Battlestar Galactica: "Measure of Salvation"

Six guides Baltar through a tough series of torture by Three, in which they try to get information out of him regarding the infection of the basestar in the previous episode. Again, we see the carnal nature of Baltar’s relationship with Six, and, consequently his understanding of theology—mixing theology with raw, physical/sexual pleasure. In a sense, Baltar lives the Song of Songs. While he is being tortured by Three, he escapes into his psyche with Head Six, who guides him in discussing theology and science with Three.

Baltar denies having anything to do with infecting the basestar, that it was all a coincidence. Three believes that coincidences don’t exist, but all things and events are part of God’s grand plan. In his head, Six tells him to be a scientist and “examine [Three’s] faith.” So, Baltar pushes Three while she pushes him in the interrogation process:

Baltar: I’m a scientist. And as a scientist, I believe that if God exists our knowledge of him is imperfect. Why? Because the stories and myths we have are the products of men. The passage of time. That religion in practice is based on a theory. Impossible to prove. Yet you bestow it with absolutes like, “There is no such thing as coincidence.”
Three: It’s called faith.
Baltar: Absolute belief in God’s will means there’s a reason for everything. Everything! And yet you can’t help ask yourself how God can allow death and destruction and then despise yourself for asking. But the truth is, if we knew God’s will, we’d all be Gods, wouldn’t we? I can see it in your eyes, D’Anna. You’re frustrated. You’re conflicted. Let me help you. Let me help you change. Find a way to reconcile your faith with fact. Find a way towards a rational universe.

Baltar hit a nerve with Three, who we know has had some doubts about her faith, about her God, a nerve that was hit by the oracle Three visited on New Caprica. Baltar tries to distract Three from torturing him by challenging her on her own spiritual journey, challenging her on the meaning she finds in her life. Three, however, doesn’t have any part of his challenges.

In the meantime, while Three sticks a prod in Baltar’s ear, in his psyche, he and Six are consummating their “love.” Head Six tells him to tell her that she should believe in him, believe that he is worth saving. Out loud, in the midst of his screams, Baltar tells Three (and Head Six) “I want you to believe in me. Don’t stop!...You have to believe in me. You’re all I have left.” Three stares at Baltar, confused and moved. Baltar continues speaking to Head Six out loud and says “I love you with all my heart.” Three touches his face and weeps. She has been hurting the one who is offering to help her find her way, help her understand God. In fact, he becomes a Christ-figure in this scene, as he is tortured, he asks her to believe in him, as though he is God, the God he tells her she questions and perhaps doesn’t even believe in anymore.

Battlestar Galactica: “Torn”

We get a broad look into the workings of the basestar in the episode “Torn.” In this look, we have the opportunity to see who closely the Cylons work within their theology, how every decision they make seems to be informed by their understanding of God. In fact, God is at the center of everything on the basestar, a very different approach to leadership compared to Galactica. Some (namely the Leoben models) even believe that the hybrid that drives each basestar is the spokesperson of God and that everything she says means something.

Much theological discussion takes place between Baltar and Six (both Head and Caprica) in this episode. In fact, the episode opens with Baltar and Six on a beach in Baltar’s consciousness. Six explains to him that Cylons choose to see what they want to see and that he chooses to see her. He asks her what she is, if she is somehow connected to the woman he was with on Caprica, or is she a part of his “subconscious struggling for self-expression.” She tells him that she is “an angel of God sent here to help” him. It seems that Baltar is getting more and more caught up in Cylon theology, especially now that he is in their sort of temple of a basestar, completely surrounded by them.

Later, out of Baltar’s head and into the basestar’s hallways, Caprica Six explains the idea and mechanics of projection to Baltar, that it is a means for the Cylons to see what they want to see as their environment, a means to escape the gray, boring walls of the ship and see and be reminded of God’s creation: “Instead of staring at blank walls, I choose to surround myself with a vision of God’s creation.” It seems that the discipline of consciously daydreaming about God’s creation, what God is capable of creating in their universe, serves to remind them of the beautiful things God is capable of doing. It would give them hope in the middle of chaos and potential despair. Such a beautiful scene of the Caprica forest is in stark contrast with the death on the lost basestar they later discover.

When the Cylon scout ship reports that the missing basestar has been infected with some kind of disease, the human cylons discuss their humanity and why and how this disease could affect them, since they are not exactly like the humans. Simon, the more scientifically minded of the group, offers probably the most loaded theological reasoning: “God has chosen this time, this place, to test us. Whether we fail or pass the test is up to us.” It’s a position that’s espoused in so many church circles, especially the more fundamentalist circles, that God tests us, tests our faith, but putting us in situations and watching to see how we will respond. It’s a difficult ideology to fathum, especially when it involves the deaths of others. In this particular situation, this disease may mean the death of the entire Cylon race, if it is uploaded into their resurrection ships. It’s hard to understand how a God that Six keeps reminding us is so loving could also be so (dare I say) cruel that God would kill an entire race by testing them.

