I watch Star Trek regularly. Almost daily.

Recently, I was watching an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.

The Vulcan game kal-toh appears a number of times in Star Trek: Voyager. It is a favorite of the Vulcan senior officer Tuvok.

In the beginning, a game of kal-toh is a jumbled pile of metal in hopeless disarray and chaos.

Kal-toh uses logic (and logic alone) to bring order out of chaos!

The goal is to use logic to move one piece at a time until the chaotic magnetic pieces re-configure into an orderly structure.

According to an article by Jordan Hoffman posted on the site www.startrek.com on August 23, 2023, if you win, the resulting geometric structure is “in the shape of an icosidodecahedron, which has 20 triangular faces and 12 pentagonal faces.”

Confession. I have never solved a Rubik’s Cube. So I’ll definitely avoid playing Kal-toh!!!

No wonder Tuvok belittled a description of kal-toh as “Vulcan chess”. Tuvok retorted: “Kal-toh is to chess as chess is to tic-tac-toe” (episode “Alter Ego”; 56th episode of the series, 14th episode of the third season)

Kal-toh uses logic (and logic alone) to bring order out of chaos.

Unfortunately, many people limit the application of Genesis Chapter One to God’s use of logic (and logic alone) to create the universe. They point to the incredible complexity of life and to the fact that physical quantities and forces are fine-tuned to enable life and our universe to exist.

These are signs of Intelligent Design. But not necessarily of Good Design!

God isn’t using logic (and logic alone) to overcome chaos. He uses his Spirit! (Genesis 1:2). He uses his Wisdom. His Word.

And God’s purpose isn’t to make everything logical! God’s goal is to make everything good! (Genesis 1:31).

What makes something (or someone) good?

Genesis Chapter One sets forth guidelines for discerning goodness.

Be creative. Bring forth many diverse forms of life. Bring forth people who think and act in the image of God. (Genesis 1:1,11-12,21-22,24-25). (Note that Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination is the Vulcan philosophy of IDIC.)

In addition to what we can infer about the meaning of “good” from Genesis Chapter One itself, I like to meditate upon what God revealed to Moses in Exodus Chapters 33 and 34.

These passages from Exodus took place after the Israelites had broken their covenant with God by building a gold calf. Moses asked God to forgive the Israelites (Exodus 32:7-14).

Moses said to the LORD God, “‘Now show me your glory.’ And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass before you.” (Exodus 33:19).

It’s important to stress that the LORD didn’t cause all his logic to pass before Moses. Instead, the LORD caused all his glory—all his goodness—to pass before Moses.

The glory of God is not how logical he is. The glory of God is how good he is. (Isaiah 55:8-9).

God doesn’t move in history logically—moving each event to bring order eventually. He moves in history compassionately—moving each event to bring goodness eventually (Romans 8:28).

This glory and goodness of the LORD is described by God himself in Exodus 34.

The Presence of the LORD God “passed in front of Moses, proclaiming ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness , maintaining love to thousands [of generations], and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5-7).

Therefore, goodness means being compassionate and gracious. Goodness means being slow to anger. Goodness means abounding in love and faithfulness. Goodness means maintaining love to thousands of generations. Goodness means forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

Note, however, that goodness does NOT mean refusing to punish people, nations, civilizations and universes for wrongdoing. Instead, goodness means limiting the bad consequences of bad choices by people, nations, civilizations, and universes as much as feasible (punishing for 3 or 4 generations, e.g. Germany after the Nazis, compared to maintaining love for thousands of generations, e.g. compassionately and graciously showing love and faithfulness to Jews and Christians).

Logic can help us to discern goodness. (Matthew 4:1-10; Matthew 12:1-14). But logic does not create goodness. (Matthew 12:15-21; Matthew 16:13-17).

To win God’s game of kal-toh, we use goodness rather than logic. The image of God’s goodness guides us to establish people, nations, civilizations, and universes that are good—that are very good!

The test of goodness is not whether the person, nation, civilization and universe is a perfect, logical geometric design of “triangular faces” and “pentagonal faces”.

The test of goodness is whether a person, nation, civilization or universe is full of compassion, abounding in love and faithfulness. Maintaining love for a long time. Slow to anger. Quick to forgive. Limiting the bad consequences of bad choices as much as feasible.

The test of wisdom is to use logic to discern goodness. (Proverbs 1:7; Acts 15:1-32).

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What is the difference between being good and being logical?

What is the difference between being logical and being wise?

What are the implications of Isaiah 55:8-9: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’”

What is the difference between being wise and being logical?

Is it accurate to say that wisdom is the use of logic to discern goodness? How? Why?

What are the implications of Proverbs 8:22-23: “The LORD brought [wisdom] forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; [wisdom] was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be.”

What are the implications of John 1:1-5,9?

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For related ideas, please read my blogs “What Makes a Hero Good”, “Listening to the Heart of God”, “St. Francis of Assisi Made the Way of Jesus Great Again”; “Nationalism is Patriotism Gone Astray”, and “The Labyrinth of Light”.