DeConick A.D

226
HELL WALKS AND STAR TREKS
of Seth is a triple liturgy comprising communal hymns and recitations that
were used to ascend through the three realms of the transcendent world,
the realms where the Father, the Mother, and the Son dwell. These liturgies
demonstrate that Sethian initiations had communal settings and were
preoccupied with achieving ecstasy. They combined repetitive chants such
as “We bless you! We bless you! We bless you!,” “You are perfect! You are
perfect! You are perfect!,” “You have heard us! You have heard us! You
have heard us!,” and “We have seen you! We have seen you! We have seen
you!” with strengthening prayers and lengthy periods of rapturous silence.
If God Were an Archon
A shuttle rockets Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sybok to the surface of the
mythical planet Sha Ka Ree, where Sybok believes that the transcendent
God, the primordial source of existence, lives. When they land and begin
trekking across the dusty surface of the planet, they begin to wonder if
this is all there is. Sybok is clearly disappointed. We think that perhaps the
point of the film is to show that God does not exist.
But then huge towers of rock erupt from the planet’s surface and create
a Stonehenge-like cathedral. Just as suddenly, a powerful beam of light
shoots upward from below the planet’s crust, into the sky. It is raw beauty
and power, dazzling our heroes. As the beam pulsates with life, a voice
comes forth from the light: “Brave souls, welcome!”
McCoy and Sybok want to know if this is God speaking. In response,
the beam of light begins to transform into a multitude of faces that we
recognize as the images that people have used to depict God throughout
the ages. The polymorphic deity settles on the image of YHWH, the
bearded Ancient of Days described in the Bible, because it is the image
that is most familiar to the Enterprise team—and, I might add, to the
film’s audience. We recognize him immediately as the biblical God from
the book of Daniel.
Sybok asks the image of God, “Is it you?” The image replies, “It is I.”
This too is a play on the biblical name of God: I Am. The deity’s identity
is certain. The Enterprise has brought them through the stars to the planet
where the polymorphic God who reveals himself as YHWH lives.
Sybok announces that they have had a long journey on a starship to
reach his planet, even breaching the galactic barrier. God is impressed