Foundationism
Encyclopedia
Foundationism as presented in the science fiction television series
Babylon 5
is an Earth
religion, one of several that appeared around the time the Centauri
made first contact with the Earth Alliance
in 2156.
One of the core tenets of Foundationism is that God is too big to be defined by words and that the closer one gets to defining God, the further away it gets. A principle Foundationists have been known to compare with Zeno's paradox.
Foundationism also teaches its followers that if they are not careful, a person can (metaphorically) lose themselves in the world; by becoming more busy with things than with themselves, spending their days and nights living someone else's agendas fighting someone else's battles and doing the work they are supposed to be doing, but every day there is less and less of that person in it all. Until one day the person comes to a fork in the road and because they are distracted and not thinking, they lose themselves. They go right, and the rest of them, the really important part of you, goes left. The person will not even know they have done it until they finally realize that they do not have any idea who they are when they are not doing all those things. To deal with this crisis of self, Foundationism adopted the Australian Aborigines rite of passage known as "Walkabout
". The person having discovered they have lost themselves would leave everything and start walking and keep on walking until they (metaphorically) meet themselves. The person would then sit down and have a long talk with their "self", about everything they have learned and felt until they run out of words. The last part being vital, on the principle that the truly important things can not be said. If the person is lucky, they will look up and there is just them. Then they can go home.
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
is an Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
religion, one of several that appeared around the time the Centauri
Centauri (Babylon 5)
The Centauri are a humanoid species in the fictional universe of the Babylon 5 television series. They were the first alien species to make open contact with the human race. Their homeworld is Centauri Prime, a small Earth-like planet consisting of two large continents and several smaller islands...
made first contact with the Earth Alliance
Earth Alliance
Earth Alliance may refer to:* Earth Alliance , from the Babylon 5 TV series* Earth Alliance , from the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED anime series...
in 2156.
Beliefs and practices
The intent behind the new religion was to get back at the roots of all the Earth religions, past the doctrines to the core of each belief system to find out what they have in common and proposes that they have a lot more in common than most would have thought. It further asserts that the core message of existing religions often get lost when politics and money and nationalism get in the way of things.One of the core tenets of Foundationism is that God is too big to be defined by words and that the closer one gets to defining God, the further away it gets. A principle Foundationists have been known to compare with Zeno's paradox.
Foundationism also teaches its followers that if they are not careful, a person can (metaphorically) lose themselves in the world; by becoming more busy with things than with themselves, spending their days and nights living someone else's agendas fighting someone else's battles and doing the work they are supposed to be doing, but every day there is less and less of that person in it all. Until one day the person comes to a fork in the road and because they are distracted and not thinking, they lose themselves. They go right, and the rest of them, the really important part of you, goes left. The person will not even know they have done it until they finally realize that they do not have any idea who they are when they are not doing all those things. To deal with this crisis of self, Foundationism adopted the Australian Aborigines rite of passage known as "Walkabout
Walkabout
The walkabout is a purported Australian aboriginal ritual of manhood.Walkabout may also refer to:- Art :*Walkabout , a 1959 book written by James Vance Marshall, set in the Australian outback...
". The person having discovered they have lost themselves would leave everything and start walking and keep on walking until they (metaphorically) meet themselves. The person would then sit down and have a long talk with their "self", about everything they have learned and felt until they run out of words. The last part being vital, on the principle that the truly important things can not be said. If the person is lucky, they will look up and there is just them. Then they can go home.
Known adherents
- Stephen FranklinStephen FranklinStephen Franklin is a lead character in the fictional universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by the late Richard Biggs. He serves as the chief medical officer on the Babylon 5 space station.-Personality:...
: In 2260, following an addiction to stims and the realisation that he did not know who he was when he was not being a doctor and decided to go walkabout. The experience did not go as he expected, though he did come to the realisation that the core of his problems was his tenancy to define himself based on what he was not, rather than what he was. When asked what he was he said: "Alive. everything else is negotiable." - Andre Sabot: A former priest in the foundationist church, who went on to join the doomsday cult Sacred Omega.
- Leon Henderson: A doctor and a foundationist priest who inspired Trace Miller to study for the priesthood.
- Trace Miller: Began his association with the foundationist church by doing scutwork as a way to make ends meet, though over time, Leon Henderson made him think a lot about doing God's work and inspired him to begin studying to be a foundationist priest. That was until he and God had, in his words, a "falling out."
Behind the scenes
- J. Michael StraczynskiJ. Michael StraczynskiJoseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
has stated that he has written a document that covers the history and principles of Foundationism, but has to date been debating whether to release it or not, partly for fear of being "elronedL. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
". Either way, he has said that if it were to be released, it'd be done as a separate thing and kept apart from the show. - JMS had originally stated that Foundationism was formed around the turn of the 21st Century, though it's later mention on the show modified that to roughly coincide with Earth's first contact with alien races.
- To celebrate the halfway mark in limited edition run of Babylon 5 Scripts, Volume 7 contained a postcard on which was printed a passage of text from "The Foundation", signed "Never Surrender Dreams".