Reader Mail: Theology of Battlestar Galactica
tagged Adam and Eve, arthritis, Bart Ehrman, Battlestar Galactica, Book of Genesis, Book of Revelation, BSG, Bungie, Cally Tyrol, Catholicism, Charlie Connor, Christianity, Cortana, Cylon, Earth, evolution, freedom of assembly, Gaius Baltar, Galen Tyrol, God, Grace, Halo, Halo 3, He That Believeth In Me, Heaven, Ionian Nebula, John Henry Newman, Kobol, Laura Roslin, Lee Adama, Leoben Conoy, Lords of Kobol, Marathon, Mark Shea, naturalistic science fiction, Protestantism, Quorum of Twelve, Religion, Ron Moore, Sons of Ares, Starbuck, T. S. Eliot, Theology, Thirteenth Tribe, Tory Foster, WGA and William Adama
James McGrath writes in to provide some alternative commentary on the issue of Battlestar Galactica’s Theology, which I discussed in this article.
I thought I’d draw attention to some of the posts on my blog about BSG and theology (I’m a religion professor who is also a fan), such as :
http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2008/05/gospel- according-to-gaius.html
http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2008/04/bartlestar- theodica.html
I’d welcome your comments!
While I could say more for Professor McGrath’s opinions regarding Bart Ehrman (my own views on the “problem” of evil and theodicy are well known; I don’t see the existence of evil and/or suffering in the world as any kind of challenge to the Christian conception of God, and regard those who use said issue(s) as an objection to Religion as being, shall we say, rather deluded themselves), some of his views on BSG and the theology of Gaius Baltar’s new religious movement (itself a derivation of the Cylon religion) are rather interesting.
For example, McGrath remarks thusly concerning the first episode of the latest, and final, season of BSG:
In the BSG Season 4 premiere, entitled “He That Believeth In Me“, a more relevant verse would seem to be “Whosoever seeks to save his life will lose it…” Gaius Baltar moves from an unwilling Messiah disgusted by the gaudy Hindu-style flashing votive lights surrounding his picture, to one who seems genuinely willing to give up his life to save another. The “one true God” has yet to be explored fully as a concept on the show, but in the mean time, interesting questions continue to be asked about how we live our lives and what matters most to us.
I observed to my wife, while we were watching the latest episode of the series to date, that Baltar seems unable to avoid some manner of beating in each and every episode he has been in this season. I’d have to go over all the episodes again (we have them on tape), but I can’t recall yet a time when Baltar has not been pistol-whipped, choked, or punched during the course of an episode since the fleet departed the Ionian Nebula
And in each and every case, Baltar’s personal sufferings have been intimately relevant to the narrative of the show. Indeed, through examples as varied as the knife attack on Baltar in the head to Galen Tyrol attempting to choke him, the series has demonstrated in almost every episode this season that the God whom Baltar is preaching effects His plan for humanity in part through human suffering.
Read the rest of this entry »
