Christ in Culture
Good Morning Friends,
Today marks the 50th anniversary of British TV’s most popular science fiction show. Even Google honors the milestone with an interactive doodle on its search box. Interestingly even though it may be written by non-believers, it still focuses on a compelling central character whose life has more than a few parallels to Jesus. One has to wonder if we are missing out on modern Christianity’s greatest allegorical resource. Then again Doctor Who may just be a subverted Messiah. It is probably a mistake to use it as an evangelistic resource indiscriminately unless you see someone brought to tears while watching it. Still, I would like to think that God will be where God will be. I wonder if it is an example of a wild and untamed Christ in Culture.
Scripture: On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17 (NIV)
To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen
Ephesians 3:21 (NIV)
“‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields. “‘In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.
Leviticus 25:8-13 (NIV)
Message: Doctor Who is a huge part of culture in the United Kingdom. It has an annual Christmas special and has lasted for multiple generations. It is rather unique, so I guess
I am comfortable in the ability of God to use it to further His plan. I have concluded that watching Doctor Who is for some like having a relationship with a god-like character. That could be dangerous and still might bring a person closer to a relationship with God. It cuts both ways. Doctor Who does have a cult following that is enamored with a relationship with a character who would die for us but really more than anything would like to live with us…a character who is always willing to help when asked and a character who always brings hope and forgiveness. Sound familiar? Really this is more than philosophy and more like religion. But then other science fiction has turned into religion. Perhaps there is reason for caution. Maybe there is a reason Doctor Who references are not in lots of sermons. Perhaps the reason is that Doctor Who is not a metaphor for the divine the way the lion is Jesus in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It may be relevant for our time that here is a god-like character we can see and understand but also dangerous if it does not move us closer to a relationship with God. There is something to be learned here. The Doctor for those of you who do not know is a “Time Lord” from the late planet Gallifrey, who spends his time in a blue phone booth traveling through time and space. It is bigger on the inside than the outside. He might look an awful lot like a human earthling, but there are two hearts beating inside that chest and he doesn’t die, he “regenerates.” While we’re comparing, they even had this one episode where the Doctor was acting as a human – and then had to choose whether he was going to remain human and have a normal life, get married, have children, etc., or be who he was and save the world. They had a little series of alternate reality scenes of him marrying and growing old as a human… just like in the Last Temptation of Christ! Of course, like Jesus, the Doctor chooses to save the world…and each regeneration is like going to the cross. Friends, perhaps the story of Jesus lives within us all and writers cannot help but write Jesus into the story. Regardless, whatever your perception filter, the stories raise questions of faith and existence. When we are presented with the opportunity we should be prepared to nudge them closer to Jesus.
Pray that people who view Doctor Who somehow be inspired by the redemptive nature of the storyline. Pray we think about big ideas of what might be. Pray we share with others the even more amazing story of Jesus in a way that helps people understand the nature of what it means to be human. Pray we realize that Doctor Who is still just a television show. Pray we are in the world but not of it.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 