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: “Exodus,” Part I

During “Exodus,” Three walks along her own spiritual journey after she has a dream about the Cylon/human baby and visiting a human Oracle. We see her walking through the tent city of New Caprica City, where she sees the Oracle tent from her dream and enters. The Oracle recognizes her and invites her in. She tells Three that “Zeus sees all. Sees you, number Three. Sees your pain. Your destiny. All the Gods weep for you….”

Three: There is no Zeus. No other god but God.
Oracle: Well, you don’t
believe that anymore. You don’t know what you believe and that is why you’re
here.
Three: It’s not true. I don’t even know why I’m here. This is the
stupidest thing I ever did.

It seems that Three is searching for something, searching for an understanding of her own destiny, searching for confirmation of the Cylon call to preserve what is yet to come (in the form of Hera), searching for God. She winds her way into the Oracle’s tent, unsure of why she was there, but seemingly looking for answers. The Oracle is aware of these questions Three is haunted by, but when she tells Three that she knows of Three’s more agnostic slant on theology, Three denies it and starts to look for ways out of this conversation, out of this tent. Again, could she deny the Oracles observations because she’s afraid of the Cylon God? Or could she be afraid that admitting she has questions about God would undermine the whole Cylon occupation, which had been set up as an opportunity to bring the word of God to the humans.

The Oracle tells Three that she is aware of her dreams. This catches Three’s attention, who then kneels in front of the Oracle, as though she is in church. When we kneel, we talk with God, often hoping for a message from God. In accordance to this submission, Three receives a message, via the Oracle: “I have a message for you from the one you worship. He speaks through me to you just as he speaks in your dreams. The message is…the fruit born of two peoples is alive. A child named after the wife and sister of the all-knowing Zeus. Hera lives.” Three gently tells the Oracle that she is wrong. The Oracle continues to tell her that she will hold the child in her arms, and “you’ll know for the first time what it is to feel true love. But you’ll lose everything you’ve done here.” This news is as bitter as the camalla the Oracle uses to have these visions, as the Oracle recognizes that Three does not know what it means to love and be loved. The news is also bitter because it means that Sharon’s trust in Adama and Roslin may be in jeopardy.

Later, Three confronts Sharon in the lockbox room as she is performing the launch key heist. Three tries to tell Sharon about her daughter and that she has been betrayed by the very people she is trying to save. Three tells Sharon about her dreams and even acknowledges to her that these dreams made her “question [her] faith. Made [her] question God.” While Three tries to tell Sharon the truth, Sharon speaks over her or interrupts her letting her know that she is not listening, that she doesn’t believe her, and, finally, that Adama would not lie to her. Her faith in Adama, in Zeus, has been unwavering, while Three’s faith in the Cylon God has wavered. It was a human that brought Three back on track with her faith in God.

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: “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: "Downloaded"

We get a detailed glimpse into the Cylons, from the Cylons’ perspective, in the episode “Downloaded.” We see that the Cylons, in fact, are not completely united within their ranks, that there is some disagreement about their understanding of the Cylon God’s plan, and ultimately some disagreement with what has been done and what to do with the human race. Finally, we see Caprica Six and Sharon become leaders of a new movement that demonstrates God’s love, a new movement not based on fear and murder.

Nine months earlier Number Six died in Baltar’s apartment and downloads into a new body on Caprica. We see several Cylons surrounding her to comfort her. Also, it turns out that she has a Head Baltar, like Baltar has a Head Six on Galactica. Ten weeks later Boomer (aka Sharon) is killed by Cally and is downloaded into a new body on Caprica. When she realizes what happened, she’s freaked out. In the present she still has trouble adjusting to her new life and longs for Galactica. Number Six (aka Caprica Six) is asked to help her readjust.