Battlestar Galactica: "Precipice"

The theological thread is exposed mainly in one scene, the scene with Baltar’s being forced to sign the execution statement of the insurgents. A meeting takes place on Colonial One with several representatives of all of the Cylon models, except for Leoben (interestingly), along with Baltar, where they discuss what to do about the humans, how to discipline the growing problem of insurgents’ terrorism, and how to deter other humans who may think about joining the insurgency. A Number Three throws a document on Baltar’s desk for him to sign, an order to kill all of the detainees, over 200 people. This prompts a reaction within the Cylon group:

Caprica Six: Just because you’ve decided to do this doesn’t mean you need
to drag him into sin with you.
Three #1: Don’t you lecture me about
sin.
Three #2: I’m not the one who committed the first act of
Cylon-on-Cylon violence in our history.
Baltar: What’s she talking
about?
Three #2: She crushed my head in with a rock back on
Caprica. Interesting she didn’t tell you.
Caprica Six: It’s
something I had to do. I’m not proud of it.

We see Caprica Six’s theology come to light, once again. She has demonstrated her beliefs in the Cylon God as a Loving God, one of compassion and forgiveness. She’s willing to stand up for this belief, even if it means showing and telling the others that she’s willing to kill for this position.

Cavil pushing the meeting along, moving the conversation back on track of what to do with the humans. Baltar wonders why they don’t just take care of the situation themselves—why do they need his signature. A Three model explains that they do need his signature, if they are to work as the government they were set up to be, a collective government of Cylons and humans. As the President of this government, Baltar needs to sign every order. Cavil elucidates: “in other words, they’re worried about what ‘God’ might think if they commit murder. They’re covering their existential asses.” It seems that the Cylons are afraid of their god, even if it is violence against the humans. Ironically, even after this admittance, a Doral model tells them that they can find another president and then cocks a gun at Baltar’s head.

Another smaller scene that sheds some light on Cylon perception of God is Leoben, who has demonstrated that he fancies himself a sort of prophet, one who can see the destiny the Cylon god has laid out for him and for others. When he introduces the child to Kara, he describes his observations of the child’s traits: “Although her birth mother died during childbirth, Kacey’s heart never faltered. I guess she gets that will to live from you. I’ve seen her path. It’s difficult, but rewarding. She’ll know the mind of God in this lifetime. She’ll see patterns that others do not see. She probably got such spiritual clarity from me.” Leoben likes to think of himself as a spiritualist, and perhaps he is, especially from some of what we see in later episodes, in addition to what we have already seen in earlier episodes. But, Jim Jones also thought of himself as a spiritualist. Yet, later, when an unconscious Kacey is recovering from her fall, Kara is at her side, praying to the human gods for forgiveness and for Kacey’s recuperation. Leoben stands behind Kara. This would have been an opportunity for Leoben to evangelize to Kara about the Cylon god, but he did not take the opportunity. Perhaps evangelism is not his interest, even if it is to the one he supposedly loves.

Battlestar Galactica: "Occupation"

On Colonial One, the Cylons argue over their purpose with the humans, while Baltar sits at his desk, thumbing over some papers, trying to pretend he’s not in the room. Along with Baltar, we get to evesdrop and hear some of the behind the scenes of the Cylons—what they are thinking, planning, and, most importantly, the fact that they are not all on the same page about how to handle the humans. This conversation is short, but its theological depth gives insight to the Cylons’ leadership structure, that there appear to be factions within the ranks that disagree with each other and they can openly argue their points and they can openly threaten each other. The reasons each gives for their take on what to do with the human population all go back to each model’s interpretation of their scriptures and what God would want them to do.

The conversation is mainly between various models of Cavil, Eight, Six, and Five:

Number Eight: We’re here to find a new way to live in peace, as God wants
us to live!
Cavil: And it’s been a fun ride, so far. But I want
to clarify our objectives. If we’re bringing the world of “God,” then it
follows we should employ any means necessary to do so, any means.
Another
Cavil: Yes. Fear is a key article of faith, as I understand
it. So, perhaps it’s time to instill a little more fear into the people’s
hearts and minds….

We’ve heard Cavil models declare their atheism to humans (Chief Tyrol and Admiral Adama during the last two episodes of Season Two); so, the sarcastic tone in Cavil’s voice is even more pronounced during this bickering. Cavil’s character seems to be based on fear theology—let’s scare God into these sinners. Afterall, in his mind they’ve tried everything else to introduce humanity to God; so, they need to try anything to get the humans to worship God. This theology sounds familiar to the historic church, in its dealings with perceived heretics, wayward Christians, and savages of new worlds who didn’t want to give up their religions. The Number Eight and Number Six models want to demonstrate God’s love and compassion for all, the opposite of Cavil’s position. Their view of evangelism is one that is more inline with mainstream Christianity, where you don’t ram God down people’s throats, force feeding God to the nonbelievers.

Battlestar Galactica: “Lay Down Your Burdens,” Part I

Many plot threads are woven throughout this episode, but one of the more interesting threads takes place between Chief Tyrol and Brother Cavil as they discuss the gods’ roles in Tyrol’s (and humanity’s) life. Chief Tyrol is awakened from a dream by Cally; in the process of waking, he beats her, leaving her a bloody mess. Shocked by his attack on Cally, Tyrol asks for religious counseling, and meets with Brother Cavil, a minister/priest/chaplain in the fleet, who also happens to be Roslin’s religious “advisor,” though we rarely see him in this role, unlike what we saw with Elosha in the first season. Tyrol sits down with Cavil at a table and tells him that he wanted to talk with him, rather than a doctor; he explains that it’s because he doesn’t believe that psychoanalysis works, and he is himself a very religious man. Cavil is somewhat loose and sarcastic in his counseling, leaving Tyrol a little perturbed and confused. Cavil explains to Tyrol the “value” of prayer:

Cavil: Do you know how useless prayer is? Chanting and singing and
mucking about with old, half-remembered lines of bad poetry. And do you
know what it gets you? Exactly nothing.
Tyrol: Are you sure
you’re a priest?
Cavil: I’ve been preaching longer than you’ve been
sucking down oxygen. And in that time, I’ve learned enough to know that
the gods don’t answer prayers.

