God loves nerds. I should know because I am one. Even Jesus talked about us in the greatest sermon ever preached: "The geek shall inherit the earth." Well, maybe that's not quite what he said in Matthew 5, but it isn't any less true.
There's a misconception that God and popular culture don't intersect, and that only Christian programs, Christian books and Christian music speak truth about who he is and who we are in relation. However, I know for a fact that God was communicating to his children long before The Fish, Lifeway and Focus on the Family ever existed (hiya Biblical record!) and that he still reveals himself to us through a variety of media. In fact, I find it most poignant and powerful to discover Biblical truths in secular places because it makes those truths all the more absolute. Case in point: Doctor Who. (Aside: If you aren't familiar with the greatest thing the Brits have ever shared with the world...what are you doing here?! Stop reading, go on Netflix and watch an episode called Blink! Right now!)
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the beauty of the human spirit when I admitted that, until recently, I had been a die-hard cynic of humanity. What with the moral degradation of modern society, I had come to view people's potential for goodness in a highly skeptical light. However, in watching my favorite TV show of all time and space, I have gained a new perspective on the human race as something that can be beautiful and is worth fighting for. The Doctor's love for humanity and his indomitable efforts to save it time and time again without thanks or recognition reminded me a little of God's own love for us.
Doctor Who is not only an entertaining sci fi show, but it's also chock full of amazing, positive insights that align terrifically with scripture. I was first alerted to this reality when another friend of mine wrote a beautiful blog post on the spiritual significance of the Doctor's words to Amy Pond in "Flesh and Stone" about walking "like you can see." (Go read it! It gave me shivers.) Indeed, one of the reasons I adore DW is for its endless capacity to make me think about the world and my place in it. Everything from the importance of optimism, to the question of what it means to be human - when I watch the Doctor and his companions go on adventures, more than just my imagination gets an exercise. And that is what this blog is for: a medium to share the deep significance and applicability of the show's themes, ideas, quotes, characters and, of course, silliness.
I am a Whovian; I am utterly obsessed with the show and don't have any shame in admitting it. I don't suffer from an unmanageable addiction, though - I enjoy every moment of it. I am also a devoted follower of Christ who is about to start seminary in two weeks to pursue a Master's in Biblical Counseling. I love having deep, theological conversations with friends and learning more about the person (as opposed to the concept) of Jesus. So, naturally, I combined my two greatest loves in all the universe and came up with God & Doctor Who! And you have no idea how excited the idea of this blog makes me. I get to ramble on about religion and sci fi?! Is such epic awesomeness even legal?! I DON'T CARE! Geronimo!
Before I dive into the rest of the blog, there are a few things you need to know.
1. Just because I'm a seminarian doesn't mean I know everything. In fact, I know plenty of Christians (and probably some non-Christians) who are better versed in classical theology and philosophy than I am. Everything I say on this blog I will back up with scripture, but in the end, it's my own insight, analysis and opinion. It's up to you to decide what to make of it.
2. I'm a non-denominational Christian who spent the last four years attending a pretty relaxed Southern Baptist church in Nashville, TN. Take that as you will.
3. For the sake of aesthetics and simplicity, I am not going to capitalize personal pronouns like "he" and "his" when referring to God. It would clutter up the page and maybe turn some people off from reading because the language looks too "churchy." This is a blog about Biblical insights from a TV show. It's going to be casual.
4. I haven't seen much of Classic Who, so this blog will be pretty strictly about the series since 2005. Please don't go all hipster on me and tell me how an episode of Patrick Troughton's is a better example of the point I'm trying to make, or complain that Tom Baker was sooo much better than Eccleston/Tennant/Smith. Thanks.
Now for the fun, nerdy stuff:
5. Who is your favorite Doctor?
Ten! He's my Doctor because of his depth of emotions, his gleeful awe and wonder for everything, his humor, his sass and his storyline. He is NOT my favorite because he's the most attractive. Don't impugn my love for Ten with accusations of fangirl obsession.
That being said, I am a David Tennant fangirl. I started becoming one after I watched his interpretation of Hamlet (I'm a huge Shakespeare nerd, too), but I joined the bandwagon after I learned that he's not only an exemplary actor, but also a pretty fabulous human being. He's my favorite British actor, deal with it.
