{"id":11771,"date":"2012-12-26T11:21:23","date_gmt":"2012-12-26T16:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=11771"},"modified":"2012-12-26T11:21:23","modified_gmt":"2012-12-26T16:21:23","slug":"more-ideas-of-god-in-the-snowmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/more-ideas-of-god-in-the-snowmen.html","title":{"rendered":"More Ideas of God in The Snowmen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

When I blogged about theological themes in the Doctor Who Christmas special, \u201cThe Snowmen,\u201d<\/a> two major concepts of divinity were notably absent: polytheism and Deism. That\u2019s not because such ideas were not touched on in the episode, but because I omitted one of the interesting bits of conversation in the episode, focused on the role of the Doctor himself.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, Vashtra tries to depict the Doctor in language that could have been pulled straight from Deism, or any tradition emphasizing the trascendence of divinity. The Doctor, she says, is not kind. He stands above this world, doesn\u2019t interfere, and is not your salvation. He is like a powerful deity that doesn\u2019t intervene, and isn\u2019t a savior.<\/p>\n

Yet the Doctor, she adds, once was all those things, and \u201ca savior of worlds.\u201d But he has chosen isolation to the pain of connection.<\/p>\n

The latter is more in keeping with the character of the Doctor as \u201ca god\u201d but as not in any sense an ultimate \u201cGod.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contrast between the two ideas is instructive. Many religions \u2013 perhaps all \u2013 walk the line between transcendence and imminence, sometimes emphasizing one or the other.<\/p>\n

Those which emphasize transcendence often do so in the interest of emphasizing God\u2019s supremacy, God\u2019s ultimacy. But reflecting on \u201cThe Snowmen,\u201d we are made to ask whether being \u201cabove and beyond\u201d in a way that renders an entity insulated from suffering, perhaps even \u201cimpassible,\u201d is actually better <\/em>or greater<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It also suggests that, as in the systems of polytheism in antiquity, religions both explicit and implicit tend to be less focused on a supreme God that is though of as far removed from the realities of everyday life, and more interested in lesser gods which, if not as powerful or supreme, may nevertheless care enough to help us in our situations of need.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

But it is not an either\/or situation. From the perspective of panentheism, Being itself not only transcends but also encompasses all those variety of beings that interact with us down here in the entangled web of everyday life. And even within the traditions of polytheism and Deism, it is not really a case of either\/or either. It is just a question of who or what is ultimate, and how he, she, or it relates to the solutions to our needs in times of distress and desperation, as well as on a day to day basis.<\/p>\n

The episode has an indirect connection with Buddhism<\/a>, too, but for that, you need to go back and watch (or read or listen to<\/a>) the \u201cprequel\u201d episode \u201cThe Abominable Snowmen<\/a>.\u201d And if you watch the sequel to that one, \u201cThe Web of Fear<\/a>,\u201d you will understand the references to the London Underground in \u201cThe Snowmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you find Doctor Who an interesting show for the exploring of religious ideas? What did you think<\/a> of \u201cThe Snowmen<\/a>\u201c?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I blogged about theological themes in the Doctor Who Christmas special, \u201cThe Snowmen,\u201d two major concepts of divinity were notably absent: polytheism and Deism. That\u2019s not because such ideas were not touched on in the episode, but because I omitted one of the interesting bits of conversation in the episode, focused on the role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,133,80],"tags":[1435,1436,2564,2764,2765,4005,4029,4178,9317,11490],"class_list":["post-11771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-doctor-who-science-fiction","category-religion","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist","tag-deism","tag-doctor","tag-doctor-who","tag-god","tag-gods","tag-great-intelligence","tag-polytheism","tag-snowmen"],"yoast_head":"\nMore Ideas of God in The Snowmen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When I blogged about theological themes in the Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Snowmen," two major concepts of divinity were notably absent: polytheism\" \/>\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\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/more-ideas-of-god-in-the-snowmen.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More Ideas of God in The Snowmen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I blogged about theological themes in the Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Snowmen," two major concepts of divinity were notably absent: polytheism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/more-ideas-of-god-in-the-snowmen.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. 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