Cavil tells him that the gods won’t determine anything, but rather Tyrol’s destiny is up to him: “The problem is, you’re screwed up. Heart and mind. You, not the…not the gods or fate or the universe. You”—something Tyrol didn’t expect a minister to say. His statement to Tyrol is two edged. While he proports that the gods will not intervene (a theology that is the opposite of Baltar’s Head Six’s theology), even when someone cries out for intervention, he seems to be saying that a person/Cylon is responsible for their own actions, for their own lives. If that person has a problem, they cannot just sit back and expect someone or some deity to fix it; they need to be proactive.

Cavil and Tyrol discuss what happened between Tyrol and Cally. Cavil wants to know if Tyrol is having reoccurring nightmares or dreams. Tyrol tries to lie, but a finely tuned ministerial Cavil sees right through him and wants Tyrol to tell him about the dreams. Tyrol explains that he slowly climbs some stairs on the hanger deck and then walks along the catwalk when he stops. He climbs up on the railing and jumps. Tyrol tells Cavil that he’s been having the same dream night after night for two weeks. Cavil wants to know if he was having the dream when Cally awakened him. He says that he doesn’t remember. Cavil believes that Tyrol wants to kill himself.

Cavil tells Tyrol that he needs to quit ignoring what is right in front of him. Tyrol is confused. Cavil says that Tyrol thinks that he’s a Cylon. He tells Tyrol that he is worried that he’s just like Sharon, who didn’t know she was a Cylon either. Tyrol says that Sharon knew she was going to do something terrible and tried to stop herself. Tyrol wants to know how Cavil could know that Tyrol is not a Cylon. Cavil makes a joke about being a Cylon himself and never seeing Tyrol at any of the meetings. Cavil says that the gods help those who help each other. Tyrol feels ashamed to go back to the hanger deck crew after the accident, but Cavil assures him that they’re the only family he has left, and they love him, especially Cally.

A sort of throw away line in this episode is one from Dualla when she talks with Gaeta about the new planet they have found. She refers to “rivers of milk and honey,” a common epithet for the promised land in the Torah, appearing in Exodus 3:8, 3:17, 13:5, 33:3, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 13:27, 14:8, 16:13-14, and Deuteronomy 6:3.

Battlestar Galactica: “Flight of the Phoenix”

While there are not any overt theological statements about the Cylon God or the humans’ pantheistic god system, this entire episode is simply about faith and the hope it brings, which is really what the series is about—the difficulties of keeping faith and finding hope in the grittiness of survival. The building of the Blackbird raises Tigh’s eire as he doesn’t seem to get that the project gives some of the crew a diversion from their everyday monotonous tasks and eventually gives the crew the esteem that they can survive. The project starts with Chief and spreads throughout the crew as it seems about everyone wants to be a part of building this monument of hope, and the Blackbird comes to symbolize the hope the crew has of survival.

The project climaxes at the christening ceremony at the end of the episode. Roslin and Chief each recognize that it has been an honor to complete the project. After Roslin compliments Chief on the Blackbird, he tells her that it’s “just a ship.” She explains to him and the rest of the crew, “Oh, you’re much too modest. After what we’ve been through, it would be very easy to give up, to lose hope. But not here. Not today. This is more than a ship, Chief. This is an act of faith. It is proof that despite all we’ve lost, we keep trying. And we will get through this, all of us, together. I promise.” By building the ship, the crew recognizes and plans on being around to fly it eventually—they are preparing for the future.

Chief unveils the name of the ship: “Laura.” This, of course, brings Roslin to the brink of tears. After all, earlier in the episode, she received her death sentence from Cottle; she will die in a few weeks. But she now knows that her name will live on through this symbol of hope and faith. She has been a symbol of hope for the fleet, as she has led them on the path to Earth, to the Promised Land.

Battlestar Galactica: “The Farm”

This episode is loaded with a ton of political and social themes, a ton, that I could write pages and pages, especially the theme regarding women’s rights and fertility, the Cylons’ preoccupation with reproduction, and the realization that the only time procreation has happened involving a Cylon has also involved love. But, I’m going to try to stay true to the over-arching theme of this blog and consider the theological implications of this episode, specifically regarding Roslin’s continued journey as a spiritual leader.

We find Lee, Roslin, and Elosha freezing in a meat locker with Tom Zarek, who tells Roslin, “I have communicated your latest message to the Quorum of Twelve. They have decided the question of openly supporting you needs more…deliberation.” Also, Zarek tells them that “Zeus has returned to Olympus. Adama is back in command.” Everyone seems relieved, the god-figure of the fleet has returned. Unfortunately, Zarek chooses this time to suggest that Lee’s denouncing his father, denouncing Zeus/God, would help galvanize the fleet. Lee’s still caught up in the emotions of knowing that his father has survived and, naturally, he cannot speak out against his father. Roslin steps up and says that she’s going to “play the religious card.”

