{"id":33942,"date":"2013-05-20T06:54:36","date_gmt":"2013-05-20T12:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/?p=33942"},"modified":"2013-05-20T06:54:36","modified_gmt":"2013-05-20T12:54:36","slug":"a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

May 10 marked\u00a0the season (and also the series<\/a>) finale of Fox\u2019s\u00a0Touch<\/em><\/a>, a show I\u2019ve followed since its premiere last spring.\u00a0Touch<\/em> followed widower Martin Bohm (Kiefer Sutherland) as he attempted to develop a relationship with his seemingly autistic son Jake (David Mazouz), who is non-verbal but can comprehend patterns in numerical sequences. The show\u2019s first season was largely episodic: each week, Jake would relay a number to Martin, who somehow had to learn its importance in order to help a stranger for whom those numbers were significant. The numbers\u2019 significance was never immediately clear and the individuals who played roles in the overall resolution were often in far-flung corners of the world.<\/p>\n

Beginning with the first season\u2019s finale and continuing into this season, Touch<\/em> developed a more cohesive pattern, as Martin learned more about other people with abilities similar to Jake\u2019s, which brought him into contact with Lucy (Maria Bello), a single mother desperately searching for her own gifted daughter, Amelia (Saxon Sharbino). In season two, Martin and Lucy learned of a vast conspiracy by the devious AsterCorp, which seeks to exploit such mathematic savants, while they also try to avoid a rogue (Sa\u00efd Taghmaoui) who feels duty-bound to kill these 36 \u201crighteous ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Touch<\/em> bears many similarities to creator Tim Kring\u2019s earlier, more fantastic show Heroes<\/em>: similar cinematography, score, and technical aspects aside, both shows focus on individuals with extraordinary abilities. The series improved in its second season with the increased emphasis on the search for the elusive 36 and the need to protect them; the conspiratorial elements brought a coherence that was lacking in season one, where the biggest ongoing plotline was a tedious custody battle over Jake that may have been the series\u2019 most unrealistic aspect. Even in its second season, Touch<\/em> was not without its flaws. Jake\u2019s only lines in any given hour bracket each episode, and they are generally cheesy expositions of pseudo-scientific mysticism about patterns manifest in nature. Unsurprisingly, they sound quite similar to the monologues that Mohinder Suresh would deliver in Heroes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If Kring\u2019s justification for his characters\u2019 intersecting lives rang hollow, his underlying emphasis may have been biblically sound. \u201cNo man is an island, entire of itself,\u201d the priest-poet John Donne famously wrote in a meditation on death<\/a>. \u201cEvery man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend\u2019s or of thine own were: any man\u2019s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind\u2026\u201d In saying this, Donne echoes the sentiments of Paul when he presents the Gospel to the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17.<\/p>\n

In Jewish settings, Paul has emphasized God\u2019s particular role in Hebrew history (e.g., Acts 13:13-52, 17:1-15). Among the Greeks, he acknowledges the universal aspects of humanity\u2019s kinship, quoting the pagan poet Aratus to maintain,\u00a0\u201cWe are his [God\u2019s] offspring\u201d (Acts 17:28, NIV). God\u2019s love for the humanity He has created extends beyond ethnic or geographical bounds, a fact manifest not only in His Great Commission to \u201cgo and make disciples of all nations\u201d (Matthew 28:19, NIV) but in the Old Testament with its repeated emphasis on caring for the foreigners among the Israelites.<\/p>\n

Touch<\/em> thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity, and one that Donne recognized when he asserted that he was \u201ca piece of the continent.\u201d Every human death (and life), regardless of region, ought to be meaningful to us, as we, like Donne, are \u201cinvolved in mankind.\u201d Even if Touch <\/em>lacks the theological or philosophical focus to suggest any more compelling reason for that connectivity than merely a playing out of numerical patterns, it at least can help to jolt us out of our own regional complacency and remind us of the larger continent.\u00a0 There may always be a temptation to respond to our shrinking planet by withdrawing into communities of people who think and\/or look like us.\u00a0Touch <\/em>asserts that such avoidance will never change our interdependence on one another. The Bible agrees, and reminds us further that our own interdependence comes from the God upon whom we all must depend.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Touch thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1344,"featured_media":34792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1484,19],"tags":[1509,2193],"class_list":["post-33942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-ofthemoment","category-television","tag-of-the-moment","tag-touch"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Touch thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Touch thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Christ and Pop Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-20T12:54:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/280\/2013\/05\/touch.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Geoffrey Reiter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Geoffrey Reiter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-20T12:54:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-20T12:54:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6ea10e0a1d0583afffb4a4b02fcff0\"},\"description\":\"Touch thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/\",\"name\":\"Christ and Pop Culture\",\"description\":\"Where the Christian faith meets the common knowledge of our age\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6ea10e0a1d0583afffb4a4b02fcff0\",\"name\":\"Geoffrey Reiter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34a5d25db2b1e168b608de0997943bed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34a5d25db2b1e168b608de0997943bed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Geoffrey Reiter\"},\"description\":\"Geoffrey Reiter is Assistant Professor of English at the Baptist College of Florida. He holds a B.A. in English from Nyack College and a Ph.D. in English from Baylor University, along with an M.A. in Church History from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/author\/greiter\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness","description":"Touch thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness","og_description":"Touch thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/","og_site_name":"Christ and Pop Culture","article_published_time":"2013-05-20T12:54:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"600","height":"300","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/280\/2013\/05\/touch.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Geoffrey Reiter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Geoffrey Reiter","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/","name":"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-05-20T12:54:36+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-20T12:54:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6ea10e0a1d0583afffb4a4b02fcff0"},"description":"Touch thus emblematizes a Christian truth, one that is becoming increasingly evident in the technological era of human connectivity.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2013\/05\/a-piece-of-the-continent-touch-providence-and-human-connectedness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cA Piece of the Continent\u201d: Touch, Providence, and Human Connectedness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/","name":"Christ and Pop Culture","description":"Where the Christian faith meets the common knowledge of our age","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6ea10e0a1d0583afffb4a4b02fcff0","name":"Geoffrey Reiter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34a5d25db2b1e168b608de0997943bed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34a5d25db2b1e168b608de0997943bed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Geoffrey Reiter"},"description":"Geoffrey Reiter is Assistant Professor of English at the Baptist College of Florida. He holds a B.A. in English from Nyack College and a Ph.D. in English from Baylor University, along with an M.A. in Church History from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/author\/greiter\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1344"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}