I heard this on the radio and thought I would share it. I hadn’t heard of Daniel Davis (aka “Daniel D“) prior to yesterday, but I am always delighted to hear the potential of the electric violin as a jazz instrument being explored. If you like this, you will probably also enjoy Jean-Luc Ponty, Regina Carter and Stephane Grappelli. Read more
Doctor Who has done (and most likely is continuing to do) something that LOST could have done had it had the foresight. On LOST, the only point at which time travel actually resulted in something we had already seen previously on the show was when Flocke took Richard to talk to Locke and deal with his wound. On Doctor Who, we have already seen a time travel loop used to good effect, when the Doctor, having left Amy with her... Read more
(This is my first attempt at making a Hitler Downfall parody video. Let me know what you think of it.) Read more
I am not seriously suggesting that Religion and Science Fiction will set relatively primitive hominids on the fast track to becoming sentient, or that your encounter with it will turn you into the Starchild. But I do think that the book will make a useful contribution to academic discussion of the intersection of religion and science fiction – and surely that can’t be a bad thing for either you or your species! Plus, it seemed as though sci-fi is always... Read more
I have long been struck by the profundity of Star Wars’ vision of redemption. While many Christians treat it as a given that the casting of Satan, Hitler and perhaps the majority of human beings into a lake of fire for eternity is a satisfactory outcome, Star Wars offers – as do some Christians – a vision in which the effective way to overcome evil is not to kill the enemy but to win them back from evil to good.... Read more
For some people, it is not clear why the number 666 was chosen to represent a power hostile to Christianity. But the photo below (HT Hemant Mehta) explains it: Read more
There have been a lot of hints down the years that the Doctor is in some sense God or a god in the minds of the writers and producers. Here are just a few reminders: His nickname in school was “Theta Sigma” – the nomina sacra abbreviation for the Greek word theos, “God,” in early Christian manuscripts. He was involved in the big bang, the spark that gave rise to life on earth, and more recently, in the defeat of... Read more
The day of judgment had finally come, and all of humanity was gathered beside the pearly gates, to await their judgment and learn whether their fate was what they expected. Some cowered as far away as they could, out of fear, but a group of fundamentalist preachers pushed their way to the front, eager to receive their reward. An angel spotted them and went over to them. “We’ve been expecting you,” he said. “Follow me.” The angel led them into... Read more
The big question raised by yesterday’s episode of Doctor Who, “Let’s Kill Hitler,” is…what is the question? The Silence, we have been told, are a religious order trying to answer the oldest question in the universe, believing that once they do, “silence will fall.” The big discussions among Doctor Who fans for the near future will be “What is the oldest question in the universe?” and “What does ‘Silence will fall’ mean?” All I will say for now is that... Read more
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