Monday, October 13, 2014

Pop Culture Bible Study: Battlestar Galactica Week 1

I really love this show and have been excited about doing this Bible study for a long time. Every week I'll be posting the bible study we will be doing in conjunction with the show. Enjoy!



Battlestar Galactica Bible Study

Season 1, Episode: “33”

Hebrews 3:3-4
Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

Jeremiah 32:35
 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.

2 Corinthians 2:8-10
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

Reflect on the Bible passages in light of the episode.

What is the point of contrasting Gaius’ idyllic “mindscape” with the predicament onboard Galactica? What are the writers saying here?

Reflect on this quote: “God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone.”

What are the implications of saying God is the builder of ‘everything?’

Do you believe this? Why or why not?

How does the Jeremiah passage contrast with this sentiment?

How do we make sense of this tension?

How might that tension be relevant to what is going on with Gaius?

Reflect on this quote: “You have to believe in something.”

Reflect on this quote: “I believe a world I can and do understand. A rational universe. Explained through rational means.”

Is it true that love isn’t ‘rational’? Why or why not?

Why do you think we yearn for a rational universe?

How does the Corinthians passage frustrate this yearning?

What is the difference between something being ‘known’ and something being ‘revealed’?

Why does Gaius put his faith in this?

Compare and contrast this with your own faith.

Isaiah 22:12-14
The Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    called you on that day
to weep and to wail,
    to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.
13 But see, there is joy and revelry,
    slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,
    eating of meat and drinking of wine!
“Let us eat and drink,” you say,
    “for tomorrow we die!”
14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

Ecclesiastes 9:8-10
 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Reflect on the Bible passages in light of the episode

Reflect on this quote: “There are limits to the human body and the human mind.”

How does Gaius relate this to his own faith in rationality?

Do you think he is right about this? Why or why not?

What do you think of Gaius’ willingness to focus on his relationship with Cylon “Six” under the shadow of all that is going on?

What tension exists regarding this issue between the Isaiah passage and the Ecclesiastes passage?

What do you think our own attitude about the joys of this life should be when seen in the shadow of death?

1 Kings 21:25-29
There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)
27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”

Genesis 9:1
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.

Reflect on the Bible passages in light of the episode.

Reflect on this quote: “procreation is one of God’s commandments.”

What do you think of this ‘commandment?’

Reflect on this quote: “God is watching out for you Gaius.”

How does Gaius account for his good luck?

What do you think of his explanation?

How do you respond to the accusation that providence is merely the result of the ‘the law of large numbers?’

What does Gaius say about God?

Reflect on this quote: ‘be careful. That which God gives He can also take away.’

What kind of man was Ahab?

What do you think of God ‘looking out’ for someone like Ahab?

Reflect on this quote: “it’s God’s punishment for your lack of faith.”

What do you think of the decision to destroy ‘The Olympic Carrier’ and Gaius’ role in that decision?

What finally ‘wins’ Gaius his salvation, according to Cylon “Six”?

Reflect on this quote: “Repent of his your sins and accept His True Love and you will be saved.”

How does this relate to Ahab’s situation?

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