G
Gene Poole
Guest
Lords of Kobol, Hear My Prayer: Religion and Faith on Battlestar Galactica
Sightings
Lords of Kobol, Hear My Prayer: Religion and Faith on Battlestar Galactica
-- Seth Perry
The Sci-Fi Channel's blockbuster show Battlestar Galactica has received
heaps of praise from virtually all quarters. The show centers on the
conflict in a faraway galaxy between humans and Cylons, a race of
artificial, and often humanoid, beings first created by the humans. The
Cylons betrayed their creators and, having destroyed human civilizations
on their home worlds, pursue the remnant across the galaxy.
Reviewers have applauded the "realism" of the show; as Stephen King has
written of it, it's "science fiction that doesn't know it's science
fiction." One significant point of interest has been the show's inclusion
of religion. The Cylons are monotheists, the humans polytheists, and their
respective beliefs inform their actions and reactions. The show glories in
grey areas, and the religion of each side displays moments of both warmth
and fanaticism. This is a particularly salient element, given that the
human-Cylon conflict has taken on a certain post-9/11 cast.
Praise for religion in the show has been for the most part superficial,
though. The fact that characters use vocabulary and themes familiar from
(our) world religions does not mean they or the show have a "theology," as
some reviews have asserted. Moreover, repeated references to providence,
scriptural prophecy, and the soul (the show's most prominent religious
tropes) do not necessarily make characters "religious." The theological
element has oscillated between a "realistic" depiction of the way religion
functions and an overt supernaturalism -- the difference between some
characters believing in supernatural powers and the verified presence of
supernatural powers within the universe of the show. In the real world we
may debate the epistemological difference between these two, but in a
fictional universe we are largely beholden to what the writers show us: If
they decide that the show is about the activity of forces which suspend
the natural order of the universe they've created, then by most measures
it is.
In short, "religion" on Galactica has sometimes appeared to lack "faith."
What faith there is can be more readily observed among the show's human
characters -- they have been seen praising, petitioning, and supplicating
gods whom they cannot see. The exact nature of their faith was
complicated, however, in a plot arc in which numerous scriptural
prophecies came true, threatening the show's much-prized realism. I became
unsure whether I was being shown the humans interpreting events through
their scriptures or the objective realization of those scriptures; events
coincided so closely with prophecy that when humans expressed doubt, I had
to wonder why.
The problem has been even more pronounced on the Cylon side. For example,
Cylon reincarnation, a prospect first raised by the wide-eyed assertion of
a Cylon about to die, turned out to be a technical and quite literal
process involving the downloading of individual Cylon consciousness -- and
not, as I first speculated, a promise given to a devout martyr. The most
religious character on the show, the Cylon model Six, has had a habit of
making accurate predictions. Six's utter, apparently empirically-supported
certainty made me question whether she had faith in a God, or rather knew
something or someone with god-like powers.
It wasn't until the recent closing episodes of the second season that the
show began to really round out the religious feature of its universe. The
prophecy-heavy plotline on the human side seems to have played itself out
for now, and the inevitability of those prophecies appears more explicitly
in question. Similarly, events that Six had predicted did not turn out as
she had foreseen. The most artful development, in my view, took the form
of something that accompanies religion everywhere, but which had been
missing from Cylon society: skepticism. First seen masquerading as a
priest of the human religion, a model of Cylon appears who does not
believe: "Supernatural divinities are the primitive's answer for why the
sun goes down at night." Better yet, he makes it clear that his own
skepticism is as unverifiable as the faith of the other Cylons: "At least
that's what we've been telling the others for years. Can't really prove it
one way or the other, of course."
Now we're talking. Galactica has been deservedly lauded for providing a
novel setting for the playing out of real-life political, social, and
moral issues, which is what the best science fiction always does. With the
clear infusion of questions of faith into its theological trappings, the
show can explore the way religion works in the real world -- as a series
of stops and starts, buoyed by faith and beset with doubt, among an
assortment of individuals who believe different things to different
degrees. The writers will hopefully make real use of this element to
examine how faith is gained and lost, how believers and nonbelievers exist
together and pursue the same goals, and, in the context of the conflict
between Cylon and human, how individuals among the conquering and the
conquered relate to a God or gods they know only by faith.
Seth Perry is a Ph.D. student in the History of Christianity at the
University of Chicago Divinity School.
----------
The Religion and Culture Web Forum for June features "Religious Identities
of Latin American Immigrants in Chicago: Preliminary Findings from Field
Research" by Andrea Althoff. To read this article, please visit:
http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/webforum/index.shtml,
----------
Sightings comes from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago
Divinity School.
Submissions policy
Sightings welcomes submissions of 500 to 750 words in length that seek to
illuminate and interpret the forces of faith in a pluralist society.
Previous columns give a good indication of the topical range and tone for
acceptable essays. The editor also encourages new approaches to issues
related to religion and public life.
Attribution
Columns may be quoted or republished in full, with attribution to the
author of the column, Sightings, and the Martin Marty Center at the
University of Chicago Divinity School. Contact information
Please send all inquiries, comments, and submissions to Jeremy Biles,
managing editor of Sightings, at sightings-admin@listhost.uchicago.edu.
Subscribe, unsubscribe, or manage your subscription at the Sightings
subscription page.
--
Faithfully,
Gene Poole
http://grace.break.at
God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com
=============
Remove your hat to e-mail me.
