The Satan Pit, Part 1: "I didn't ask"

(Picture courtesy of shadowproclamation.net, which is possibly the most epic name for a DW blog/podcast EVER. Check it out.)

This is the first installment of a two- or three-part analysis of series 2's The Satan Pit. Believe it or not, but there have been legitimate theses written on the theological questions raised by this Ten and Rose story. I'm not particularly interested in such an academic review of the religious paradigms explored in the episode, myself, but it's cool to know that other people have talked about it before me. (What? Other sci fi nerds with an interest in theology exist? WHERE ARE YOU AND LET'S BE BESTIES! *ahem*)

First, I want to say that the quote in the above collage is terribly romantic and lovely and comes at the end of a fascinating speech by my beloved Tenth Doctor. His monologue about "fake gods...would-be gods" is enough material for a post in its own right, and I might return to it in the future (or the past...this darn vortex manipulator's on the fritz). The subject of this particular post, however, is an interchange between the Doctor and Ida before Ten goes down into the pit to confront the Beast. The part I'm talking about is about a minute into the clip (SPOILERS):

Coming off the heels of my Gospel of Who post, in which I called myself out on not sharing my faith more, I thought it would be appropriate to take a look at what the Doctor does when it comes to discussing faith.

1. He gets to know Ida.

This scene is I think about halfway through The Satan Pit, which is the continuation of The Impossible Planet. In the meantime, Ten and Rose have been working with the crew of Sanctuary Base Six to get free and save themselves from the evil creature controlling the Ood. ("We must feed...you! If you are hungry." Love an Ood.) He's gotten himself and Ida stuck ten miles down from the surface of the base after they went down to explore. As he lowers himself into the pit (in her place, the dashing hero), he asks her what she believes, in a tone that says two things to me: 1) He's been talking to her about her other beliefs and is maybe a little surprised this question slipped his mind, considering the circumstances, and 2) He genuinely wants to know.

If you're building a relationship with someone, especially if that person is already a friend, it's only inevitable that you broach the subject of religion and worldviews. They affect a person so strongly and completely that you'll never really know someone unless you get down to the baseline fundamentals of how they see and interact with reality. There's such a stigma against discussing religion and politics with people, particularly strangers, but that's primarily because of how people go about it. Generally, when asked for an opinion on a "controversial" subject like religion, people immediately raise their emotional defenses. Why? Because in a room of twenty people, there will be thirty strongly held beliefs and, invariably, people will get snippy or even antagonistic if their position isn't immediately validated. It's frustrating at best and seriously damaging at worst when people, especially Christians, don't listen to others and respect their beliefs.

There is a huge difference between entertaining another person's point of view for the sake of conversation and condoning it. There is also a huge difference between sharing your own opinions and forcing them on people. The sooner you know how to represent your beliefs in a graceful manner, the sooner you'll be able to have deep conversations about religion in an open and genuine environment that actually lead somewhere. (If you want to learn how to do this, check out Art of Eloquence. I highly encourage it.)

Back to the Doctor: He asks Ida what she believes because he's a curious fellow, he cares about her and he's about to meet the devil, so it's all rather fitting. The next thing he does, though, is my favorite thing in the world.

2. He listens and asks questions.

Ever had someone ask you something but you know while you're talking that they don't really care about your answer? Or feel like they're waiting for you to shut up so they can say something else? Yeah. Well, Ten doesn't do that. Ida responds about her faith growing up and lack of it, then he asks a follow-up question about the mechanics of her parent's religion. Then he listens more and makes an insightful comment along the same theme! You may be thinking, "Well, duh, he's having a chat." But that's the part of witnessing that so many people miss! The listening bit! If you don't pay attention to what your conversation partner is saying, honor and take stock of their emotions, and invest in their side of the talk, you're having two monologues. Total failure to communicate, don't pass Go and don't collect $200.

There really is an art to listening, and it is pretty much always rewarding. I wish more people would practice it, nowadays. Nothing says "I value you as an individual" like listening to someone be honest with you. And, almost always, people will turn right around and extend to you the same respect and courtesy. Like Ida does.

3. He thinks about his reply and answers truthfully.

I love the little pause between Ida asking him about his own beliefs and him answering. It speaks volumes about Ten's character. I could analyze this to pieces, and I think I will in the next post (from a slightly different angle), but for now I'll keep it brief. I think he pauses because a) He didn't bring up the subject to talk about himself (I mean, let's face it, when does the Doctor really volunteer information about himself? Besides, I already said he was interested in learning about her),  b) Perhaps no one has asked him this before and he doesn't know what to say, and c) He wants to give her a good and honest answer. And his honest answer is basically, "I don't know."

There is nothing wrong with "I don't know" if it's true. As a believer in anything, you are expected to be able to explain the basics of what you think, but sometimes you haven't quite figured it out, and that's okay. When Ten responds to Ida, he is completely straightforward with the way he sees things, but he is humble enough to admit that he could be wrong. He could quickly rattle off something logical and philosophical, like he normally might, but instead he stops, considers himself and returns her vulnerability with his own. It's a beautiful picture, really. One we would do well to emulate.

"Know this, my beloved brothers: Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." -- James 1:19-20 (ESV)

Until next time! May your sonic screwdriver finally work on wood.

Katya

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

Seminarian, Whovian and Proud

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