So, now we’re back to dueling positions about Kobol and it seems that Adama, or Zeus, is laying out his thoughts about Roslin’s religious positions more publicly. Adama reads a transcription of Roslin’s broadcast in CIC. “It’s religious crap!” Roslin stated, “It seems I have been chosen to help lead you to the promised land of Earth. I will not question that choice. I’ll simply try to play my part of the plan. Therefore, at the appointed hour, I will give the signal to the fleet. All those wishing to honor the gods and walk the paths of destiny will follow me back to Kobol. It is there we will meet the gods’ servant with the Arrow of Apollo.” Adama slams the clipboard with her message against a console, breaking it in half, just as it appears (from his point of view) that Roslin attempts to break the fleet in half. He believes that no one will follow her, that “no one’s gonna believe this crap. No one’s this stupid.”

On the Astral Queen, Elosha encourages Roslin to give the passengers her blessing. The passengers kneel before her, as though they were kneeling before God or, at the very least, a prophet. Roslin hesitates, saying simply that she cannot do this—it isn’t right. Elosha whispers, “Laura, this is your path. The one that the gods picked for you! The one you picked for yourself.” Roslin had decided as a political tactic to play the religious card, to embrace the path of being a prophet, and she has realized that the scriptures do actually hold some literal truths in them, and now she publicly embraces that role, calling people to follow her banner in the name of their faith. This results in the people looking at her very differently from being merely their political leader, that is their President; this results in the people asking Roslin for her blessing, as they look at her as a prophet, a spokeswoman for the gods. It’s very interesting for me, as an ordained minister, to see how she navigates through various issues in later episodes as a political leader and a spiritual leader, trying to maintain what she truly believes in, trying to lead others according to her beliefs, while not alienating them.

Battlestar Galactica: “Valley of Darkness”

On Kobol, Baltar has another waking dream/vision in which he encounters Adama, who asks Baltar about the bundle in his arms. “Well, it’s a child obviously.” Adama asks to hold the baby. As he holds it, he looks at it closely and asks Baltar, “Is this the shape of things to come?” Baltar says yes. “Only one thing for it then,” Adama tells him as he walks toward the stream they are near. Baltar becomes frantic, chasing after Adama and the baby. Adama takes the baby and drowns it in the stream, leaving the body at the bottom and Baltar hysterically looking for it in the murky water. Later in the forest Baltar discusses this dream with Head Six: “He killed our baby….Adama. I saw him drown the baby. Why would anyone want to drown a baby?” Head Six explains to him that the answer he is seeking is all around him. As he sees countless human skulls surrounding him, Head Six tells him that human sacrifice took place in this forest—“not the fairy tales your scriptures would have you believe.” He is stunned by his surroundings:

Baltar: I thought Kobol was supposed to be a paradise or something.
Some place where the gods live with the human in harmony, or…
Head Six:
For a time, perhaps. Then your true nature asserted itself. Your
brutality, your depravity, your barbarism.
Baltar: So, the scriptures
are all a lie. It’s all just a lie, just a cover-up for all
this…savagery.
Head Six: Exactly. All of this has happened
before, Gaius. And all of it will happen again. Mankind’s true
nature will always assert itself.
Baltar: Adama. So he will try
and kill our baby.
Head Six: Only if you let him, Gaius.

Water in the Judeo-Christian Scripture is often a sign of salvific cleansing. A great flood is described as having cleansed the earth of sin. Divided sea waters allowed the escaped Israelites a faster route to their homes, while they crushed the pursuant Pharaoh’s army. Demons in the form of pigs were cast off a cliff and into waters. And, as one of the most important sacraments of the Christian faith, baptism with water is a means to cleanse a person of their sins, leaving their sins in the water, and demonstrate their commitment to following Christ. Water was a means of keeping some biblical characters safe. On the other hand, future leader of the Israelites, Moses, was kept safe in a basket in the water.

While the over-arching image of water in Scripture is convoluted, so is Baltar’s vision of water. Unfortunately, there are references to leaders in the Scriptures who kill babies and children out of fear that among them there will be one who will rise up and become more powerful than that leader. So, it would seem Baltar’s vision of Adama would show that Adama would be intimidated by this baby, especially since Adama asks Baltar if “this is the shape of things to come.” In Baltar’s head, Adama doesn’t like this threat to his power, so he becomes a sort of Pharaoh of Exodus or King Herod, who attempt to kill babies of the Israelites, the Chosen People. We have to remember that this is all in Baltar’s head and he seems to be beginning to believe that not only are the Cylons are the chosen children, but he has a significant role in leading this race. This water image is in a way perverted, as the protagonist Adama, the one we have been rooting for throughout the series, becomes the bad guy, the antagonist, when he aligns himself with the Scriptural Judeo-Christian antagonists. But, again, this is in Baltar’s head, and in Baltar’s head Adama appears to be the bad guy.

The directors of previous episodes have been having fun with the cameras and playing around with these sorts of symbols before now, as they’ve shown Baltar splayed with his arms out as a crucifix-like image—an image of him laying on the ground on Kobol and an image of him in the first season when he first learned he was to be an instrument of God he leans back on the railing of the balcony of his home with his arms stretched out. If these images are meant to show him as a Christ-like figure, then in order for him to be fulfill this role, he would have to sacrifice himself for the chosen children, for the Cylons. I’m not sure if the true character of Baltar would be capable of doing this, as he seems to be, at the most base level, too ego-centric.

