The Gospel of Who

The above is a portrait of my life over the past several months. I went from not knowing the premise of Doctor Who to becoming a certifiable nut in the span of a couple episodes. (The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, to be specific.) Since my baptizement into the Whoverse, I have taken it upon myself to convert as many of my friends into Whovians as possible, and I have to say that I have been quite successful in this endeavor.

Not only have I brought the joy of Who to my family and friends' lives, but I've also become something of an expert when it comes to trivia. It helps when you've seen every single episode an idiotic number of times in a short time span and you have played practically every DW game that exists on Sporcle. (Yes, Sporcle has it's own section devoted to Doctor Who. If I've just ruined your productivity, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.) My love for the show has been all over Facebook and real life, and it struck me one day that I'm doing something right and something wrong.

I've been spreading the gospel of Who: the story of a wonderfully positive show about a time-traveling alien who saves the universe as a hobby. This in itself isn't necessarily bad, since there's nothing in the Bible that says we aren't allowed to be excited about things. But I realized with a veritable degree of shame that I am more willing and more apt to talk about how awesome DW is than I am to share the same excitement about my faith in God. The latter is easily more important and even more exciting than a British sci fi show, but I find myself holding my tongue or simply not even thinking about telling others about Jesus.

I'm reminded of a quote by Penn Jillette, of Penn & Teller fame. Mind you that Mr. Jillette is a noted atheist:

If I could translate my enthusiasm for talking about my favorite TV show into an enthusiasm for gracefully and respectfully talking about my relationship with God, I'd be a better person and a better follower of Christ. We're called to take the message of the true gospel to the ends of the earth in Matthew 28:18-20, become "fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19) and "always be prepared to give an answer for the hope" we have in Jesus (1 Peter 3:15). Our feet are to be symbolically outfitted with the sandals of the "readiness of the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15), which can have several interpretations including a need to be ever-willing and prepared to testify about God. As Penn Jillette says, fear of social awkwardness or any other reason is no excuse not to share your beliefs with everyone you meet.

That being said, there is something quite redeeming in the gospel of Who. I'll definitely return to this topic in more detail in the future (or the past...if my TARDIS acts up), but I want to sketch out the fundamental ideas of the show and explain why they're so beautiful.

Doctor Who: "The triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism."

I don't recall where this quote originated, but it gets to the core of the show's ideology. DW champions the cause of optimism, peace and beauty in a world lost in a maze of violence and pessimism, and it does so by resolutely arguing that individuals can and do make a positive difference. It's a refreshing change to see a worldview that doesn't write off humanity as not worth the trouble, but instead fights for the good that humanity can be, if inspired and galvanized. I feel that God has the same kind of attitude toward us. Yes, this world is a broken and sinful place because of the Fall, we are all sinners beyond our own power to save, and  the only time things will be restored will be when Jesus comes back to reign on Earth. However, God somehow still loves us as his children and he's constantly working against evil. He gave us a way out of this mess through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection and he uses his followers to accomplish good to his glory. If you think about it, it would have been SO much easier to write us all off after Eden and start over, but God chose to work with what we'd done to ourselves. God's working against the sin in our hearts and the evil that Satan finagles because he loves us and thinks we're worth it. The triumph of intellect and romance, indeed. And it will be a triumph - we're promised that in Revelation.

So, major props and kudos to a show that reminds us not to give up on ourselves!

Life is beautiful and sacred.

This might be my favorite part of the Doctor's personality. No matter who he meets, even his enemies, he values their life and their right to exist. In a society that shows senseless violence on television and in video games to the point that the audience has become desensitized to death, the Doctor reminds us that life is precious in all its forms. Whether he meets a giant killer wasp in 1920 or an aesthetically-challenged minotaur in a creepy hotel, his reaction is, "You are BEAUTIFUL." He has such a respect for creatures and life itself that he goes out of his way to avoid aggression, even when it costs him. He's committed genocide out of necessity to save the universe from the Last Great Time War, and that weighs heavily on him, so he extends mercy and peace and tries to rescue even his most bitter enemies. (Examples/SPOILERS. Highlight at your own risk: Ten tries to save Dalek Caan in Evolution of the Daleks, as well as retrieve Davros from the burning Crucible in Journey's End. Nine chooses to be a "coward" in Parting of the Ways to avoid killing all the Daleks.) The world would be so much brighter if more people had half the respect and appreciation for life that the Doctor does.

"There's no such thing as an ordinary human."

Beyond life being sacred, the Doctor believes everyone has the ability to be amazing. In 900 years of space and time travel, he has never met anyone "who wasn't important, before." I love this, because so often we can get caught up in our faults and mediocrity that we start to believe we aren't exceptional for just being alive. My friend Nick once wrote a delightful essay about how simply being made in the image of God means we have incredible value. And he's absolutely right. You have no business getting down on yourself when you should remember that we as humans are the pinnacle of creation (see Genesis) and are mirrors of an almighty and magnificent God. As the Skit Guys say, God doesn't make junk. You aren't ordinary; God made you. Thus, you're extraordinary.

Until next time! May the fezzes, 3D glasses and leather jackets be with you.
Katya