WhateverThings

Episode 312: “Rapture”

This is the first of what I plan to be a regular post - a look at the weekly episode of my favorite television show: Battlestar Galactica. I don’t plan on analyzing every plot twist, pointing out every inconsistency in the storyline, screaming about some scientific impossibility or debating which character is the best looking (there are plenty of places for all that). These are just observations and ways in which parts of the show are bits of everyday apocalypse. At some point in the future, I will write about why I like Galactica so much, but for now, here are some thoughts on this episode, which opened the second half of season 3. Knowledge of the show is helpful but I will try to make the observations understandable for those not familiar. [Warning: Spoilers]

“God will never forgive you.” Said by Sharon to Caprica 6, trying to convince her to help get Hera back to Galactica. How often does this way of thinking creep into our everyday lives - that there are things for which God won’t forgive us? Or do we ever suggest the same thing to others, that God won’t forgive them for something when the problem with forgiveness is primarliy ours? Sharon is playing Caprica 6’s piety and manipulating her knowing that C6 wants to please God and do what is right. It seems obvious when someone else is doing it, but I wonder if I ever do the same thing. Oh, is it not easy as a preacher to guilt trip someone, implying that God will not forgive them, or maybe just love them less if they don’t get on board with my latest plans.
“We’ve decided to box your model.” I don’t have the quote exactly right, but the scene is where Cavill tells D’Anna that her cylon model is going to be put in cold storage - her memories, thoughts, etc. D’Anna had defied the group and sought out her own agenda to see the face of the Final Five Cylons. The majority takes over and crushes the minority voice. I wonder what the writers were going for here. I have not listened to Ronald Moore’s podcast commentary. It seems likely that it was just to show fragmentation among the Cylon and then how they dealt with it. But, what it made me think of was the whole DaVinci Code, Gnostic Gospel and Gospel of Judas stuff with the suggestion that there were differing voices within the early Christian community and that those minority voices were simply “boxed” and only now have come to light through study of the gnostic gospels. There are some serious problems with that view and folks like Ben Witherington and Mark Roberts have pointed out the flaws in the thinking. You can read Witherington here and Roberts here (a lot of information at this one.) I doubt Moore and company had this issue in mind, but it seems that they are drawing on the popular notion of the way in which the majority voice often silences the minority, which is in many cases partly true.

All truth is God’s truth. So say we all!