Mixing religion in fiction makes me deeply nervous. Fictional universes are generally created without an active deity of any sort -- people may mention God, but He doesn't actually ever do anything and it's up to people/characters to save the day, etc. I can understand why; they don't want to get dragged into theological arguments. Not to mention avoiding the deus ex machina problem. But when it's established that way and then a particular fic says, in essence, "but what if God really does exist?" then that's a big leap and is so easy to get wrong.
I may be overly sensitive on the topic. My husband likes it when a show treats Christianity (and religion in general) with respect -- like when Babylon 5 has priests or preachers as supporting characters. True, they're portrayed as very decent, hard-working, good-willed people... but they don't display any spiritual power. JMS is an atheist, so I guess I'm happy that he's treating the matter with respect, but still... it's like a pale imitation of the real thing. "Hey, those religious types are really nice people, and if they want to believe in that hocus-pocus, I'm cool with that, but come on, it's not, like, *true* or anything."
And then there's the first Superman movie. Hubby likes to point out what he sees as parallels to Jesus -- Jor-El so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son to save it, etc. -- but that just makes me grind my teeth and act real hostile.
PJ
