Interstellar’s scientific pretensions capture the religious spirit of our times. What should we make of all the talk of the incompatibility of science and religion? Nothing: Longing for future glory is alive and well among the scientifically literate. Some of their own apparently comprise the most fervent devotees of future hope, displaying the same desire for human transcendence as the ancients but clothing it in modern science. Interstellar is worth reflecting on, not for any dubious relation it may bear to our future, but because of its indebtedness to the past: It is an ancient myth retold and centuries of scientific progress have diminished none of its appeal.
Without having seen this movie, I can only guess at the human pretensions assumed, but the idea of meeting God at the “fifth” dimension does not seem totally unreasonable, except why 5? Why not 6, or 10 or 26?
If I have interpreted Gödel correctly, I think his idea was that God is what you get when you transcend ALL dimensions.
However, if there is one thing about which I am pretty clear, it is that if and when we do, it will be on His terms not ours.