Vaal, Part II

For background, see Vaal, Part I.

As I think about the Star Trek episode about Vaal, most of what goes through my mind are religious polarities. Unlike Paul Tillich, however, I have a hard time synthesizing them or finding a middle ground.

In the episode, the people of Gamma Trianguli VI feed their god Vaal and get balance, peace, prosperity, and long life in return. Captain Kirk feels that this whole set-up is hindering their growth and development, so he destroys Vaal.

In the Bible, I see two views. One states that the worship of God makes things click for people. The second says that we need pain and adversity in order to grow.

The first one is in the Torah. Leviticus 26 goes into all of the blessings that come from obeying God's commandments, as well as the curses that occur on account of disobedience. If Israel obeys, she will get food and peace and prosperity and life, much like the inhabitants of Gamma Trianguli VI experienced (only the Israelites have lots of children). And you remember how the people of Gamma Trianguli VI had to feed Vaal in order to receive paradise? The Torah treats certain sacrifices as food for God (Leviticus 3:11, 16).

On the other hand, there is also a view in the Bible that adversity makes us better and stronger people. As Romans 5:3-5 states: "And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (NRSV).

So you see one view in the Bible that looks similar to the Vaalite position: we need to worship God because that's what guarantees our peace and sustenance. But you also see the Kirkian view: we need adversity because that's how we grow.