I think that Destiny and Revelation have common denominators. Not only do both posses a massive feeling of “otherness” or “beyondness” to them, but I think the two are both often inconvenient; neither, as Optimus Prime said, “calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.” Rather, they present themselves in the midst of moments wherein nothing can be done about them “right then” and, as such, things must wait and risk the moment fading away. Recently, I had a moment like this and only now record it, willing it to stay within the foreground of my memory.
When considering a instance of destiny in modern American culture, few are more poignant in my mind than the tale of John Connor in the Terminator films. The story of a young boy possessing the knowledge of not only what he will become, but what must happen to the world in order for him to become it; always racing against time to prevent it and stave off disaster. It is within this story that a recent revelation arose. In the first Terminator film, the T-101 cyborg is sent back in time to the year 1984 by Skynet, a self- aware artificial intelligence system bent on the destruction of humanity. The programmed mission a simple one: kill Sarah Connor, the mother of John Connor. John was to grow up and save humanity by leading the human resistance in defeating Skynet in the future. The Terminator pursues this mission relentlessly, with a detached ruthlessness beyond human capacity. The T-101 nearly succeeds, but for the valiant efforts of John’s father, Kyle Reese, a solider from the future sent back to protect Sarah.
In 1991, Terminator 2 released and changed the Terminator mythos, forever. The year is 1995. Sarah Connor has been committed to a facility for the mentally unstable and 10 year old John Conner is living with foster parents. Once again, Skynet has sent a Terminator back in time to kill the Connor family, and the resistance has sent a new protector as well: a Terminator; encountered, reprogrammed, and re-purposed by John Conner to protect him and his mother.
J.R.R. Tolkien is often credited with the idea that any Myth is ultimately reflecting the truth of Christianity. While the Terminator franchise is certainly myth, I find that it actually supports Tolkien’s idea and reflects the story of a central character in the New Testament: The Apostle Paul. When Saul/Paul is first mentioned in Acts 7, at the stoning of Stephen, he is approving of those taking part in the actions against Stephen. Just a chapter or so later, he is actively pursuing violence against the newborn Christian church, seen as a threat to Jewish religious thought. As recorded in Acts 9, Saul is en-route to Damascus, the Capital City of Syria, to quell the fledgling church there when he has an encounter with Jesus Christ and the path of his life is altered and Saul, now named Paul, is repurposed to work on behalf of the growing church he dedicated his entire life to decimating before his conversion. Ultimately, the fate of the Terminator and the Apostle are the same – a life with new purpose and death while in the service of the one who gave them new purpose.
And as an an interesting aside, John Conner possesses the same initials as Jesus Christ and in both cases, powerful forces attempted to kill them as children, before either could fulfil their destinies – fictional or actual.
The Adventures of Aaron and the FENX 4.x 