fine-tuning

 Isn't it better if it's all a fluke?

I find myself asking this question regularly. I'm fairly confident in where I'm at with faith and, you know, the nature of the cosmos... But there's that insistent question mark right?

In the subculture in which I grew up, there is this idea that the ways in which Earth is so finely-tuned to promote life that it must mean there is a God. This is presumably a personal God deeply invested in not only the fate of humanity in general but the fate of each human specifically--invested in such a way that this God sent his Son to Earth to be one of these humans as part of the plan to redeem and recapture the created order.

This is the nugget at the center of the Christian worldview. This worldview has been enacted in many different ways across time and space, but the God's involvement in the world in some direct way is important to it. And the supposed "fine-tuning" mentioned above is often taken as a proof of it.

Whatever one thinks about the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, as far as we know, we're it. To me, that exclusivity and apparent serendipity of circumstances that allows life on Earth doesn't scream intention but the opposite. If it's such a small chance that just the right settings would be turned on to allow for such life, then yeah it's probably random. It's definitely not evidence for the Christian story, which is just one of the many stories humans have used to explain consciousness. 

Isn't that way more comforting anyway? There's so much less pressure there. Maybe I'm just speaking out of my own Evangelical neurosis, but if there's no grand plan, then I don't have to freak out trying to find my place in it. This whole existence deal may be a fluke, but that's okay. I'm here. You're here. We'll continue to make our own meaning together.

My New Year's Resolution

My only "resolution" for the new year is to read less. Yes, I said less.

This year I set out to read 200 books. I'll end up somewhere between 185-190, I think. While I would have loved to hit 200, my goal for 2021 (that's still happening, right? We aren't going to remain in some sort of 2020-Hell time loop, right? RIGHT???!?) is to read less not more.

By read less I mean more meaningfully. I always want to engage more with what I read, but it's typically easier to just jump into the next thing. I usually have an audiobook or two (not simultaneously, before you ask) going alongside an ebook and a physical book that I'm picking at when I get a chance. 

My 2021 TBR is already at about 50 or so, and I'm working at not letting it balloon much more than that. I will be sharing more about what's actually on said TBR, but for now here's to doing better with less! *presses play on audiobook*

This Week in Fandom: Mistborn, Time Travel, and the Magic of That Screen Crawl

Welcome to the first weekly installment of "This Week in Fandom," in which I'll briefly explore what I'm currently into and hopefully synthesize my divergent interests into some sort of coherent life. This Week in Fandom is somewhat modeled after Sanderson's yearly "State of the Sanderson," in which he outlines his year and the progress he's made in various projects. However, instead of outlining my own accomplishments, I intend to outline the ways in which I'm enjoying the accomplishments of others.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson.

The second book in the original Mistborn trilogy picks up about a year after The Final Empire. Last week [link] I started a series on how belief plays out in this series. So on this, my third time through, I'm digging in and exploring the ideas that have captured my attention on previous reads. This reread is also the start of another pass through the whole Cosmere for me, since we officially have a Stormlight 4 release date. More on what's going on with Vin and Sazed later as I have a few more Mistborn and belief posts in the works.

The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

I just cracked into this one, but I'm pretty excited. I read Newitz's debut novel, Autonomous, last year, and it was great. I veer toward more fantasy than sci-fi, but the approach of Autonomous left me ready to open myself up to the genre. In her first novel, the ramifications of A.I. and bioethics drove the plot forward, so it will be great to see how Newitz takes on geological time travel.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Vol. 6: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon written by Si Spurrier
Doctor Aphra is yet another Star Wars IP that is a dividing line between fans. Aphra is an archaeologist who plays by her own rules and lives by a "play or be played" philosophy. Her early adventures kept her perilously close to Vader, but these last few books have gone deeper into her back story and her absolute brokenness. Aphra is an absolute mess, but we just can't look away. Sadly, I believe that Aphra is wrapping up with one final book, but I have found her to be a consistently great addition to the SW universe.

See my review of the latest Aphra book here.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Speaking of Star Wars, I was able to catch the final entry of the Skywalker saga again this past weekend. There is so much to say about this film, it's place in its trilogy, and it's place in the SW universe, but for now I'll settle for just how great it was. I loved this movie. No spoilers here, but Kyle Ren's *moment* atop the Death Star just wrecked me the first time I saw it. I am so satisfied with this film and remain so glad at the Star Wars revival. It's not that there weren't aspects of Rise of Skywalker that I didn't appreciate, but the Star Wars opening screen crawl just has a certain power. It's magic draws me in and ensures that I am about to generally enjoy whatever happens next. That is my bias that I don't care to hide at all.

Other Various Media

I don't think I've binge-watched a show since before my two-year-old was born, but I believe that I'm binge-watching The Good Place. I had heard this show was good, but I can now confirm that it is really good. The show pushes the "sitcom" boundaries and manages to ask deep ethical and metaphysical questions while staying in the comedy lane. Considering the other shows that creator Mike Schur has worked on (The Office, Parks and Recreation), it's unsurprising what absolute gold this show is.

