The Doctor: The Sad Man With A Box
In one of my theology classes, last week, we were discussing the various attributes of God. This inspired another discussion of how to reconcile two paradoxical characteristics of perfect justice and perfect mercy.Our line of thought was that if God is wholly just and he gives us what we deserve (no more and no less), then how can he be perfectly merciful, when that means giving us something we don't deserve? One of the answers posited was that God chooses which attributes to express in particular moments in ways that are not contradictory to his nature. For example, God is completely sovereign over all of creation, but he still allows people to choose to ignore him, a la the garden of Eden. As ruler of the universe, he could have easily made Adam and Eve stay away from the forbidden tree (or never have created the tree in the first place), but he instead offered humanity a choice to follow him or deal with the consequences. Now, I am certainly not going to try to tackle the reconciliation of omnipotence and free will, but I am interested in the notion of freedom in the context of a greater power, and I find it relates to Doctor Who quite significantly.
In virtually every episode, the Doctor finds himself pitted against a malevolent or destructive enemy that only he can stop. As I've mentioned before, the Doctor considers violent action a last resort and he always tries to talk an enemy out of whatever he's doing in order to preserve as much life as possible. Often, however, the enemy laughs at his attempts to compromise and continues in the same villainy, forcing him to take extreme and brilliant measures to save the day. What I love most about the Doctor's attempts to save even his enemies is summed up in this clip beginning at 0:45, from series 4's The Poison Sky (SPOILERS):
The Sontarans are going to annihilate the planet, after having killed plenty of UNIT members and innocent civilians in the previous episode, and the Doctor is going to stop them. Except, instead of wiping them out, dusting off his suit and jumping back into the TARDIS with Donna, he offers them one last chance to leave in peace. In spite of everything they've done and everything they deserve, he leaves the door open one last time for a kind of redemption. No matter how contrary the evidence or how stubborn the foe, he never gives up on a being's ability to change for the better. And I think that's beautifully God-like.
Freedom to choose
The Doctor has respect for every kind of life, even those that don't deserve it. This is obvious when you see him try to save his enemies from destruction, but it's even more poetic when you see it in his attitude during negotiations. We all know he's the man with a plan and that, somehow, he will get himself and his friends out of trouble. His enemies never truly prevail against him because he's smarter, quicker and occasionally plain luckier than they are. As viewers, we might be tempted to view his efforts to talk the Sontarans (or the Daleks, or the Cybermen, etc.) out of destroying the planet as the fruitless endeavors of a hopeless optimist. However, that final offer to stand down and avoid the Doctor's consequences is more than simply a last-ditch attempt at pacifism. It's an incredible statement of the Doctor's respect for a creature's freedom to decide for itself.
It would be much easier (and far less dangerous, to be sure) for the Doctor to get rid of any and all threats at first sight. Considering how brilliant he is, and that he was a soldier in the Last Great Time War, it's not hard to imagine that he could eliminate anything that stood in his way. (After all, he's known as the Oncoming Storm and the Destroyer of Worlds - the most feared creature in all the universe.) He could just blow up the Sontarans and go home for tea and cookies, but he instead presents them with a choice. All that power and genius, and he puts it on the backburner to give them one last shot at doing the right thing. Why? Because he believes sentient beings have the intrinsic right to make decisions for themselves, no matter how stupid or wrong. Of course, the stupid and wrong ones have consequences that he's forced to deliver, but it wasn't for lack of warning or trying.
How God-like is that? Think of all the books of the bible in which God tells/warns/beseeches the children of Israel to change their ways to avoid the consequences of their sin. Think of times in your own life when you've known to act better, but you went ahead with it, anyway. God doesn't want to punish his creation (why do you think he sent Jesus? John 3:16-17), but he chooses to allow us to act in ways that result in punishment, much like parents would, who want to teach their child a lesson. Even to the instant before we sin, God pleads with us through the Holy Spirit, through the scriptures and through the counsel of others not to do it. How we respond, however, is completely up to us. Sure, God could come down and force everyone to love him and follow his instructions, but he chooses not to. He chooses to limit his power and give us the freedom to obey or disobey.
Freedom to suffer
While we have the ability, through sheer grace, to do what we will with our lives, our freedom doesn't exist in a vacuum. Every action has repercussions, and sinful ones are no exception. With our right to make decisions comes the responsibility of accepting their consequences. We are free to live according to the way God prescribed, and we are equally free to ignore it. Fair's fair, though: if you don't play the game according to the rules, you are subject to the penalty. Thus, your freedom to live includes the freedom to suffer for your decisions.
Sadly, people's desire for independence causes them to make choices that, they think, will give them real freedom. Often, people mistake Christianity for a constricting system of rules set down by a controlling god more interested in himself than in people. Consequently, they reject divine authority and live how they please. Sometimes, nothing catastrophic happens in their lives and they feel justified in their choices, and sometimes the path they take leads to serious repercussions that destroy their lives. Does that mean that God was only punishing some people and not others? No. Because that's not how God does things.
The point of Christianity is not to follow the 10 commandments and the golden rule. The point of Christianity is to restore the perfect relationship mankind had with God before sin entered the world. The "rules" in the bible are meant to demonstrate how broken we are and how much we need salvation and grace. We follow them because we want to be more like God, and that's how he is. We don't follow them because "Jesus will get us" if we disobey. God isn't vindictive. He's just. Bad things happen because of poor decision making, because God sometimes allows them to teach a lesson, and sometimes just because we live in an imperfect world and things go wrong. If we live according to the bible's standards, then we will be blessed (Deuteronomy 15), but we aren't promised a stress-free life, for two reasons: 1) It's impossible for us to keep from sinning. The only one who ever did it was Jesus. So, because we sin, we have to face the music. 2) Read John 16. Anyone who follows Jesus will have trouble because those who don't will persecute you. Maybe not physically or even obviously, but you will be treated differently and even negatively for your belief in Christ. Being a Christian isn't the ticket to the easy life. If you're looking for that, you signed up for the wrong religion. Following God is hard because it's counter-cultural and requires centering your entire life around someone other than you. The focus of being a Christian is not this life at all, but the next one. (And I'm not talking regeneration...) By God's grace, we're on this earth and have freedom to choose how we live it, but the choices we make now affect eternity.
God is like the Doctor in that he gives us the freedom to walk away peacefully or face the brunt of his plan to stop destruction. The option of peace is often not one we want to take, because it means we have to let go of our own schemes. (And, in light of God's omniscience and goodness, I think it's fair to say he knows better than we do.) However, it's the one he roots for, because he wants to save, not destroy.
The choice is totally and completely yours to make. The question is, how much is your independence worth? Your life?
Until next time! May you always have milk for your souffles.
Katya
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