Battlestar Galactica: “Scattered”

This episode opens season two of Battlestar Galactica. Rather than having a unified fleet, we see that all of the key characters have been propelled into their own sort of journeys. Adama is on an operating table, being cut open by a medic. Tigh is now the fleet’s leader and Galactica gets separated from the fleet during a jump—he’s not handling his new role well and begs the unconscious Adama to come back and retake his position. The technologically savvy Gaeta networks the computer system to get Galactica back with the fleet, something Adama in all likelihood would not have condoned. Baltar and the rest of the crashed raptor’s team are running for their lives on Kobol; all the while, he has conversations with Head Six about his call to protect a new child. Roslin remains incarcerated, but guides Lee Adama back into the fleet leadership, thus allowing herself to have at least some voice outside of the cell bars.

There is one scene, however, that continues the overt theological tones of the series. The Galactica launches vipers to defend against incoming Cylons, including a heavy raider bearing on Galactica. The unstable power on the ship forces the medical team to make use of battery units. Adama’s heart stops and the medic asks for a knife. Meanwhile, the Cylons have begun hacking into the network and attempt to access its gateway. The tension is high, all of the characters are at the climax of the plot and the audience is on the edge of their seats—it’s time for prayer. In the brig, Corporal Venner asks Roslin to pray with him. “Help us, Lords of Kobol. Help your prophet Laura guide us to the path of righteousness. That we might destroy our enemies. Let us walk the parth of righteousness and lift our faces unto your goodness. Help us turn away from the calls of the wicked and show us the knowledge of your certain salvation. We offer this prayer.”

When the Corporal offers this prayer, he demonstrates that he recognizes Roslin’s role as a prophet. He comes to symbolize those in the fleet who are devout to their faith, that they could and would also be devout to Roslin as their leader. Her leadership is deeper than merely political leadership, but she serves as a spiritual guide, as well.

Battlestar Galactica: “Kobol’s Last Gleaming,” Part II

In the first part of this season finale, we see six people, six leaders, converge around a table in Commander Adama’s quarters to discuss how the fleet should approach Kobol, the birthplace of the gods and humanity, the fallen Paradise; in the second part, these six people are propelled and scattered into their own respective faith journeys. After they gathered around the table, they divided, each going their separate ways.

Baltar crashes into the surface after his raptor is struck by the Cylons, leaving him and the rest of the raptor’s crew to survive against the foreign terrain and Cylon occupants, facing that fear and having an epiphany with Head Six. She awakens Baltar and tells him, "You wondered why you were chosen? Why God chose you, above all other humans, to survive and serve his purpose.” She leads him into the Opera House and further explains “life has a melody, Gaius. A rhythm of notes that become your existence once played in harmony with God's plan. It's time to do your part and realize your destiny….You are the guardian and protector of the new generation of God's children. The first member of our family will be with us soon, Gaius. It's time to make your choice." When she shows him the baby in the crib, she tells him that this is the “face of the shape of things to come.” Being the carnal person he is, Gaius seems to accept this role with his kissing Head Six.

Roslin is incarcerated for her beliefs, which resulted in Starbuck’s disobeying Adama’s orders and going back to Caprica for the Arrow of Apollo. She believes that the Temple of Athena, a sign post to Earth, is on Kobol and the Arrow is its key. When Adama finds out that Roslin is behind coercing and turning one of his crew against him, he throws her in the brig.

Elosha does her ministerial duties of praying with Roslin, as the marines cut through Colonial One’s hull to arrest Roslin.

Gaeta, like Elosha, continues to do his regular job; however, it seems he whispers something into Sharon’s ear, just before she shoots Adama. This could be a sort of plot ferret, leading the audience along the wrong tracks believing Gaeta is a Cylon, as it seems that he may have whispered a trigger word that activates Sharon.

Adama is shot by Sharon and his situation looks grave, as the season leaves him splayed on the command table in CIC, the place where he ironically orchestrates attacks. His spiritual journey will be that of one who has tasted their own mortality.

With Adama incapacitated, Tigh will be in charge, the first time we’ve seen him command a ship, much less the fleet.

Season One ends with all these and more balls up in the air and it looks like they will all land in very different places. What they all have in common is that they are in some way connected to Kobol. Now, the story will be about their journeys and how they can/will end up together, again.

Battlestar Galactica: "The Hand of God"

The episode “The Hand of God” really helps to illustrate some of the various feelings a person can feel when they are thrust into a leadership position they were not seeking or had no intention of accepting. The three main characters we’ve seen thrust into leadership positions during this episode are Laura Roslin, Starbuck, and Baltar (whose storyline is really an extension of previous episodes).

