Theological Fragments

The Show Doctor Who  really is a phenomenal show. True, it is a bit Modernist and morally paternalistic, but I love it all the same. One of the principle reasons I like the show (besides my unreasonably-strong affection for David Tennant) is because Steven Moffat, the head writer, has a very intriguing view of time. Now, I don’t agree entirely with Moffat’s view of causality—I am personally of the school of thought that doesn’t believe the past can be changed (although I must concede that Emmett Brown skirts this issue effectively by positing that a change in the timeline results in the creation of a new dimension [Brown,  Back to the Future Part II , 1989]). However, Moffat takes the very unique approach of viewing the entire timeline from above, allowing single events to affect the past, present, and future. Russel T. Davies, the previous head writer, did this a bit in his seasons, but this was limited in scope—more for the purpose of foreshadowing the season fi...

The Movies: In 1999 a movie called  The Matrix  came out, and blew everybody’s minds (Well, everybody who hadn’t read Descartes). The response was huge—at the time some called it the greatest science fiction movie in the past 25 years. It was something of a surprise hit. Four years later, the sequels— The Matrix Reloaded  and  The Matrix Revolutions —hit the big screen, and audiences were… underwhelmed. Entertainment Weekly named  Reloaded  among the 25 worst sequels ever made. Reactions to  Revolutions  were even worse. After all the hype created by the first movie, the second and third fell completely flat. Why did this happen? Were the movies just that bad? Well, yes and no. In my humble opinion, they were not that great. But I have seen much worse movies get much better reactions ( Avatar , anyone? I mean, we do all recognize that was a terribly-written movie, right? Right?). So the question is, why such a negative reaction to these mov...

The Movie: In the following scene we see one of the most iconic cinematic depictions of the “leap of faith.” Indiana Jones, on a quest to find the Holy Grail in order to save his dying father, must make his way through three challenges to reach the cup. After passing the first two, he comes upon a seemingly-bottomless chasm. He sees no bridge, no rope, nothing to help him cross the pit. All he has is an inscription copied down in his father’s diary that says, “Only in the leap from the Lion’s Head will he prove his worth.” Realizing that his father doesn’t have much time left, the typically-skeptical Indy suddenly realizes what he is facing—“It’s a leap of faith.” Summoning all his courage, Indy puts out his foot into open space and steps forward… And lands on an invisible bridge! Well, not so much invisible as painted to look exactly like the rocks on the other side of the chasm. But still! Wow! Great moment!