Sightings
Lords of Kobol, Hear My Prayer: Religion and Faith on Battlestar Galactica
-- Seth Perry
The Sci-Fi Channel's blockbuster show Battlestar Galactica has received
heaps of praise from virtually all quarters. The show centers on the
conflict in a faraway galaxy between humans and Cylons, a race of
artificial, and often humanoid, beings first created by the humans. The
Cylons betrayed their creators and, having destroyed human civilizations
on their home worlds, pursue the remnant across the galaxy.
Reviewers have applauded the "realism" of the show; as Stephen King has
written of it, it's "science fiction that doesn't know it's science
fiction." One significant point of interest has been the show's inclusion
of religion. The Cylons are monotheists, the humans polytheists, and their
respective beliefs inform their actions and reactions. The show glories in
grey areas, and the religion of each side displays moments of both warmth
and fanaticism. This is a particularly salient element, given that the
human-Cylon conflict has taken on a certain post-9/11 cast.
Praise for religion in the show has been for the most part superficial,
though. The fact that characters use vocabulary and themes familiar from
(our) world religions does not mean they or the show have a "theology," as
some reviews have asserted. Moreover, repeated references to providence,
scriptural prophecy, and the soul (the show's most prominent religious
tropes) do not necessarily make characters "religious." The theological
element has oscillated between a "realistic" depiction of the way religion
functions and an overt supernaturalism -- the difference between some
characters believing in supernatural powers and the verified presence of
supernatural powers within the universe of the show. In the real world we
may debate the epistemological difference between these two, but in a
fictional universe we are largely beholden to what the writers show us: If
they decide that the show is about the activity of forces which suspend
the natural order of the universe they've created, then by most measures
it is.
In short, "religion" on Galactica has sometimes appeared to lack "faith."
What faith there is can be more readily observed among the show's human
characters -- they have been seen praising, petitioning, and supplicating
gods whom they cannot see. The exact nature of their faith was
complicated, however, in a plot arc in which numerous scriptural
prophecies came true, threatening the show's much-prized realism. I became
unsure whether I was being shown the humans interpreting events through
their scriptures or the objective realization of those scriptures; events
coincided so closely with prophecy that when humans expressed doubt, I had
to wonder why.
The problem has been even more pronounced on the Cylon side. For example,
Cylon reincarnation, a prospect first raised by the wide-eyed assertion of
a Cylon about to die, turned out to be a technical and quite literal
process involving the downloading of individual Cylon consciousness -- and
not, as I first speculated, a promise given to a devout martyr. The most
religious character on the show, the Cylon model Six, has had a habit of
making accurate predictions. Six's utter, apparently empirically-supported
certainty made me question whether she had faith in a God, or rather knew
something or someone with god-like powers.
It wasn't until the recent closing episodes of the second season that the
show began to really round out the religious feature of its universe. The
prophecy-heavy plotline on the human side seems to have played itself out
for now, and the inevitability of those prophecies appears more explicitly
in question. Similarly, events that Six had predicted did not turn out as
she had foreseen. The most artful development, in my view, took the form
of something that accompanies religion everywhere, but which had been
missing from Cylon society: skepticism. First seen masquerading as a
priest of the human religion, a model of Cylon appears who does not
believe: "Supernatural divinities are the primitive's answer for why the
sun goes down at night." Better yet, he makes it clear that his own
skepticism is as unverifiable as the faith of the other Cylons: "At least
that's what we've been telling the others for years. Can't really prove it
one way or the other, of course."
Now we're talking. Galactica has been deservedly lauded for providing a
novel setting for the playing out of real-life political, social, and
moral issues, which is what the best science fiction always does. With the
clear infusion of questions of faith into its theological trappings, the
show can explore the way religion works in the real world -- as a series
of stops and starts, buoyed by faith and beset with doubt, among an
assortment of individuals who believe different things to different
degrees. The writers will hopefully make real use of this element to
examine how faith is gained and lost, how believers and nonbelievers exist
together and pursue the same goals, and, in the context of the conflict
between Cylon and human, how individuals among the conquering and the
conquered relate to a God or gods they know only by faith.
Seth Perry is a Ph.D. student in the History of Christianity at the
University of Chicago Divinity School.
----------
The Religion and Culture Web Forum for June features "Religious Identities
of Latin American Immigrants in Chicago: Preliminary Findings from Field
Research" by Andrea Althoff. To read this article, please visit:
http://marty-center.uchicago.edu/webforum/index.shtml,
----------
Sightings comes from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago
Divinity School.
Submissions policy
Sightings welcomes submissions of 500 to 750 words in length that seek to
illuminate and interpret the forces of faith in a pluralist society.
Previous columns give a good indication of the topical range and tone for
acceptable essays. The editor also encourages new approaches to issues
related to religion and public life.
Attribution
Columns may be quoted or republished in full, with attribution to the
author of the column, Sightings, and the Martin Marty Center at the
University of Chicago Divinity School. Contact information
Please send all inquiries, comments, and submissions to Jeremy Biles,
managing editor of Sightings, at sightings-admin@listhost.uchicago.edu.
Subscribe, unsubscribe, or manage your subscription at the Sightings
subscription page.
--
Faithfully,
Gene Poole
http://grace.break.at
God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com
=============
Remove your hat to e-mail me.