We saw Roslin nervously accept the role of President of the Twelve Colonies at the beginning of the Battlestar Galactica series and now we see her having to be educated about another role she has been thrust into—that of a religious leader. This new calling came to a head during a press conference when she hallucinated some twelve snakes wrapped around the podium and her hands. Following the press conference, she met with the Priestess Elosha. “I’ve been taking chamalla for a medical condition,” she tells her and she explains that she had dreams of Leoben, before they captured him:

Roslin: The images were…
Elosha: Prescient?
Roslin: Uncanny. And now I’m seeing things while I’m awake….There were snakes crawling all over my podium during the press conference.
Elosha: How many?
Roslin: About a dozen.
Elosha: You’re kidding me, right? You read Pythia and now you’re having me on?
Roslin: No. Who is Pythia?
Elosha: One of the oracles in the sacred scrolls 3600 years ago, Pythia wrote about the exile and rebirth of the human race: ‘and the Lords anointed a leader to guide the caravan of the heavens to their new homeland, and unto the leader they have a vision of serpents numbering two and ten as a sign of things to come.’ She also wrote the new leader suffered a wasting disease and would not live to enter the new land. But you’re not dying, are you?

Of course, we all know the answer to that question and we now know that not only was Roslin thrown into the political role of President leading her people to safety, she has been thrown into the theological role of leading her people to the Promised Land. It seems just as she has become fairly comfortable with the political role, a role she at least has observed President Adar filling in Caprica, she has a completely new role thrown onto her shoulders, one that she does not seem to be at all familiar with, as she was unfamiliar with the Pythian prophecies, literature we find out later that was apparently common enough that Baltar read while in the sixth grade.

Similarly, Starbuck is thrown into a new role as a military strategist, coming up with a new, fresh, “out-of-the-box” perspective on battlefield tactics as they decide to do a surprise attack on the Cylon controlled tylium enriched asteroid, a resource that would give them fuel and ammunition for the next couple of years. The Galactica launches their strike force heading towards the base. Starbuck all along has struggled with wanting to be in the cockpit, rather than working behind the scenes with the Commander. However, her knee injury prevents her from flying a viper. During the strike, she still wishes she were with the other viper pilots in the field. Adama tells her, “I had to go through the same transition. When you’re in the cockpit, you’re in control. It’s hard to give it up.” She replied, “I never wanted this kind of responsibility.” “The Cylons never asked what we wanted. Welcome to the big leagues,” is Adama’s consolation. Starbuck’s struggle is with releasing control. While she admits that she “lives outside of the box,” she also wants to be the one fulfilling the orders. She stands with one foot in leadership and one foot in being a follower—it’s up to her to decide where to put her weight and right now it seems that she is trying to shift it to being a follower, being in the cockpit, instead of calling the shots for the fleet.

Baltar, on the other hand, seems to seek leadership; rather, he seems to seek the fame and prosperity that can come with leadership. In his seeking, he has been thrown into a religious position, a new recruit in the Church of the Cylon God, a position that holds certain responsibilities to the Cylon God. Once again, Baltar has interesting conversations throughout the episode with Six about God. He questions why the Cylon God would help him destroy the Cylon base. Six explains that “God doesn’t take sides. He only wants your love. Open your heart to him and he will show you the way….You must remember to surrender your ego. Remain humble.” As discussed in previous episodes, these divine attributes of the Cylon God sound very similar to those described about the Christian God in the Gospels. It seems that Six understands Baltar’s hubris and warns him that it can/will get in the way of a relationship with God, a trap that some hypocritical religious leaders in the Second Testament got in trouble for.

At the end of the episode, Baltar imagines he’s back on Caprica and the Pythian prophecy is further discussed:

Six: Have you read the Pythian prophecy, Gaius?
Baltar: Not since the sixth grad. I can’t say ancient history was my favorite subject.
Six: Six: You should have paid closer attention....”All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.’
Baltar: Everyone knows that verse. What are you getting at?
Six: Remember this one? “Led by serpents numbering two and ten.”
Baltar: The Vipers! They’re the serpents.
Six: There’s a later verse, Gaius. You should read it. “Though the outcome favored the few, it led to a confrontation at the home of the gods.”
Baltar: Are you telling me that God guided my finger to that target for some arcane scriptural purpose?
Six: You did well. You gave yourself over to him.
Baltar: Yes, I suppose I did. Yes, there’s really no other logical explanation for I was…
Six: Am…
Baltar: …I am an instrument of God.

Baltar and Six discuss the same passage Roslin and Elosha discussed toward the beginning of the episode. However, each couple comes to a different interpretation of the same passage, each thinking s/he is the leader described in the passage. Sometimes Scripture can be interpreted in various ways to suit the situation or interpretation the reader wants. This is why Scripture should be read in context of itself—try to let Scripture interpret itself. How do certain images play out throughout Scripture and how can those other instances inform the passage in question. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the series. The part of the passage that Six does not mention that we did hear earlier in the episode is that this “instrument of God” is supposedly dying of a wasting disease. Roslin is dying of terminal breast cancer; we do not know of anything Baltar is afflicted with (other than hallucinations).

Battlestar Galactica: "Flesh and Bone"

The theme of evangelism continues in “Flesh and Bone,” as Leoben Conoy and Starbuck discuss the nature of God(s) and what it means to be human. While in the previous episode, “Six Degrees of Separation,” we see bedroom evangelism, the tactics of evangelism change in this episode by taking place in an interrogation room. At base level, however, the Cylons’ attempts at evangelism are the same—meet the humans where they are, meet them where they feel comfortable. Baltar’s comfortable place is in his bedroom; Starbuck’s comfortable place is in a military setting where she feels more in control. The Cylons demonstrate that in order to evangelize, we should know the other person, have a relationship with that person. Six knows that Baltar responds to physical relationship and it seems that Six is almost desperate for physical contact and relationship. Leoben knows Starbuck’s past and knows that she is faithful to the human polytheistic religion. Both Six and Leoben are able to evangelize by appealing to the growing relationships with their human counterparts.

