81
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Is Kirk’s comment about “LDS” intended to be a religious joke?
No, the point is that Kirk, despite having an interest in 20th Century history, is still largely ignorant of the finer details. He's dredging up half-forgotten memories in what the original script ...
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79
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Why isn't the religion of R'hllor, The Lord of Light, dominant?
The religion seems to be gaining power, as the priests gain actual powers.
This is an interesting question, and I suspect that it'll be explored more in future books and that it's deliberate that all ...
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75
votes
What religious references are there in the Matrix trilogy?
I did a little bit more research, and found something interesting. Agent Smith’s vehicle has a license plate on the front, which contains a Bible verse, as seen below:
That verse, which is Isaiah 54:...
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65
votes
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What religious references are there in the Matrix trilogy?
Some references:
The two other leads in the Matrix are both religious references.
Trinity is the Christian conception of the godhead three-in-one. Morpheus is the Greek god of Dreams.
The Oracle is ...
- 40k
57
votes
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Are Hobbits religious?
Doubtful
Tolkien wrote in a footnote to Letter 153 that Hobbits had no practice of worship or prayer:
There are thus no temples or 'churches' or fanes in this 'world' among 'good' peoples. They had ...
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51
votes
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What does Aslan mean about being a bridge builder in our world?
To add on to what NKCampbell said, consider this from CS Lewis' Mere Christianity (emphasis mine)
An ordinary simple Christian kneels down to say his prayers. He is trying to get into touch with ...
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50
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Why did Tolkien describe religious cults in Numenor only?
Tolkien himself covers this quite bluntly in Letter 165. I will try not to say to much and let the quotes do the talking, however we will later see the details are more greatly fleshed out in the same ...
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44
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What does Aslan mean about being a bridge builder in our world?
In context, I believe the river is death.
As you correctly note, Aslan is Jesus, not an allegory for Jesus or another member of the Godhead, he's just Jesus. And unfortunately for humanity, there is ...
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44
votes
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What does it mean when Faramir says "I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood"?
It simply means "I would not do evil so that good could come of it", it's a Catholic/Thomistic principle that Tolkien, any Catholic reader would be well aware of being a principle that a ...
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42
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What religious references are there in the Matrix trilogy?
In addition to the references given in another answer, there are other references to Neo as a Christ figure:
His last name is Anderson, which means "son of man" -- a name that appears in ...
Null♦
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40
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Is Kirk’s comment about “LDS” intended to be a religious joke?
The dyslexic comment indicates that he was aiming for 'LSD' and arrived at 'LDS'. No Mormons were harmed in the creation of this joke.
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40
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Old site with the religious affiliations of most science fiction writers
You're probably looking for this. It's a wayback machine (web.archive.org) link (from 2019; thanks to @Nzall), as suggested by @lucasbachmann. (The earliest working snapshot is from August 2000.)
...
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39
votes
Accepted
An average heaven where everyone has sexless golden bodies and is bored
This is Philip Jose Farmer's "A Bowl Bigger Than Earth " which was first published in If, September 1967. Your description is spot-on. (Here's a link to an online version.)
It's been ...
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34
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Why isn't the religion of R'hllor, The Lord of Light, dominant?
R'hllor is very prominent on Essos, where the religion is based. There the red priests are born and gain their station; only a few have come to Westeros. For example, Thoros is from Myr and ...
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31
votes
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Short story: member of 'atomic priesthood' reminisces
Short version: I think this story is almost certainly "Aspic's Mystery" a short story by Arsen Darnay. Originally published in Analog in 1976, it was later anthologised in "Space Mail, ...
25
votes
Looking for a Neal Stephenson passage on religion as inoculation / vaccination / prophylactic
I think the OP is conflating the passage from Cryptonomicon which @JohnRennie posted, and a passage from chapter 61 of Snow Crash between Hiro and Juanita:
"Why? Why doesn't [the cult of Asherah]...
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24
votes
Science fiction short story about teleportation and a tiny civilization
This is "Prominent Author" (1954) by Philip K. Dick.
The story itself is a precursor to THE CRACK IN SPACE (1965) in that a businessman takes the ‘jiffi-scuttler’ short-cut through space to ...
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24
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What does it mean when Faramir says "I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood"?
Just as a point of English usage, a falsehood specifically means a lie — it doesn’t usually include other kinds of trickery or deception such as ambushes or camouflage. (Wiktionary confirms this.)
So ...
- 2,200
24
votes
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An SF novel about monasteries which are isolated from the external world for 1, 10, 100 or 1000 years
This is Neal Stephenson's Anathem.
Quoting from the plot summary on Wikipedia:
Anathem is set on the fictional planet of Arbre. Thousands of years before the events in the novel, the planet's ...
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23
votes
Do the Calormenes worship any gods other than Tash?
The Calormenes regularly refer to "the gods" collectively, but Tash ("the irresistible, the inexorable") seems to be supreme. It suggests that "the gods" are comparable ...
- 143k
22
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What does it mean when Faramir says "I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood"?
It seems to me Faramir is simply denying that he would ever use the specific trick that Frodo is suggesting he might be using: that interrogators can lie to trap the person being questioned.
It's a ...
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21
votes
What religious references are there in the Matrix trilogy?
Also: The trainman is the only one being able to cross sides. He resembles the ferryman that guides the dead to the afterlife.
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20
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What does Aslan mean about being a bridge builder in our world?
Without seeking to get into a theological debate (which may be impossible) - I do think it fair to consider Lewis' background as a Protestant Christian.
There is a historical association with the Old ...
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20
votes
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Looking for an older anime floating crosses/people? Over earth
This is the end of 'The End of Evangelion' where we see the results of the "third impact". In short, crosses appear everywhere, then various other weird stuff happens and keeps happening until the ...
- 718k
19
votes
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Why is it called the Orange Catholic Bible?
Per the Dune Encylopedia, the name originally began as a joke (deriding the pomposity of those who felt that their new book was the literal be-all and end-all of religious thought, given that it ...
- 718k
18
votes
What religious references are there in the Matrix trilogy?
Further to other answers,
The Merovingian is a reference to the French royal dynasty claiming legendary descent from Merovech, the son of a human and a sea creature; in The Holy Blood and the Holy ...
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17
votes
Why isn't the religion of R'hllor, The Lord of Light, dominant?
Because the "overwhelming evidence" is a new thing.
Thoros of Myr admitted that he was effectively a fraud, pretending to power with cheap tricks like his flaming sword. When he raised Beric ...
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17
votes
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Why is the Gayatri mantra used the BSG opening theme? Are the Cylons or the Colonists Hindu?
According to the show's title composer, Bear McReary, the mantra was added at the request of Edward James Olmos.
Q ... whose idea was it to incorporate the Gayatri Mantra into the Main Title?
A: That ...
- 718k
17
votes
Is Kirk’s comment about “LDS” intended to be a religious joke?
Star Trek went out of its way to be inclusive when it was not popular to do so. By hiring cast members of many races and cultures they invited their audience to see inclusivity in the everyday running ...
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17
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Why does the protagonist of Asimov's Caves of Steel exclaim 'Jehoshaphat!' instead of 'Jesus!'?
Swearing (including most kinds of blasphemy) is almost completely absent in any of Asimov's works. This is an example of something called a minced oath, basically a way of swearing but without the ...
- 718k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible