Posted in All, Media - Criticism/Reflections/Appreciation, tagged bob dylan, challengers, hallelujah, jeff buckley, sad songs, Songs For a Melow Day, the national, the new pornogrophers, wilco on March 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Start things off with Challengers by the New Pornogrophers.
Then you bring in Jeff Buckley singing Hallelujah (Rufus doesn’t cut it for me personally, also props to Leonard Cohen for creating such a poignant song)
Then throw in The National for good measure with Little Faith.
Followed by Jesus etc by Wilco
Finish it up with Evaporated by Ben Folds (because there aren’t any good Not Dark Yet videos by Dylan)
Hope you enjoyed.
Posted in All, Fiction, Media - Criticism/Reflections/Appreciation, tagged Battlestar Eschatology, Battlestar Galactica, Commander Adama, end times, the Bible, worthy of being saved on March 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »
I am currently in a class called Eschatology which is a fancy word for the study of end times. In this class we are required to do a book review, that our teacher also extended to movies I decided to write about Battlestar Galactica and it’s view of end times events. It’s a nerdy combination of two interests of mine Biblical studies and Science fiction. Anyways it’s not too insightful, but it allowed me to justify watching episodes of Battlestar as “research.” I’d love to hear any comments or insights or discussion of the show. I tried not to include any spoilers.
This paper is a book review of the Eschatology of the Science Fiction Television series Battlestar Galactica (2004-2008). [1] This paper will discuss points of congruence between this series and the Bible in their general perception of end times events. The paper will not attempt to be exhaustive but will serve to summarize how one perspective in popular science fiction relates to the bible in terms of it’s eschatalogical implications.
The show begins on the premise that there is a conflict between humanity and a group of man-made sentient machines called Cylons. This conflict resulted in a truce between the two civilizations (human and Cylon) where each stayed in separate parts of the galaxy. After 40 years of peace the Cylons attack the twelve planets hosting human life destroying all but a few humans. The remaining humans are left to search for a new place to call home, as they are continually pursued by bent on destroying them. Cylons were aided by the fact that they have now created and program biological bodies almost identical humans.
There are a surprisingly high number of congruent themes betweeen Battlestar Galactica and Biblical eschatology. While the show certainly doesn’t present a Christian or Biblical viewpoint, it does develop many points of commonality in its depiction of end times events.
The near destruction of the human race in Battlestar Galactica is preceded by no discernible warning signs. Taking advantage of human optimism and complacency the Cylons were able to disable all defense mechanisms that were supposed to warn about the oncoming attack. In part because of human pride in their own brilliant defense system, and in part because of their complacency after 40 years of peace, the human race was unprepared for their near extinction until it was already upon them.
The near destruction of the human race is brought on by an entity that they created. In practical sense the human race is responsible for it’s own destruction. Commander Adama best illustrates this idea in a speech,
…you can’t outrun the sins of your family and as a species we refuse to accept responsibility for anything that we’ve done…like we did with the Cylons. We decided to play god. Create life…When that life turned against us…we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn’t our fault, not really. But like Ensign Wallace says, it was our fault…no one else to blame…You cannot play god then wash your hands of the things that you’ve created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can’t hide, from the things that you’ve done, anymore.[2]
This speech implicates humanity for its own destruction. The speech is given before the initial Cylon attack essentially making it prophetic. The near destruction of the human race is also viewed as a form of judgment. Humanity is morally responsible for their own destruction. Cylons in the show often imply that humanity does not deserve to be saved. What is surprising is that this sentiment is sometimes echoed by humans as well. Adama’s speech not only condemns man for making the instrument of it’s own destruction, but questions whether humanity deserves to survive. Earlier in the speech he says, “when we fought the Cylon’s; we did it to save ourselves from extinction. But we never answered the question of Why? A young Ensign once asks me, ‘Why are we as a people worth saving?’ I could not answer him then and I can’t answer him now. As a people we still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy…We still visit all of our sins upon our children..”[3] This again foreshadows humanity’s near extinction, and raises one of the show’s great themes; Is humanity really worthy of being saved? This question and Adama’s speech implicitly condemn humanity for the evil it has committed and serves to show that the horrors visited upon mankind were acts of judgment. Although the destruction is brought upon mankind from without, mankind was culpable in bringing the destruction upon itself.
While almost the whole of humanity is destroyed there is a remnant that escapes the destruction. The show demonstrates that these survivors are merely a fraction of the worlds population. The show often implies that those who have survived have a special purpose, although they are not entirely clear as to what that purpose may be. In the broader sense the show often describes survival for survival’s sake. However often there are abnormal occurrences and references to prophecies, that seems to indicate that some sort of “higher power” is directing this remnant.
Later on in Battlestar Galactica it is revealed that this pattern of destruction has happened before and will happen again. A prophet-like machine called the hybrid utters the phrase “All of this has happened before and it will happen again.” Later it is revealed that another civilization was nearly destroyed by machines they had created. This pattern of destruction followed by the escape of a remnant then prosperity then corruption then back to destruction, seems to be the something humanity is bound to repeat. This parallels the Biblical theme of judgment with the salvation and restoration of a remnant as seen in the flood narrative, desert wanderings, judges, in the nation of Israel, and culminating in the Apocalypse of John.
In terms of a popular work with eschatalogical significance, Battlestar Galactica provies interesting and thoughtful perspective on end times events. It is useful as a depiction of what popular culture finds to be the relevant, important, and interesting in relation to the end of the world, and the survival of mankind. While certainly not Christian the Television Series raises similar questions and establishes similar themes to the Biblical text, perhaps providing a launching ground for eschatalogical discussion amongst Christians and fans of science fiction.
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