After hiding for some time, Leoben Conoy, a duplicate Cylon of the one Adama encountered and fought on Ragnar Anchorage, is caught. Starbuck is called to interrogate him. After observing how human Leoben seems at first glance, Starbuck enters the interrogation chamber:

Starbuck: Sleeping?
Leoben: Praying.
Starbuck: I don’t think the gods
answer the prayers of toaster.
Leoben: God answers everyone’s prayers.

Leoben begins his relationship with Starbuck through a discussion of faith. Their discussions further show that the Cylons believe in a monotheistic religion, while the humans believe in a pantheon. An all-loving, all encompassing God seems very much like how God is described of the Gospels.

Later, Leoben tries to play mind games with Starbuck, and she is unsuccessful in getting information from him, he gives more information about the Cylon God:

Leoben: It’s funny, isn’t it? We’re all God, Starbuck. I see love that bonds
everything together.
Starbuck: Love? You don’t even know that the word
means.
Leoben: I know that God loved you more than all other living
creatures and you repaid his divine love with sin, with hate, corruption, evil,
so then he decided to create the Cylons.
Starbuck: The gods had nothing to
do with it. We created you. Us. It was a stupid and fracked up decision, and we
are paying for it. You destroyed my entire race! That is sin! That is what you
are.

Leoben wants to not only educate Starbuck about the god he believes in, but wants to convert her to believe in his god, as well. Interestingly, it seems that the Cylon race is very similar to paths that some Christian groups have taken. While Christians have read the Gospels, have read some of the Pauline letters, have heard that God loves humanity, that God forgives, that God is compassionate, there are still some Christians that attempt genocide through brute mob mentality and force, while other Christians will harm on a more personal level through one-on-one violence, gestures, and words. In this view, it seems that the Cylons are allegoric for the Nazis and other Christian groups, even the historic Church, who sought to destroy others who did not believe the way they did.

Leoben continues to compare his monotheistic faith to Starbuck’s polytheistic faith:

Leoben: See, our faiths are similar but I look to one god, not to many.
Starbuck: I don’t give a damn what you believe.
Leoben: To know the face
of god is to know madness. I see the universe. I see the patterns. I see the
foreshadowing that precedes every moment of every day. It’s all there. I see it
and you don’t. And I have a surprise for you. I have something to tell you about
the future.
Starbuck: Is that so?
Leoben: It is. But we have to see this
through to the end. What is the most basic article of faith? This is not all
that we are. See, the difference between you and me is, I know what that means
and you don’t. I know that I’m more than this body, more than this
consciousness. A part of me swims in the stream but in truth, I’m standing on
the shore. The current never takes me downstream.

Moses’ encounter with Yahweh on Mount Sinai reveals that God will not show humanity God’s face. Moses asks God: “Show me your glory, I beg you.” God replies, among other things: “You shall see the back of me, but my face is not to be seen.” Interestingly, studies have been done of epileptic and schizophrenic patients and it seems that God appears to them face to face, and the patient describes God, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary in intimate detail, inevitably in an everyday setting. Such studies track with Leoben’s understanding of God.

Just before President Roslin comes to interrupt the interrogation, Leoben gives Starbuck a “gift.” He tells her that “each of us plays a role; each time a different role. Maybe the last time I was the interrogator and you were the prisoner. The players change, the story remains the same. And this time—this time—your role is to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It’s your destiny. And mine.” He continues to tell her that she will find Kobol, birthplace of the Gods and the map to Earth. It is interesting that he, a Cylon android, believes that he not only has a soul, but that he will go to God, though he has admitted that when his body is destroyed, his consciousness will simply be uploaded into another body someplace else. The Cylons have added a mystical, faithful layer on top of the logical hard wiring of their make-up, deifying their upload and download processes.

Battlestar Galactica: "33"

Survivors: 50298 (Billy's statements about how there were "some over counts" make this number's accuracy questionable.)

Basically, this episode is about endurance, surviving on no sleep. The Cylons appear every thirty three minutes to attack the fleet; the fleet is prepared to spin up their FTL drives and runs away before the Cylons can destroy them; the clocks are then reset for thirty three minutes, when the Cylons will appear and the cycle starts over, again. So, no one is getting any rest, as everyone is on high alert to engage their enemy every 33 minutes.

On board Colonial One, Gaius Baltar has waking dreams of Number Six back at his house on Caprica. It’s these dreams that are loaded with theological baggage, that gave me pause and I had to sit back and think about them. “God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone.” What a statement! Something that I hear over and over from some who do not understand the ramifications of what they are saying. It’s something that at times I wish I could believe—it would be easy to blame God if something doesn’t go the way I hoped it would, easy to find refuge in an organized plan in a seemingly irrational universe; but, this is a statement I have seen destroy some who cannot understand why God would “take” their child who drowned in the family pool, or the young, brilliant mother who died from cancer and left her four children , or the baby who was shot in his mother’s arms in a drive-by shooting, or the earthquake that buried thousands of people in Central America, or the tsunami that wiped away whole towns, or the hurricane that destroyed several cities, not to mention human against human atrocities, such as the Holocaust—how can we explain that these terrible things were part of God’s plan, according to the Christian Gospel?