Currently on the back burner is The Silmarillion. I've been intending to take the plunge into Tolkien's Legendarium since I read The Lord of the Rings as a kid, but have never been able to make it work for me. In order to shake things up, I checked out the thirteen (!) disc audio from my local library an have been listening off and on in the car. To be completely honest, I'm four discs in and can only vaguely describe what I have heard so far. That being said, the audio version is having it's intended effect. The narrator, Martin Shaw, engages the material in a way that is enchanting and enticing. While it's been a joy discovering the complexity and depth of Tolkien's world, I think I have been most captured by the sense of beauty that he attempts to convey. The Silmarillion is rife with wonder.

--

I'll sign off with a selection from The Well of Ascension. I have always loved Elend's journey in this book. Elend finds himself as king of the central dominance. Though he believes in the government that he helped create, he does not believe in himself as king. It takes the catalytic tough-love of Tindwyl the Terriswoman, a specialist in the lives of the great leaders of the past, to get him there. From one of their tutoring sessions:

"Is that all it is, then?" Elend asked. "Expressions and costumes? Is that what makes a king?"

"Of course not." 

Elend stopped by the door, turning back. "Then, what does? What do you think makes a man a good king, Tindwyl of Terris?"

"Trust," Tindwyl said, looking him in the eyes. "A good king is one who is trusted by his people--and one who deserves that trust."

The Well of Ascension, 186 

Belief in Mistborn, Part 2: "I believe them all"

*This post contains mega spoilers for the original Mistborn trilogy and the "Era 2" Mistborn novels*

"...You said their prayer--is this the religion that you believe in, then?"
"I believe in them all."
Vin frowned. "None of them contradict each other?"
Sazed smiled. "Oh, often and frequently they do. But, I respect the truths behind them all--and I believe in the need for each one to be remembered." 

This brief exchange between Vin and Sazed in The Final Empire encapsulates the cosmere-ic take on religion. Sazed holds to the importance and even the truth of all beliefs, and these beliefs are deeply important because they are central to what it means to be human. I wrote recently on the Kelsier story as a counter narrative to the Christ story. Kelsier is shown as the flawed savior perhaps too in touch with his humanity. In a way Kelsier was driven by the same spirit as Sazed, seeing the deep importance of faith itself in the lives of story-telling beings.

There is really a sort of humanism at play here. In the Cosmere, one can truly value various beliefs because no religion can play a trump card against the others, since all of them are important because of how they both feed and manifest the human spirit. It is the affirmation of some beauty, goodness, and truth out there without affirming one specific source of beauty, goodness, and truth. This sort of plurality scares people. It's scary to think that the source of truth for my specific group might not be *the* source of truth.

Yet part of what drives Sazed in his devotion to all religions is the fundamental lack of the Terris people--that they do not remember their own religion.There is a pleasure in enjoying other religions that heals even as it provokes the existential pain of the Terris people. But on Sazed's journey toward truth and the faith of his people, he makes perhaps shocking discoveries about the nature of the divinity.

The great move in the Mistborn series is that Sazed, Luthadel's resident expert in the divine, essentially becomes God. When Sazed picks up the power of Ruin and Preservation, he becomes Harmony, at once becoming a god but also realizing that he is only a piece of Divinity. In the Cosmere, there once was a God, Adonalsium, who was at one point shattered, it's power taken up by sixteen individuals. As a lover of belief and the search for the divine--of the truly human--Sazed is uniquely suited to take on this power and uncover the deeper secrets of the universe.

Sazed discovers an impotence in divinity. In Mistborn Era 2, Wax, maintains a trust in Harmony as "God," until Harmony royally effs up his life. Though I would say in some ways Sanderson prepared readers for this with Kelsier, the flawed savior. In the Cosmere, there is power that people can access, and there are new heights of awareness which people can reach. These powers are understandably associated with the Divine, but it is becoming clearer that the "gods" are fighting their own battles and often playing the same games as humanity. What this means for the "God beyond" or the source of ultimate reality is unclear.

Review: new Star Wars comics

Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Allegiance by Ethan Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun tie-in to The Rise of Skywalker.

On a mission to secure weapons for the Resistance, Finn and Poe are entangled with the new favorite bounty hunter crew that appear all over the new Star Wars canon.

Leia, Rey, Rose, Chewie, and C-3PO secure so me ships and support from Mon Cala at the cost of betrayal and First Order presence on the amphibious planet.

Allegiance works at a tie-in by setting the stage for Episode IX and having some fun fan nods without being too essential.

View all my reviews

Star Wars: Age of Resistance - Villains by Tom Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The "Age of...." run has featured new scenes of some of our Star Wars loves and love-to-hates. The stories and follow-up essays therein usually work to connect the main arc of each character in the films with other pieces of Star Wars lore from new novels or other comics.

