[Enjoy this guest post by Steve Case! – Ed.]
The question upon which a religion was founded, upon which wars have been fought, upon which Thanksgiving dinners have become disasters, can be answered by the BBC and its sister companies. Was Jesus Christ the Son of God (Christianity), a prophet with some high connections (Islam) or just a nice guy with some good PR (Judaism)?
What if the answer is none of the above?
Jesus Christ was a Time Lord. Yes, as in Dr. Who: hopping about in time and space, writing wrongs, squashing alien rebellions, and nudging people of historical importance toward their greatness. Jesus Christ may be the basis for one of the longest running science fiction television shows in history.
Does God have a plan for my future? Well, yes and no. God, like a Time Lord, does not exist on our timeline. The scriptures tell us that Jesus said “I am the alpha and the omega. The beginning and the end.” and also “With me, time is no more.” In addition, we learn from the beginning (as in THE beginning) that the Trinity was present before there was a way to measure time at all.
In the episode “Blink,” the Doctor explains that time itself is not linear. “It’s actually a big ball of wibbley-wobbley-timey-wimey, uh, stuff.” Perhaps not as eloquent as the rabbi from Nazareth but the idea is same. In the Psalms David writes “With you a thousand years is but a day.” How else could this be possible unless we were talking about a being that operated outside the rules of time and space – a being who simply “was”? When Moses asks for God’s name the Creator of all things simply responds “I am.” God says that he exists “now” and with God that’s all there is: an eternal now. This is later repeated by Jesus before Pilate when questioned about his identity. Jesus the miracle worker exists in the eternal now.
How did this “miracle worker” feed five thousand people? How did he walk on the water? How did he do all those amazing things? The answer to these questions may be found, quite literally, in his time machine. From the earliest episodes of Dr. Who, we see that the TARDIS is actually “bigger on the inside than the outside.” It has an extensive library, a pool, and one would assume a massive kitchen. Traveling in time would allow Jesus “companions” to go forward in time, collect food for thousands, and bring it back to the exact moment they left. In the 2010 episode “The Pandorica Opens,” the TARDIS provides an “air corridor” enabling a woman from the Doctor’s past (and future) to pass through outer space. Surely this same technology could support a man wishing to walk upon the water because the boat and left without him.
What about the big one: the resurrection? Why was the tomb empty? How did Jesus appear to the disciples in the upper room? How could Mary confuse Jesus with a gardener after traveling with him for nearly three years? Answers to these questions lie in the very nature of a Time Lord. Time Lords have a way of “cheating death.” It’s called Regeneration (perhaps a more socially acceptable way of saying Resurrection).
Regeneration is accompanied by a tremendous amount of pure energy, which, if uncontained, can shake the world around it. Enough to move a giant bolder from the mouth of a cave? Enough to send Roman guards running for the hills? Enough to burn the image of a man onto a burial shroud? As the 10th incarnation of the Doctor puts it: ”a completely new man goes walking away.”
No wonder the disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus until he began to pray with them. It should be noted here that many of the Doctor’s female companions could see the old man in the new simply by looking in his eyes. In the episode “School Reunion,” the Doctor (now four or five generations later) says “Hello Sarah Jane” to a former companion and only then does she recognize him. Similarly, when Jesus stands in the garden Mary assumes he works there. Only when he says her name does she see his true self.
It is often asked how Moses could have written the first five books of the Old Testament when he wasn’t there for the first part and was supposedly dead by the end of Deuteronomy. Yet one of the great moments of Jesus’ life is when his companions saw him in conversation with Moses and Elijah. It’s possible that the man we think of as Jesus of Nazareth has been returning again and again.
Time Lords meeting their former selves is an ongoing theme in both the television show and even more so in the audio adventures of The Doctor (produced by Big Finish Productions). While there is much debate about the number of times a Time Lord can regenerate, how many messiah-types have we seen? Moses? Elijah? Jesus? Gandhi? Dr. King?
It is possible that Steven Moffat (Dr Who’s current show-runner) is so uniquely in touch with the concept of “eternal now” that the message of Jesus is evident in episode after episode. Time and again, we see the Doctor willing to sacrifice himself for others. As a poignant example: the 2007 episode “Human Nature” in which the Doctor has a chance to walk away from being a Time Lord, avoid death and live a normal life with a wife and children and be human. He chooses not to. This is certainly the last temptation of a Time Lord.
One of the most notable parables of Jesus is also one of the most misinterpreted. Other than “the good Samaritan,” no other parable has entered the English lexicon like “the prodigal son.” A man has two sons: one good, one not so good. The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance and promptly squanders it on booze, hookers, and cheap living. He crawls out of the gutter and makes his way home where his father promptly says “All is forgiven. Let’s have a party!” Many sermons gloss over the reaction of the eldest son, which would be, shall we say, justifiably pissed. The story ends with the father trying to coerce his obedient child into the party.
The Bible never tells us if this happens or what becomes of the relationship between the brothers. For centuries we have been taught in Sunday school to “be the good son” and not “the bad son.” However, there is a bigger lesson here that the writers of Doctor Who understand. What if we are intended to be BOTH sons in the story? What if we are equally the good and the bad son? What if we are both the light and the dark? The writers of Dr Who – both video and audio – understand that the Time Lord is made of both light and dark and that we must be both in order to be complete.
Emmanuel Kant said, “I’d rather be whole than good.” The Doctor understands this. So, obviously, did Jesus. This is the very basis of a new faith that will spring from this understanding of Jesus’ role in the web of time.
Once we accept Jesus not as messiah but as Time Lord (or perhaps Messiah because he is a Time Lord) then the TV shows and the Big Finish audio discs become the new parables. Beautifully told, sometimes confusing stories that take on new meanings depending on who is listening to them. Watch episodes of the program like “Dalek” or listen to audio adventures like “Embrace the Darkness” and ask yourself: who am I in this story? How is this story an allegory for my life?
Accepting Christ as Time Lord will make writers like Steven Moffat, Robert Shearman, Nicholas Briggs, and Russell Davies into the new evangelists. Their words will become the Truth. With these new “Truths” people will be quoting Dr Who episodes like scripture.
You are not alone. – “New Earth”
I have seen the world inside your head and know that all things are possible. – “The Girl in the Fireplace.”
Everybody lives! Just this once, everybody lives! – “The Doctor Dances.”
I came back to life before your eyes. I held back death. Look, I can’t make your dream come true forever, but I can make it come true today. – “Doctor Who: The Movie”
Love has never been noted for its rationality – “Delta and the Bannermen”
Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority. – “The Wheel in Space”
One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. – “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”
In a recent episode titled “Vincent and the Doctor,” The Doctor travels back to meet Vincent Van Gogh. Amy (the companion) becomes upset that despite their adventure and intervention, the artist still dies penniless and mad. Taking her into his arms the Doctor says “All of life is a pile of good things and bad things. And the good things do not soften the bad things and vice-versa. The bad things do not spoil the good things or make them unimportant.”
Not all that far off from “Love thy neighbor as you love yourself.” Imagine if we all treated each other this way. If all we can do in this life is to add to someone else’s pile of good things, then that’s a good life indeed.
Dr. Who fans around the world will become the new prophets and preachers and then the geeks shall truly inherit the earth.
[Was Mary Magdalene the first Companion? Did The Master tempt Jesus on the roof of the Temple? Have a go at it in the comments! – Ed.]