6. Favorite companion?
That's fairly impossible to answer, as I love them all pretty equally. If you put a gun to my head (the Doctor would be ashamed of you) and forced me to pick one, I would flip a coin between Donna and Amy.
7. Least favorite companion?
Mickey. As Chameleon Circuit so aptly put it in Journey's End: "Didn't mention Mickey 'cause he's really not much use." Rose could have done so much better...Oh, wait. She did. :-)
8. Favorite episode?
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. It has everything. The Waters of Mars and The Doctor's Wife run a close second, though.
9. Favorite alien or monster?
The Midnight Entity. There's nothing scarier than an enemy you can't see, can't fight and can't even identify.
10. Favorite DW quote?
"What's good about sad?" "It's happy for deep people." -- Blink.
11. Best catchphrase?
"Allons-y!" Though, I quite enjoy "Fezzes are cool." Gotta love Eleven.
Until next time! May the bow-ties, Converse and bananas be with you.
Katya
There's a misconception that God and popular culture don't intersect, and that only Christian programs, Christian books and Christian music speak truth about who he is and who we are in relation. However, I know for a fact that God was communicating to his children long before The Fish, Lifeway and Focus on the Family ever existed (hiya Biblical record!) and that he still reveals himself to us through a variety of media. In fact, I find it most poignant and powerful to discover Biblical truths in secular places because it makes those truths all the more absolute. Case in point: Doctor Who. (Aside: If you aren't familiar with the greatest thing the Brits have ever shared with the world...what are you doing here?! Stop reading, go on Netflix and watch an episode called Blink! Right now!)
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the beauty of the human spirit when I admitted that, until recently, I had been a die-hard cynic of humanity. What with the moral degradation of modern society, I had come to view people's potential for goodness in a highly skeptical light. However, in watching my favorite TV show of all time and space, I have gained a new perspective on the human race as something that can be beautiful and is worth fighting for. The Doctor's love for humanity and his indomitable efforts to save it time and time again without thanks or recognition reminded me a little of God's own love for us.
Doctor Who is not only an entertaining sci fi show, but it's also chock full of amazing, positive insights that align terrifically with scripture. I was first alerted to this reality when another friend of mine wrote a beautiful blog post on the spiritual significance of the Doctor's words to Amy Pond in "Flesh and Stone" about walking "like you can see." (Go read it! It gave me shivers.) Indeed, one of the reasons I adore DW is for its endless capacity to make me think about the world and my place in it. Everything from the importance of optimism, to the question of what it means to be human - when I watch the Doctor and his companions go on adventures, more than just my imagination gets an exercise. And that is what this blog is for: a medium to share the deep significance and applicability of the show's themes, ideas, quotes, characters and, of course, silliness.
I am a Whovian; I am utterly obsessed with the show and don't have any shame in admitting it. I don't suffer from an unmanageable addiction, though - I enjoy every moment of it. I am also a devoted follower of Christ who is about to start seminary in two weeks to pursue a Master's in Biblical Counseling. I love having deep, theological conversations with friends and learning more about the person (as opposed to the concept) of Jesus. So, naturally, I combined my two greatest loves in all the universe and came up with God & Doctor Who! And you have no idea how excited the idea of this blog makes me. I get to ramble on about religion and sci fi?! Is such epic awesomeness even legal?! I DON'T CARE! Geronimo!
Before I dive into the rest of the blog, there are a few things you need to know.
1. Just because I'm a seminarian doesn't mean I know everything. In fact, I know plenty of Christians (and probably some non-Christians) who are better versed in classical theology and philosophy than I am. Everything I say on this blog I will back up with scripture, but in the end, it's my own insight, analysis and opinion. It's up to you to decide what to make of it.
2. I'm a non-denominational Christian who spent the last four years attending a pretty relaxed Southern Baptist church in Nashville, TN. Take that as you will.
3. For the sake of aesthetics and simplicity, I am not going to capitalize personal pronouns like "he" and "his" when referring to God. It would clutter up the page and maybe turn some people off from reading because the language looks too "churchy." This is a blog about Biblical insights from a TV show. It's going to be casual.