She talks with Sharon in a café and convinces her to move out of her apartment and live with the rest of the Cylons. Number Three joins Caprica Six and Sharon and head up a stairwell to Sharon’s apartment when a bomb planted by the resistance explodes in the parking garage below the building. The stairwell protects them on the higher floor. While the three sort out their injuries, they discover someone else under some rubble and Number Three clears it off to discover Anders. She takes his gun away and prepares to kill him, but Sharon protests. Caprica Six agrees, but to avoid suspicion from Three, claims pragmatically that they shouldn’t kill him so he can be interrogated.

We see the cruelty and potential for violence these human Cylon models are capable of when we see the actions of Three. We also know that not all of these human models are on the same page regarding how to treat the humans. Three cruelly toys with Anders, putting his gun on the ground and daring him to take it. When Sharon asks her to stop, Three retorts that Sharon is a broken machine that thinks she’s human, but isn’t. Sharon states she has a conscience, but Three counters that Sharon is a murderer. Six realizes that murder and the genocide of the human race cannot be the path of their loving God.

The division within these human models is realized by Six, who knows that Three wanted her and Sharon boxed: they are celebrities in a culture based on uniformity. Three knows that these heroes had a different perspective on the war. Because of their celebrity status as Cylon heroes, they could actually cause a change the Cylons view about their conflict with the humans, upsetting the status quo which Number Three upholds so dearly. Number Three says that Six and Sharon are a waste, corrupted by their experiences. Caprica Six explains to Sharon that this is why Three wanted to get rid of them, because Six and Sharon understand that murder, vengeance, and genocide are sins in the eyes of God. Sharon realizes that their knowledge could convince other Cylons that the slaughter of humanity was a mistake:

Caprica Six: Genocide, murder, vengeance. They’re all sins in the
eyes of God. That’s what you and I know. That’s what they don’t want
to hear.
Sharon: Because then, they’d have to rethink what they’re
doing! They’d have to consider that maybe the slaughter of mankind was a
mistake!

As the building’s rubble shifts while the Cylons outside try to clear their way to the survivors, Anders grabs his gun and tries to escape, shooting at Number Three before Sharon knocks the gun out of his hands. The gun lands near Number Three. As Three is about to shoot Anders, she tells Anders “God loves me.” Caprica Six appears behind her and hits her over her head with a large rock, then bashes Three, again, killing her.

Caprica Six and Sharon believe that there is sufficient time to start a new beginning for the Cylons before Number Three is downloaded into a new body and tells the rest of the Cylons what happened to her. They want to lead the Cylons on a way to live in God’s love, without hate or lies. Together, the two heroes of the Cylons agree to a new plan as their rescuers arrive.

Battlestar Galactica: “Resurrection Ship,” Parts I and II

At the beginning of Part II of “Resurrection Ship,” the battle begins as the Colonials attack the Cylons and their resurrection ship, the place where the programming mind of a destroyed Cylon is uploaded into a new body and then is reintegrated back into the Cylon fleet. While the space battle ensues, while Apollo is floating through space with a suit leaking oxygen, while tension rises in the CIC’s of both Galactica and Pegasus, a battle of a different sort is going on in Number Six’s cell on Pegasus. This battle is between Baltar and Head Six as he tries to sort out the theology of forgiveness according to the Cylons. His two sources are Number Six and Head Six (who I believe is actually part of Baltar’s psyche).

Basically, the discussion of forgiveness is between one whose actions led to the destruction of a world and one who wants to die in order to go to God. Head Six tells Baltar, “Tens of thousands of Cylons are about to die. Tens of thousands, Gaius. God will not forgive this sin.” If Head Six is indeed part of Baltar’s psyche, then it would seem that Baltar is grappling with his own issues of forgiveness; after all, he’s dealing with his own emotions of being the one who let a Cylon have access to the defense mainframe in Caprica that opened his world to attacks and genocide. He asks Prisoner Number Six, “Do you think God will forgive this?” “God forgives all,” she replies. Immediately, Baltar’s Head Six jumps in, “Don’t listen to her. You think she can help you? You think that that broken woman can offer you even a fraction of what I can? I know God’s plan for you. I know how to help you fulfill your destiny.” Baltar’s doubts keep hounding him, speaking at the very least at the back of his conscience.