The Age of Resistance - Villains book features stories about Phasma, Hux, Smoke, and Kylo Ren. No, we don't get the Snoke origin story that we were all hoping for, bit we get to see some Snoke-Kylo training. Meanwhile Hux and Ren both continue to deal with their pasts in super unhealthy, world-destroying ways. Phasma continues to not give a damn.

Not essential Star Wars reading by any means, this book builds on First Order lore in a nice way and helps wrap up the "Age of..." series.

View all my reviews

Review: Doctor Aphra Vol. 6

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Vol. 6: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon by Simon Spurrier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To play or be played?

In the sixth Doctor Aphra book, Chelli does what she does best and plays those who are out to play her. Si Spurrier delivers another satisfying end to an Aphra arc, as our titular misanthrope gets the best of the Imperial P.R. lady and further cements herself to the Empire by saving Palpy's life. 

Readers are also given more of Aphra's unsurprisingly tragic backstory. 

Looking forward to (one?) more Aphra book with Vader back in the picture. And it remains to be seen how Aphra will drastically destroy her relationship with Vulaada. 

Much thanks to Gillen and Spurrier for giving me a Star Wars character that I remain hopelessly in love with.

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Belief in Mistborn, Part 1: The Skaa Messiah

*(This post contains spoilers for "Mistborn: The Final Empire," "The Well of Ascension," and "Mistborn: Secret History." There are some fairly non-spoilery references to the second era of Mistborn novels.)

I'm currently reading Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series for the third time. I think I read the first book when it was just called "Mistborn." In the series, as in Brandon's other books, belief and religion are consistent themes. Though faith does not have as central a role in Mistborn as it does in Elantris or Warbreaker, the importance of belief and the power of religion in people's lives are driving questions for one of the protagonists, Kelsier. Those questions then set the course for future events--both in the immediate and centuries later--following Kelsier's death.

In "The Final Empire," Kelsier is deeply interested in the staying power of religion, especially those that lasted a few centuries into the Lord Ruler's reign. If the Lord Rules was brutally persecuting all religious sects, what made some hold on longer than others? Kelsier learns about speaking truth to power and the ways that beliefs rooted in hope in an alternate world give people real power. He comes to know how a single religious-martyr figure can awaken people into a new state of being and call them to action to fight for the alternate reality that they have only dreamed of before. Ultimately, Kelsier gives his own life for the cause. He becomes the sacrificial death that ignites revolution.

For a while now I have read the Kelsier story in "The Final Empire" as a take on the story of early Christianity. I'm pretty sure that is not the case at all, at least in the mind of Sanderson, but what can I say except that I spent three-and-a-half years at seminary. Stuff happens.

The take is that the messianic figure is not necessarily divine nor even a sinless human but is actually benevolent and seeks the healing of humanity by instituting righteousness and justice for the poor and the oppressed. Sounds like your standard progressive Christian take on the Christ story, yeah?

I think the rub of this take is that Kelsier isn't simply imperfect. He's deeply flawed. He's rightly concerned with justice for the skaa, but he's a little...murdery. Also, as Vin so helpfully calls out, Kelsier basically is a nobleman. I.e., unlike Jesus of the Christian gospels, Kelsier does not seek to save the poor by identifying with them.

Also Kelsier's arms are covered in scars from his time of punishment at the Pits of Hathsin. This experience is the catalyst that leads him from a life of self-centered thievery to other-centered thievery and revolution. Early Christians read this old verse from the prophet Isaiah as being about their savior: "The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5b, NRSV). Yet Kelsier earned these scars through actual lawlessness, rather than righteous resistance to unjust laws.

While that contrast between the two figures used to close the door on the Mistborn-Gospels discourse (yes, I just said that), it currently really, really excites me. Because while Jesus of the Bible is many things--compassionate, righteous, steadfast--he doesn't really have a personality. Like sure God took on flesh in the Incarnation, but he wasn't flawed, at least according to traditional theology. The idea of a flawed savior is frightening yet terribly attractive. I think it also testifies to how the lives of ordinary people can take on a much greater significance for those looking for something to believe in.

The other aspect of the story that makes "The Final Empire" feel like a take on early Christianity is "Kelsier's" appearances to his followers. Though this is not Kelsier but the kandra, OreSeur, who has consumed his body (though for a dead man, Kelsier clings on tightly to life albeit in the cognitive realm.) Belief in his redemptive death takes off because some people see him after he is dead. Kelsier's apparent death at the hands of the Lord Ruler takes on meaning and is imbued with new power when his new followers see him after the fact. In some way, he lives! Likewise early Christianity, after Jesus' tragic death, tells stories of a few select appearances to his closest followers. On the one hand, we're supposed to trust the story because of these eye witness accounts. On the other hand, it seems important to the story that Jesus didn't go on a public speaking "Resurrection Tour" around the ancient world. Part of the deal is that only a few people knew about it.

Kelsier is the flawed skaa Messiah, born of the noble and the poor, whose story of love, loss, and friendship just might have something to say to the classic Savior story.