4. I haven't seen much of Classic Who, so this blog will be pretty strictly about the series since 2005. Please don't go all hipster on me and tell me how an episode of Patrick Troughton's is a better example of the point I'm trying to make, or complain that Tom Baker was sooo much better than Eccleston/Tennant/Smith. Thanks.
Now for the fun, nerdy stuff:
5. Who is your favorite Doctor?
Ten! He's my Doctor because of his depth of emotions, his gleeful awe and wonder for everything, his humor, his sass and his storyline. He is NOT my favorite because he's the most attractive. Don't impugn my love for Ten with accusations of fangirl obsession.
That being said, I am a David Tennant fangirl. I started becoming one after I watched his interpretation of Hamlet (I'm a huge Shakespeare nerd, too), but I joined the bandwagon after I learned that he's not only an exemplary actor, but also a pretty fabulous human being. He's my favorite British actor, deal with it.
6. Favorite companion?
That's fairly impossible to answer, as I love them all pretty equally. If you put a gun to my head (the Doctor would be ashamed of you) and forced me to pick one, I would flip a coin between Donna and Amy.
7. Least favorite companion?
Mickey. As Chameleon Circuit so aptly put it in Journey's End: "Didn't mention Mickey 'cause he's really not much use." Rose could have done so much better...Oh, wait. She did. :-)
8. Favorite episode?
Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead. It has everything. The Waters of Mars and The Doctor's Wife run a close second, though.
9. Favorite alien or monster?
The Midnight Entity. There's nothing scarier than an enemy you can't see, can't fight and can't even identify.
10. Favorite DW quote?
"What's good about sad?" "It's happy for deep people." -- Blink.
11. Best catchphrase?
"Allons-y!" Though, I quite enjoy "Fezzes are cool." Gotta love Eleven.
Until next time! May the bow-ties, Converse and bananas be with you.
Katya
I left a comment on a random post of yours earlier—I don't usually leave comments so I don't have an account, and my comments appear as an "unknown user." However, I absolutely love what you are doing here, and you haven't received proper appreciation. So although you might not see these, you will be receiving a number of comments from an unknown user over the next days!
ReplyDeleteI already detailed my appreciation for you project in response to your first post on "Satan's Pit," so in this comment I'll just second your appreciation for the 10th doctor/David Tennant; partly because I absolutely love his character, and partly because my appreciation weirdly parallels yours ;)
The 10th is my favorite—although I am extremely fond of them all, including the new 12th Doctor—and you pinpointed the reasons wonderfully. I also am adamant that it is not because he is 'attractive'—I didn't even think he was attractive until I had already come to love the character, and for a long time I had no idea that he was generally considered attractive. Plus, I wasn't a Tennant fangirl until long after the 10th and even the 11th doctors runs were ended, so I can't be accused of favoring him for that reason, either.
One thing I would add to your reasons for loving 10, is his genuine interest in others. Yes, he is delighted by humanity; but he doesn't just see them do something clever, hug them, and run off. That happens often enough due to the nature of his adventures, but again and again there are quiet moments during which he just stops to talk to them. And this 900-year-old Time Lord who knows more than anybody listens attentively, actively, and with a true interest. He doesn't listen like a superior condescending to those below him; he listens like a man to his equal. And people respond—even Queen Victoria herself opens up to him about how deeply she misses her husband. Honestly, I think it is one of the major aspects that draw the people in the stories to 10.
As for becoming a 'fangirl,' that only happened over the last few months. Oddly enough, the next thing I saw him in was Hamlet—which happens to be my favorite Shakespeare tragedy, and possibly my favorite of all his plays—and I think that is the moment I came to truly respect him as an all-round actor, not just specifically as the Doctor. But I sort of avoided learning anything about Tennant himself for a long time, because I didn't want the knowledge that he is a douche in real life nagging at the back of my mind when I watched the Doctor or Hamlet. Then I stumbled across some videos, and found out that by all accounts he is a pretty wonderful man. That made it official.
That concludes my Tennant appreciation post. I'm starting to feel like I'm just using these comments to write my own blog posts without actually starting a blog of my own . . . Hmm, maybe I should consider that . . . But for now, I will just take advantage of the conversations you provide, with the safety blanket of knowing no one will read my "blog posts" ;)
Thank you again for your work on this blog!