God (RDM)

"I am an instrument of God" --Baltar in The Hand of God

This page is about God as depicted and worshiped by the Cylons in the Re-imagined Series.

For information on Cylon religion in general, see Cylon Religion.

For information on the Colonial dieties in the Re-imagined Series, see Religion in the Twelve Colonies (RDM)#The Lords of Kobol.

For information on the nature of God to the Colonials in the Original Series, see God (TOS).

The humanoid Cylons worship a deity they call only by the name of God.

The Cylons justify or attribute much of their actions, including the genocidal attack against humanity, as a requirement of their God.

The Cylons profess a series of commandments given by their God. However, the specific commandments have not fully revealed.

While very knowledgeable of the Lords of Kobol, the Cylons feel that the Colonials worship false gods (Home, Part I).

Notable References

• "Maybe the Cylons are God's retribution for our many sins. What if God decided he made a mistake and he decided to give souls to another creature, like the Cylons?" -- Leoben Conoy, Miniseries, Night 2
• "God didn't create the Cylons. Man did. And I'm pretty sure we didn't include a soul in the programming." -- William Adama, Miniseries
• "I was right. See, our faiths are similar but I look to one God, not to many." -- Leoben Conoy, "Flesh and Bone"
• "To know the face of God is to know madness. I see the universe. I see the patterns. I see the foreshadowing that precedes every moment of every day. It's all there, I see it and you don't." -- Leoben Conoy, "Flesh and Bone"
• "I am more than you could ever imagine. I am God." -- Leoben Conoy, "Flesh and Bone"
• "It's funny, isn't it? We're all God, Starbuck, all of us. I see the love that binds all living things together. ... I know that God loved you more than all other living creatures and you repaid his divine love with sin, with hate, corruption, evil. So then he decided to create the Cylons." -- Leoben Conoy, "Flesh and Bone"
• "And this time, your role...you have to deliver my soul unto God. Do it for me. It's your destiny, and mine." -- Leoben Conoy, "Flesh and Bone"
• "Procreation, it’s o­ne of God’s commandments, be fruitful. We can’t fulfill it we tried so we decided to [create farms]." -- Caprica-Valerii, "The Farm"

Judeo-Christian References

Baltar in "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II"

The Re-imagined Series contains few references to Judeo-Christian concepts.

• "Jesus." -- Colonel Tigh, Miniseries

• "I was... [Six: Am.] I am..." -- Gaius Baltar, "The Hand of God" (full quote in previous section)

• "Come on, Jim. Wallace Gray is no 'prince of darkness.'" -- Playa Palacios, "Colonial Day"

• "I figured, the devil you know..." -- Laura Roslin, "Colonial Day"

• "God is love" -- Number Six, Miniseries, (1 John 4:16)

The "I am" statement in "The Hand of God" is noteworthy because of the self-description that the Judeo-Christian God gives to Moses in the Book of Exodus, "I am that I am". The Christian messiah, Jesus, has a series of "I am" statements in the New Testament of the Bible. The Bible contains over 300 "I am" statements. The Hebrew name for God, Yahweh, is derived from the Hebrew word for "I am" or "to be".

The five priests of the Temple of Five worshiped a "god whose name must not be spoken." In Jewish tradition, the name of God (Yahweh) is not spoken. In a deleted scene (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I), Elosha states that the exodus from Kobol was precipitated when "one jealous god began to desire that he be elevated above all the other gods, and the war on Kobol began." The 1st commandment requires the faithful have no other god before Yahweh.

A number of elements from the show derive from Mormonism, the religion of series creator Glen Larson. In particular, the concept of a lost Thirteenth Tribe is from Mormon legend. The Quorum of Twelve is also a Mormon concept.

A curious parallel to the series is found in the messianic figure of the Old Testament, Moses, who led the Israelites out of the Egyptian captivity into the promised land. He actually did not live to lead the Israelites into the promised land because he doubted the water coming from the stone (Numbers 20:12). This parallels the Pythian prophecy of the leader (presumed to be Laura Roslin) ,who, according to the Sacred Scrolls, will not live to see the promised land of Earth (The Hand of God).

The name of Pergamus Flats (a location on New Caprica) is similar to Pergamus, a city mentioned in Revelations 2:12.

Scientific Explanation

In the cylon's evolution, they may have developed what some computer scientists call a "technological singularity" (or just "singularity") where the AI consciousness developed surpasses that of a normal human’s consciousness. The concept of this singularity developed as a generalization of Moore's Law applied to the field of AI, where it is believed that just as technology rapidly improves, so would a conscious AI given that they have tools and abilities to improve themselves. They would then be capable of "recursively augmenting their own mental abilities until they vastly exceed those of their creators," making them a "supercomputer" or super-consciousness or sorts </ref>.

Not only would such a super-consciousness be able to calculate all the best possible permutations or moves, say in a game of chess, but it might even be able to accurately predict human behavior as its consciousness surpasses that of humans. This is evident in Six's manipulative behavior as well as in the careful orchestrated actions of most of the other cylons.

While not possessing the supernatural powers of a god, a singularity would have such predictive and manipulative powers that it could almost be considered as equivalent to a god.

Official statements

• In an interview with BattlestarGalactica.com on December 28th, 2005 RDM was asked about fan speculation that the Cylon God may be Count Iblis in the Re-imagined Series:

Q: "There's speculation that Count Iblis' counterpart in this series is the as-yet-unseen Cylon God. Is there any possibility that elements of the original series "War of the Gods" storyline may weave themselves into the new series?

RDM: While I have thought of incorporating the Count Iblis/Ship of Lights mythology from the original show into the series, I've pretty much decided not to go there for now. The theological construct we've been establishing seems more interesting to me at this point and I don't think Iblis will be part of the current show."

• RDM noted in his podcast of "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II", that the original ending of Season One called for actor Dirk Benedict to appear to Baltar on Kobol and introduce himself as "God". Numerous prohibiting factors prevented this storyline from making it on camera, chief among them was Moore's confessed inability to write a feasible conclusion to the surprise revelation at the time. Another mitigating factor which influenced Moore to drop the idea was that when he revealed his idea to the other writers, the entire writing team found the idea simply revolting, so Moore acquiesced.

• In an interview at beliefnet.com (http://www.beliefnet.com/story/166/story_16650_3.html) RDM makes the following statement in response to the question:

Q: " In “Galactica 1980,” we actually meet the “Imperious Commander” of the Cylons who turns out to be the Devil in the guise of a humanoid. Will we ever meet the maker of the Cylons in this version?

A: I think if we ever found an answer to why the Cylons have a god or who the god is--you know, the guy steps out from behind the curtain--I think you’d be disappointed. They’re in an interesting place in that their faith is as legitimate as the human faith. Human beings have souls given by the gods, and Cylons have a soul given by their one true god and that has to be just as valid. That means there is a plan for their soul and something for them after they die too. It’s a fundamental element of their faith. "

See Also

Cylon Religion

Re-imagined Series definition: Artificial Intelligence, research into such technology was deemed illegal by the Colonies after the First Cylon War ^{(TRS: "Miniseries")}

Original Series definition: a title of nobility (e.g. Count Iblis)