Ultimately Baltar pushes Head Six to the back of his mind and out of the conversation and he chooses to follow Prisoner Number Six. She is, after all, real, in the flesh and he is a carnal kind of guy; also, her theology of forgiveness offers him hope. While she offers him hope, he doesn’t follow through with what she wants from him, which is for him to kill her. After the resurrection ship is destroyed (she seems to sense this), she begs Baltar, “I’m ready to die. Send my soul to God. Please.” But Baltar refuses, suggesting that what she really wants is justice—justice for all that she has been through since being put in the Pegasus brig. Maintaining his carnality, he offers her hope for her future with humanity, rather than offering her the eternal life she seeks with God.

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: "Six Degrees of Separation"

In church growth circles there’s a phrase that is sometimes used: “Bedroom Evangelism.” It usually refers to when churches grow because their member families are growing, more children are being born into the church than new, unchurched people are joining the congregation. In the Battlestar universe, Six is adding a new twist to bedroom evangelism. She seems to fully understand that Baltar acts on the most basic, primal, carnal level in his own best interests. So, at least in his head, Six likes to evangelize in Baltar’s boudoir, or at the very least when she gets his carnal urges revved. This theological tone is set with the beginning of the episode “Six Degrees of Separation.”

“I don’t see the hand of God in here,” a frustrated Baltar exclaims in his lab while examining some cells under his microscope. Six needles him, pushes him to contemplate God some more. Baltar wonders if he’ll find “evidence of His divine hand” in one of the blood samples. Six asks why Baltar is driven to blaspheme and she theorizes that he has a “need to tempt fate.” Baltar says it’s because of boredom.

The next thing we know we are in Baltar’s sex-fantasy domicylon with him in bed and Six sitting astride him. She suggests that he would find peace if he gave himself over to God’s love. Six understands Baltar. He knows he acts on the carnal level, whatever his physical urges tell him and whatever is in his best interests. So, Six mixes the carnal with the theological, gets Baltar’s primal urges pulsing while encouraging him to believe in the Cylon monotheistic God. While lovers tend to whisper “sweet nothings” in each others’ ears, Six whispers theological points in Baltar’s ears. As Baltar fumbles around with her dress, Six moves his hands away and insists that God has a plan for them. “If you would give yourself over to God’s will, you’d find peace in his love like I have. He has a plan for us.” Baltar is surprised not by the statement that God has a plan, but at Six’s use of a masculine pronoun. Six becomes testy and responds, “There is only one true God,” and she leaves Baltar’s bed.

Baltar says that she’s been repeating the same thing. Standing behind Six, he adds, “I’ve accepted your God and all that.” Baltar refers back a couple of episodes (“33”) to his conversation with Six about seeking forgiveness of his sins as the Olympic Carrier threatened the fleet and Baltar’s reputation. With an eye roll, Six says, “He’s not my God; he is God.” Baltar humors her: “He’s big enough for all of us, isn’t he?” Baltar tries to woo Six back into bed. Six insists that Baltar needs to give himself over to God’s love. “Oh for God’s sake,” Baltar snaps back and turns away from her. Six says that she’s trying to save his soul.

But, according to Baltar, all she is doing is boring him. He rants that her beliefs are “metaphysical nonsense, which to be fair to [Six], actually appeals to the half-educated dullards that make up most of human society,” and adds that no rational human would share her beliefs. Six gets off the bed and heads for the door as Baltar smugly adds, “Which leads me to the inescapable conclusion that Cylons are, in the final—“ He turns to face Six, and discovers that she’s gone. While trying to follow her, he raises his voice to finish his thought: “In the final analysis, little more than toasters.” He opens the bedroom door and looks downstairs, but she is nowhere to be seen. “With great-looking legs,” he concludes his thought. He closes the door and sits on the bed, pouting that at least this time there will be no conclusion for his carnal urges. In this scene no one gets what they want—he doesn’t have his primal urges sated and she hasn’t been able to convert a new believer.