Baltar tells Number Six that he believes in a world he can understand, “a rational universe, explained through rational means.” Number Six then tells Baltar, “I love you. That’s not rational.” “No, but you’re not rational. You’re also not really here. Neither am I.” Baltar takes the opposite view of Number Six. Being the scientist, his “god” is reason, a collection of theorems and equations that all balance together and make sense of the universe. Isn’t this what we look for in our world? When things don’t go as we think they should go, when we’re fired from our job of 40 years, when we’re stuck in a traffic jam, when our child dies, when we hit financial crisis, we try to find some solace in a rationalization of why these terrible things happen to us and around us. So often there are no rationalizations that can explain these events. And it doesn’t seem right that a compassionate, loving God would make such horrible things part of a divine plan.

After the next jump, Baltar experiences another waking dream with Number Six. “Do you want children, Gaius? Procreation is one of God’s commandments. I want us to have a child.” He wakes up from this dream/hallucination when he hears Billy mention the name Dr. Amarak. Billy says Amarak has “uncovered important information regarding how the Cylons were able to defeat Colonial defenses.” An alarmed Baltar says that he used to work with him at the Ministry of Defense. He is noticeably worried and suggests that he speak to him instead of Billy, but Billy replies, “I think he wanted to speak directly with the President. Sounded urgent.” Roslin instructs Billy to bring him on board after the next cycle.

Unfortunately, it is with the next cycle, the late-to-arrive Olympic Carrier is thought to have been infiltrated in some way by the Cylons, is loaded with nukes and headed directly towards the fleet. The conversation Baltar has with Number Six when he learns this news is compelling:

“God’s watching out for you….” Number Six tells Baltar, “Dr. Amarak posed a
threat to you. Now he’s gone. Logic says there’s a
connection.”
“A connection, maybe, but not God. There is no God or
gods, singular or plural. There are no large invisible men (or women for
that matter) taking a personal interest in the fortuned of Gaius Baltar.”
“Be
careful. That which God gives he can also take away.”

In the meantime, the Olympic Carrier continues to head toward the fleet with its nukes. Roslin hesitates to make the call to destroy the ship, while Number Six taunts Baltar, demanding he confess his sins and repent to the Cylon God. After Baltar tells Number Six “I repent,” Roslin gives the order to destroy the Carrier. Its destruction means the destruction of Amarak. Baltar, who has repented of his sins and, consequently, proclaimed a sort of loyalty to the Cylon God, feels safe from being connected with the Cylon attack and destruction of the 12 Colonies. The Cylons arrive and the fleet makes a final jump, leaving the Cylons behind, along with the brutal 33 minute cycle.

It seems that Number Six is trying to make the Cylon God into a sort of rational God, one of patterns and results. If you do this, then this will be the result, according to God’s will. The Christian Gospel describes a God of compassion and love, one who embraces all people and gives forgiveness. The God described in the Gospels doesn’t hold a threat of taking away blessings, but promises to be a bulwark for the weak, love for the disenfranchised, hope for the desperate. In this sense, the God of the Gospels seems to be the opposite of logic and, therefore, the opposite of the Cylon God.

Interesting facts about this episode:

• This episode won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.This episode received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series. (2004)


• This episode received a Visual Effects Society nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program. (Cylon Centurions) (2005)


• Number Six says that procreation is God’s command; the episode ends with Roslin finding out that she can add one person to the census count because there was a birth in the fleet.

By Way of Introduction

Hi! Thank you for stopping by. This is my first posting on this blog site, so I just want to outline what I hope to do here, in this tiny parking space of the cyber parking lot. As one who has been very involved in the nuts and bolts of planning for both traditional and contemporary worship services, I found that I was frustrated with the lack of resources tying contemporary, secular media to the Christian life. I am a strong believer that there is something sacred in everything—that everything in our world is or can be in some way touched by the divine, by God; it could be something, someone, or a situation that speaks to us, inspires us to be better people, or it could be something that demands a response from us to make a difference through compassion for the world around us.

While I was serving as a minister, I simply didn't have the time and energy to keep up with all of the current movies and television shows, though I tried! Now I have twins and am fortunate to be able to stay home with them for a few years and, during their nap times and in between laundry and keeping up with the house, I can hopefully provide some resources for others about contemporary, secular media.

I watch secular media, a lot of it, through the lens that searches for the sacred in the secular. I'll post my thoughts on movies and television shows, among other things, and how they can relate to the Christian life, the life that is meant to be lived in love and compassion for the world, for all of humanity.

One of my first tasks is to watch a popular Science Fiction show Battlestar Galactica, which will begin its fourth season early next year. This is a show I enjoy and since it has a long hiatus, this will help me to wait out the next seven or so months. I plan to go episode by episode and blog my views of how it takes on theological points—it's a really interesting show that I would recommend you to watch! It has received a lot of good press, won the Peabody in 2006, and several big journals (like Newsweek) have called it the best show on television. I just pretty much stumbled across it this Spring. You can find out more about this show from scifi.com (http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/about/show/) and more background about the show will be posted in this blog. But, don't worry—I'm going to be watching other things, too! So, I'll blog about them.

Hopefully, this little site will provide some inspiration to consider secular media in worship planning, so that parishioners will have a model so that they can see the sacred in the secular.