly a life that is without the shadow of death; what is that but a definition of God?"

Hovar paused again.

"The question now comes, how can we find the way that is without the shadow of misguidance? If we believe that the only truth to the universe is what can only be confirmed by the Scientific Method, and science can only experiment with what can be measured and observed, than a limitless God that cannot be observed is undefined, therefore it doesn't exist. God had to come down to our level to provide the way. God had to experience what we experienced, suffer as we suffered, and die as we die, in order to provide the way, the truth, and the life without their shadows of misguidance, error, and death. Christians believe that it was Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, who provided all of us with that way, and it is up to us to make a sincere attempt to follow him. If our attempts are sincere, and we make a sincere contrition upon our death, than Jesus Christ dying on the Cross bridges the gap, no matter how short we come, to illuminate us to the mystery that is God."

Hovar paused, looking calmly at the young man,

"I hope all of that made some kind of sense. Like I said, that is what convinced me to convert and join its priesthood.:"

"Well, you haven't converted me. Not yet anyway, but you've answered my questions with what I am sure you believe to be true. And, it does, as you said, seem logical."

"So you believe the Earth was created in a literal seven days? What about other worlds?"

Hovar leaned back slightly to adjust himself, thankful that someone was genuinely curious.

"Not literally, no, and I urge caution with reading the texts on a literal basis. It has been a long established scientific certainty that the universe itself is 13 billion years old give or take. When reading the creation story, you have to ask yourself one particular contextual question.

What is a day in the eyes of a being that can create the universe? Also, notice on how first there was the lights, the stars that dot every galaxy in the universe. From the creation of the stars you have the planets, which have a dome separating the waters from the stars, which helps gives way to the land, which gives way for nature as a whole to be able to give way for ultimately humanoids like us to be able to thrive. Regardless of whether it's Human or Vulcan or Cardassian or even Medusan, which have a varying degree of age to civilizations, how the universe was created is more or less the same, just with certain variances."

"I get that, by there are a lot of creation tales."

"There are a lot of creation stories across the planets, yet all of them share one core root: something very powerful decided to make everything come to be. Which one that is, only the dead will know."

He then narrowed his eyes in curiosity.

"If you don't mind me asking, was there anything specific about Halloween and All Saints Day that peaked your curiosity or was it something more general?

"It was the whole dichotomy, or what I perceived as dichotomy between saints and sinners and the original nature of the holiday. Druids were not exactly nice people back then."

Hovar shook his head, knowing that a lot of cultures had rather harsh methods to appease divine.

"Well, as to the original holiday, Halloween, or Hallow's Eve, is the vigil for Hallow's Day, or All Saint's Day, of which All Soul's Day concludes Hallowmas, or the Season of the Saints as it is known. If you like, I can offer you the liturgical propers, or the main prayers and readings, for each day to help you in your research."

The priest then thought about the Druids, of which he nodded slowly,

"The Druids were indeed a curious bunch, however, there have been a more peaceful renewal of the Druidic tradition. From as early as I think the 18th century, the new Druid tradition is more peaceful and less sacrificial. There are a variety of schools of thought as to which group has the original teachings of the Druids and their pantheon. Of course, I have an inherent bias as to the nature of said pantheon."

"I would assume, being Catholic, and a monotheist, you're bias is not a positive one."

Inwardly, Hovar was rather proud of the young man. Asking the easy questions was not of real interest. When one is asking the hard questions, there is real possibility of interesting discussion.

"This is correct, although it is only on a theological basis. However, if I were to encounter a Druid who was suffering, I am bound to render aid as best I can. If there were a Druid aboard seeking spiritual assistance, I will do whatever I can to help them. I might not partake in their rituals or agree to their theology, I will ensure that their traditions are respected, within reason of course. I can't guarantee that they will have an evening off for the rituals of Samhain Eve for example, but I can work with the command staff and the department heads to get it figured out."


"Well, you have given me a lot to think about. Perhaps we can do this again sometime? When do you hold services?"

"I would love to have more discussions, young man. My public services are Sundays at 10 in the morning ship's time. There are missals that have the readings in each seat for you to read along with. I also record and transcribe each homily for reference. I am trying to come up with more activities for participants to have a space to ask questions like you have or to do things as a recreational deal. I haven't decided yet. They will be open to everyone, whether they wear a Star Fleet uniform or not."

"I will try to make it, though I can't guarantee it and I can't promise my dad will either."

The Klingon smiled warmly, for a Klingon.

"It was good of you to put up with me though."

Considering other people aboard the ship, this young man was nice to be around. Hovar prayed that he would be able to enjoy similar conversations in the future.

[OFF]

--

Chaplain [LTJG] Hovar Kor
Chaplain
USS Galileo-A

Theo Winters
Crew Family
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Serran]

 

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