Holy Trinity-compatible pantheons

[asinus]

I have an interesting question.

If you create a new race, on a created world, how would you portray their belief system that is compatible with Christianity? I have seen this handled different ways:

1) I don't care for competing-gods polytheism as Fritz Leiber or Robert Howard.

2) Tolkien's Elves appear to have a different fall-different redemption scenario.

3) Tolkien's Men are clearly the men of our world, but exist in a pre-diluvian but post-Fall state of comparative innocence. As long as the elves are in the world, his Men appear to be happy to honor the Elvish Powers, and it appears to be lawful for them so to do.

4) Lewis, of course, used a barely-disguised Christ in his speculative fiction. Aslan and Maleldil are, for all practical purposes, Our Lord in fictive dress.

5) I think a pre-Fall race could be difficult. Lewis accomplished this in Out of the Silent Planet, but all the conflict had to come from the Earthlings.

6) Could there be a place for a post-Incarnation, post-Redemption race with unimaginable powers, with interior knowledge of sin, but willing to accept responsiblity for races still under probation?

Any other suggestions?

[Resha Caner]

Augustine's position was that there could be no other planet with life. So maybe we're rebellious to even think it.

But there are other possibilities besides the one you suggested. It could be that people somehow traveled from one planet to another - and possibly lost direct knowledge of the scriptures, but retained some of the essential principles. That's the approach I took in my book, but I never directly state it. Sometimes it is best to only hint, and leave the details to the reader's imagination.

Then, there is also the "dark recesses of Africa" approach. By that I mean that other planets can be considered the same way you consider places in the world that are difficult to reach. God does not abandon those places that haven't managed to get their hands on an NIV translation. They have the promise just like the Jews of the OT did. As long as they are faithful to that promise, God will also be faithful. So, the situation could be that this planet has a promise that they will receive the Word at some point in the future (i.e., earth will eventually find a way to reach them).

[Kristen]

My primary feeling is that in a made-up world, its "people" would need their own Emmanuel. In a world like Narnia with talking animals, god-with-us is Aslan. On other worlds, He (She?) would take a different form in order to be "with us" to whoever the "us" on that world is.

An alternative would be an apostle traveling from Earth to the other world, as Paul went to the Greeks. Since Christ's work was done on Earth, other worlds could only learn about it if He goes to them Himself or if he sends an apostle.

Lewis seems to have espoused two different theologies: In the Silent Planet trilogy, the other worlds accept Maleldil's work on Earth as applicable to all. But in Narnia, Aslan had to die and be resurrected -- hrmmm -- but only after humans showed up -- hrrm...