Religion continues to play a big part in the basis of the stories. Many of the mythological gods, usually Egyptian or Norse, are real but are aliens with highly advanced technology rather than actual deities. The series stays away from grouping Christianity in with these ancient religions, but this season does have an episode with a society that resembles medieval Catholicism.

The Goa’uld master here is posing as Satan (the team initially thinks he may be posing as Yahweh) while the human spiritual leader manipulates religion for his personal gain. It shows the ability of corrupt religious leaders to manipulate Christian scripture to accomplish evil goals. This is something we have to be wary of in real life. The Bible warns about false prophets and antichrist. Just because a man spouts scripture doesn't mean he's from God.

One item of note here is O'Neill's reaction to the possibility that this Goa'uld could be impersonating God. To pose as a mythological deity is no big deal but to pose as God with a capital “G” is “a bit of a stretch” which speaks to the level of power attributed to the Christian deity in comparison to other gods. Further into the season Sokar will return and even show us a Goa'uld rendition of Hell.

The introduction of the ascended Ancients suggests that there is more than this physical realm though it isn't quite the same as an explanation for what happens to the soul when we die. They appear to have true power as opposed to advanced technology and are more god-like than the Goa'uld. I'll explore this concept more in future reviews since saying too much here would give away things you might not want to know about the story just yet.

One episode deals with the concept of a race having practices that we as humans find abhorrent. They are a kind and generous group of people who do not consider their way of life a negative at all. In fact, they think it an honorable way to survive and grow. SG1 has to decide if they have the right or the obligation to interfere with the free-will practices of a sovereign group. The depth of these kinds of dilemmas is exactly why I enjoy the series as much as I do.

The full nature of the real-life application of this concept would take an entire essay to discuss. As Christians we wouldn't want an atheistic society to impose it's desire to have God removed from public life. There are those who advocate for making religious instruction tantamount to child abuse because of the tenants of Hell and damnation, sin and judgment. At the same time we as Christians have faith that we are tapped into the truth of the universe and believe in the scriptures when they tell us that the truth will set us free. We want to share that truth with others and get frustrated when those we care about turn themselves against what we know to be true.

Do the atheistic advocates have any right to demand we not teach our beliefs to our children because they don't agree with us? And even if we are right in whatever we believe do we have the right to force someone to make the same claim as a part of some kind of crusade? What kind of faith do you truly have if you make a statement of belief at the business end of a weapon? When you believe something so strongly that the well-being of another innocent person or the eternal ramifications of a decision appears to be at stake then emotions over the matter can run deep. As a Christian just remember that salvation comes through belief in the heart as well as confession with the mouth. You might be able to force a confession but not a heart-felt belief. However, if you can reach the heart then confession will almost certainly follow.

Another episode deals with a religion that claims gate travel does not exist as one of their tenants of faith. That can't hold true if SG1 is around to tell the story of how they came through the gate so the religious leaders resort to hiding the truth by any means necessary. These religious types aren't necessarily Christian, but I think they do provide a suitable warning for us. If we think that we have everything figured out to the point at which we would rather bury proof of something that contradicts us rather than seek out truth then are we really seeking out truth at all?

That can go the other way as well. There are those who run from the possibility of God even when they see evidence that could point towards him. Yet they will purport to search for truth through science or “free thinking” or whathaveyou. There's a difference between having faith and sticking your fingers in your ears yelling “LALALALALALA!”