I’ve been a fan of science fiction since I was a kid, and few modern sci-fi stories capture the child’s imagination while fulfilling the adult’s desire for a gripping story like the show Doctor Who. It’s one of those rare bits of modern entertainment that ticks all of the boxes. It’s a fairy tale, an adventure, a romance—I close my eyes during those parts—a comedy, and a grand drama.
In simpler terms, it’s a story, and like all stories, there is a piece, a hint, a molecule, of the story hidden within it. Heroics, nobility, courage, sacrifice—it all points back to the epic story that God has written across the ages. Of course, some stories are written with the intention of pointing back to the “source material,” while others require the reader to be a bit more discerning. Doctor Who is a bit of a hybrid. Though certainly not written to intentionally point back to God’s story, the parallels aren’t as obscured as they might be in other stories.
Why is that?
Doctor Who Meta
I think it’s because whenever a human being or a group of humans sit down to create a hero, of the epic variety, they are going to, on some level, tap into that divine source material, whether they realize it, desire it, believe it, or not. Everything good and noble and enduring in this life comes from God, and we, as human creatives, can only work with what our Creator has left for us.
This is why I jumped at the chance to write a devotional that would draw out the spiritual and theological themes of Doctor Who.
This book is my humble attempt to bridge two seemingly disparate worlds: science fiction and biblical reality. If you’re a Christian and a self-confessed Whovian, I’d be honored for you to read Finding Faith Inside the Big Blue Box.
So honored, in fact, that I would like to give a copy away.
rafael armstrong says
This sounds like an awesome devotional. I’m a youth leader at my church, and have a few Whovians in my Youth Group. This would be a cool resource to bring some time.
That said, one of my favorite moments this past season (“Grumpy cat” Capaldi is, to me, a breath of fresh air after Smith– and Tennant; his Doctor changes the tone of the show and the Doctor/companion dynamic) has to be from “Listen”. The scene towards the end with Clara in the barn (won’t say more– Spoilers!). I just love it. And, despite the unevenness at times of “Time Heist”, the raison d’être for the Doctor’s presence on Karabraxos got to me for some reason….
Phil Schneider says
Great choices for your fave episodes! Listen was overhyped to me by several friends, but I am loving Capaldi, overall. Thanks for the comment! I love hope this helps with the youth kids; it was a youth that got me turned on to the show in the first place!
Mark Goldfarb says
Love um all.
Phil Schneider says
You know, I would say the same, except that there is one that I absolutely can’t stand. I watched it once and no more. “Love & Monsters” from Season 2. Just can’t watch it again.
Otherwise, I totally agree! Thanks for the comment.
Simon L Smith says
I already have my copy (and love it) but am entering to get the word out. Even posted over at http://www.reelparables.com. This seems right up our alley!
Phil Schneider says
Hey, Simon, that’s awesome! Thanks for spreading the word!
Ericka Smith says
ANY and ALL episodes featuring “Doctor Donna” are my favs. She is my absolute favorite companion. Turn Left was maybe my all-time favorite Donna episode. Love the Ponds relationship with Matt Smith’s Doctor, too.
Phil Schneider says
Oy! I loved Donna! Absolutely my favorite companion! The Ponds were also a lot of fun, but did Amy’s flirting with The Doctor (and vice versa) ever get on your nerves? I liked how Donna was strong enough to not need the romantic angle.
Just my thoughts, anyway! Thanks for the comment.
Eric Dye says
The most #EPIC devo EVER!!!! 😀
Phil Schneider says
Awwww, schucks.
Jerry says
Would LOVE this! Am just starting to break out of the confines of traditional practices and ideology in our church. Also just recently discovered Dr. Who! I know, I’m late to the party!
Phil Schneider says
Welcome to the Whovian family, Jerry! What’s your church tradition, if you don’t mind me asking?
Jenn says
I <3 the idea of this! I'm also putting gentle pressure on our Youth Leader to purchase this if I don't get it. 🙂
Phil Schneider says
Put all the pressure on him you can! It was a youth who “evangelized” to me about Doctor Who! Thanks for the comment, Jenn!