The theological discussions, the bedroom evangelism, in this episode play out very similarly to “33” when Baltar finally confessed his sins and his belief in the Cylon God. In “33” when things were getting bad for Baltar, he confessed and things cleared up for him and his good reputation remained in tact. In “Six Degrees of Separation, “ after Baltar was thrown in the brig, (he was caught trying to destroy the computer that had rendered his image as the one who allowed Cylon access to the defense mainframe before the attack) Baltar gets down on his knees and prays: “Please, dear God…and I acknowledge you are the one true God…deliver me from this evil, and I will devote the rest of what is left of my wretched life to doing good, and to carrying out your divine will.” Baltar cries through the rest of his declaration. “Grant me grace. Grant me forgiveness.” Then Six appears and consoles him. “Shhhh. I’m here now. I’m here. All will be well. It will be as God wants it to be.” Gaeta arrives and gives him the good news that he’s to be freed.

Not only is Baltar exonerated, he becomes a hero as a result of all of this. At the end of the episode, Baltar and Six are back in his home in Caprica and Six continues to play to Baltar’s primal/carnal urges by building up his ego (and libido). “You’re a hero,” Six tells him. “You’re even more popular and powerful than ever before. You’ve had your trial by fire, so now they truly believe in you. Hard for them to accuse you of treason again.” “Was that the plan all along. Build me up in the public mind by first tearing me down…Right. Who am I to question the plans of almighty God.” He asks her, “Was there ever a woman really called Shelly Godfrey? Did she ever exist, was she ever really here?” There is no answer, and Six ascends the stairs and undresses, with Baltar following after her. “God’s will be done.” Unlike the opening scene of the episode, both people get what they want—a new convert and carnal urges sated.

Battlestar Galactica: "You Can't Go Home Again"

Starbuck is shot down by a Cylon Raider and abandons ship on a hostile planet. She seeks shelter in the downed raider and discovers that it is a living organism. She figures out how to fly it and makes her way back to Galactica. Meanwhile, a father-son drama unfolds on Galactica as Adama and Apollo have launched a dangerous rescue mission and are trying to find Starbuck. When Roslin finds out that they are risking the rest of the fleet and the survival of humanity, she takes them to task guiding to realize that they are obsessed with clinging onto the last connection they may have to Zak Adama.

After this conversation with Roslin, on their way to CIC, Apollo continues his thoughts with his father:

Apollo: I want you to know, I think she’s wrong. I think we have
some to terms with what happened to Zak.
Adama: I
haven’t.
Apollo: I need to know something: Why did you do
this? Why did we do this? Is it for Kara? For Zak? For
what?
Adama: Kara was family. You do whatever you have to
do. Sometimes you break the rules.
Apollo: And if it was me down
there instead?
Adama: You don’t have to ask that.
Apollo: Are
you sure?
Adama: If it were you…we’d never leave.

While this conversation, in fact this entire episode, doesn’t have an overt religious references, this scene is a good one for sermon illustration of God never leaving us alone, never abandoning us. At times we may feel abandoned, but actually we may have been the one doing the abandoning. God will not leave us, but will keep searching for us.

What Adama seems to be doing in this continuation of the previous episode is an Act of Contrition. His last conversation with Starbuck did not end well, as she admitted putting his unqualified son in the cockpit of a viper that ultimately killed him. Understandably, Adama was angry…furious. He basically kicked Starbuck out of his quarters. Now, seemingly sorry for how he left things with this sort of adoptive daughter, he looks for her, risking everything and everyone to find her.

As the fleet is about to leave, a lone raider appears. Lee tries to engage it but it outmaneuvers him until he is able to see its underbelly—Starbuck has written her name on it. Adama and Starbuck reconcile.

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.