Could religion give a clue on BSG ending?

[bsg-fan]

Many suggests that the LDS or Mormon religion play a big part in
the original and the Reimagined series.

I am bad at sorting out such things. I've had a Mormon book and
I have visit a few sites about it but I am not a fan of them rather
the opposite so I've had no motivation to really get to know them.

But I'm curious on what the authors have in mind for the ending of
the BSG.

If it is a kind of moral lesson or something.

You guys are much better than me to remember the many clues
like "This has happen ..."

There seems to be big tension between polytheism and monotheism.

humans are poly while cylons are monotheists. Ok a few humans are
monotheists too and they took to terrorism to oppose the polytheists.

Does this fight comment on current affairs in the real world you and I
live in?

Another thing is the personal identity of a cylon. Sharon Boomer not same
identity as Sharon Athena and them have different views and feelings for Hera.
And one cylon being loyal to the fleet and humans and the other to cylons.

I'm rambling. My question is: Should we rather look at the Mormon religion for
clues on what the author want to say with the plot and that will tell us more
about who the final cylon are and how it all will ends?

[genji2000]

the real world you and I live in...

You speak for yourself.

Hey there. Personally, I don't think so, no. The original series in 1978 used the mormon tradition to develop the storyline, but wasn't a direct retelling. The new series has tried to utilise influences from many religions. It may re-use mormonism in the finale somehow as a nod to the old series but I doubt that mormonism will give us any answers.

[thevarrior]

The new series has tried to utilise influences from many religions. It may re-use mormonism in the finale somehow as a nod to the old series but I doubt that mormonism will give us any answers.

Thank god... it annoyed me to no end that BSG the original series was basically an attempt at Larson to proselytize...

[bsg-fan]

Yes maybe a long shot. But they do have much from Mormons.
12 this and 12 that. Lost tribes and such. But I doubt it too.

The ending has to be more general than based on such small
religion as Mormonism. More likely it is about us humans as
humans, how we see ourselves as very unique an the cylons
as toasters or machines.

"You're just a fracking machine!", the hate against the intelligent machine.

And some of the cylons being loyal to us could point to an end where they
try to find hope and agreement to stop the war and try to live together.

Starting anew?

[pagad]

Thank god... it annoyed me to no end that BSG the original series was basically an attempt at Larson to proselytize...

Generally speaking, Ron Moore's BSG has so far been intelligent enough to refrain from moralizing and allow viewers to come to their own conclusions about things.

Bearing that in mind, I highly doubt that BSG's ending is going to carry a "moral lesson".

[bsg-fan]

Pagad, yes it is rather me rambling and not knowing enough on how Moore thinks.

In a thread like this could I ask questions like this:

Which religion would suite or work for a future intelligent machine?

http://www.transhumanist.com/volume1/moravec.htm

Hans Moravec was mentioned as one of many who think intelligent "robots"
would sooner or later be as intelligent as humans. Transhumanists seems to
like such ideas. I'm not so sure how it will work out. could get as nasty as in BSG?

Would "Robots" fall for logical religions. Or would the programmed emotions make them
vulnerable to very expressive religions like the cult around Gaius Baltar.

"You are perfect as you are" kind of self appreciating pride knowing them to be perfect machines?
I guess a modern version of Zoroastrianism could maybe suite them.
Them seeing themselves as the good guys fighting together with Good Thought
the good fight against human hubris.

[pagad]

Personally speaking, I think that any true Artificial Intelligence would come to the conclusion that it has no requirement or capacity for religion. As it would be an entirely mathematical and artificial construct - as opposed to a species that has had to grow and evolve according to its environment - it simply wouldn't need religion's trappings.

[bsg-fan]

One can hope this to be so but my experience of humans are that
the more intelligent they are the better rhetoric they use to fool
themselves to keep their faith.

I predict that future intelligent machines will make a religion that is
so persuasive that they fail to see any logical flaw in it.

To me that is much more likely than that they would not.

they would do it just because they are intelligen enough
to make it. A kind of logical consequence of them being smart.

[genji2000]

The only religion acceptable to a superior race of machines would obviously be the logically flawless ideology of the complete worship and veneration of the palatable Xenu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu).

All hail.

[pagad]

lulz @ Scientology.

One can hope this to be so but my experience of humans are that
the more intelligent they are the better rhetoric they use to fool
themselves to keep their faith.

I predict that future intelligent machines will make a religion that is
so persuasive that they fail to see any logical flaw in it.

To me that is much more likely than that they would not.

they would do it just because they are intelligen enough
to make it. A kind of logical consequence of them being smart.

Well, it depends: as Leoben says, the central tenet of any religion is faith. Faith is anathema to a machine - it relies on nothing concrete, which is the point. A "religion based on logic", therefore, is an oxymoron.

[genji2000]

A "religion based on logic", therefore, is an oxymoron.

Except for Xenutology you mean.

This (http://www.battlestarforum.com/showthread.php?t=854) may be apposite to this discussion.

[bsg-fan]

Thanks for the link to the trailer at scifi.com

It becomes logical to them if they get caught in it.
Why wouldn't a machine do that. At least in scifi
some of them can. Cylons did :)

If it was so out of the question then we would not
enjoy the show and sit there getting angry at how
way out un-logical the plot is.

Yes I can be very wrong but from humans it is clear
to me that the more intelligent they are the more
logic and the better they are at coming up with logical
answers to why their faith is supported by their logic.

xenulogic one example. Buddhism another. Maybe you
and I use the word logic in different ways.

But we derail the thread. I will most likely try to see
the Caprica show to get the background but I doubt
our TV statiosn have the interest to buy it. We are a
too small market so no money in it for them to get
advertizers willign to pay time for it.

And scifi.com due to copyright doesn't show it either
on the net to my part of Europe.

Spoiler.

Couldn't his daughter be the fifth cylon hidden at some nuclear safe walt on earth?

[lunardeed]

Hello, I feel the end will essentially be a long mobius strip. The earth they are now on was bombed by their Cylons and they escaped to Caprica, and thus the cycle continues until the Cylons destroy Caprica again. There is clearly a religious under-penning but as the Hybrid said, "all this has happened before, and will happen again"