Susan Kleinwechter says
I’m intrigued by the possibilities of this devotional! One of my favorite Doctor Who moments is when young Amy and the Doctor are looking at the crack in the wall.
“If you knock this wall down, the crack will stay put … because the crack isn’t in the wall.”
“Where is it then?”
“Everywhere.”
Phil Schneider says
Such a great episode! I’m not one for swearing, but I love this exchange in that same episode:
Amelia: I’m not scared!
The Doctor: Of course you’re not! You’re not scared of anything! Box falls out of the sky, man falls out of the box, man eats fish custard, and look at you! Just sitting there! So you know what I think?
Amelia: [shrugging] What?
The Doctor: Must be one *heck* of a scary crack in your wall.
S. George Thomas says
I can’t wait to read your devotional! Definitely going to check it out!
I jumped on the DW bandwagon pretty late in the game (basically binge-watched all the episodes, beginning with the 2005 reboot, this past summer) … but it swiftly became one of my all-time favorite shows. There are SEVERAL episodes I love for one reason or another, and here they are (in order of when they aired):
“The Girl in the Fireplace”
“Blink”
“Last of the Timelords”
“The Doctor’s Daughter”
“Vincent and the Doctor”
“The Big Bang”
“A Christmas Carol”
“The Impossible Astronaut”
“Day of the Moon”
“A Good Man Goes to War”
“The Wedding of River Song”
“The Angels Take Manhattan”
“The Snowmen”
“The Name of the Doctor”
“Listen”
Basically, I’m a sucker for any episode that hits me on an emotional level. 🙂
Phil Schneider says
Wow! That’s quite a list! Several of those are among my favorites, except “Listen.”
That episode really didn’t do anything for me. Can I ask, since it’s all so fresh for you, what about that episode hit you?
Thanks for the comment!
S. George Thomas says
Sure! For me, I really appreciated the tie-in of the barn from “The Day of the Doctor” and the reference to him returning there in his time of greatest fear. I also appreciated the cleverness/twist of Clara being the monster under the bed. And I think what I loved most about the episode was getting to see the Doctor as a young boy with doubts and fears, and how Clara was the catalyst that helped the Doctor understand that he could use his fear to bring out the good in him. I always love getting to know more about the Doctor, his back story and what drives/motivates him. 🙂
I do totally understand that the episode was overhyped for you, and if that had happened to me, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much.
Phil Schneider says
Yeah, that’s a good analysis. I liked ALL of those elements, and on that basis, I would have called it a great episode.
The overhyping was an issue, particularly because some folks said that “Listen” was the episode that helped them accept Capaldi as The Doctor, which felt off to me since the episode really focused more on Clara.
Amanda Stokes says
I’ve been thinking… God may be a Time Lord. (Kinda) God is beyond the bounds of time because He created it. Where the past is linear, He is not (Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff). He is ever present, in every bit of space and every tick of time. He is present when time stops, just as He was present before it began. Time’s creation is a fixed point. The earth’s destruction is a fixed point. But He is outside of that because He is the one who fixed those points in the first place… It’s like He dribbles time around like a basketball and where He shoots, it goes.
My conclusion, He must be a basketball playing Time Lord.
In all seriousness, what I love is how I’ve started thinking about time and knowing that God is the beginning and the end. Like… He INVENTED time! So, He knows every detail of every breath we breathe, every tick of the clock, every cell division… God, who is uncontainable, is the one who is my Father and He isn’t afraid of the past, present, or future because He holds it all in His hand.
Oh, and bow ties are cool.:)
Phil Schneider says
Wow! You’ve thought a lot about this! 🙂
There is a lot of the “divine” wrapped up in The Doctor, like in this quote from the first episode, “Rose,” of the revived showed.
“Do you know like we were saying, about the earth revolving? It’s like when you’re a kid, the first time they tell you that the world is turning and you just can’t quite believe it ’cause everything looks like it’s standing still. I can feel it, the turn of the earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour. And I can feel it. We’re falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world. And, if we let go…That’s who I am.”