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God (RDM)

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In the Reimagined Series

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

In the reimagined series of Battlestar Galactica, Leoben and Miniseries/internal Six espouse monotheistic views. Leoben's "we are all God" philosophy is similar to Gnosticism. Although the Colonials worship the Lords of Kobol, even Colonials occasionally say singular "God," though it's often just as exclamations.

To avoid bias, quotes will do most of the talking here.

Monotheistic References

  • "We decided to play god - create life. When that life turned against us we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn't our fault, not really. You cannot play god then wash your hands of the things that you've created." -- William Adama, Miniseries
  • "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
  • "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
  • "And what I want most of all is for you to love me... Don't you understand? God is love." - internal Six, Miniseries
  • "God has a plan for you, Gaius. He has a plan for everything and everyone. Gaius - are you even listening to me?" -- internal Six, 33
  • "Procreation is one of God's commandments." -- internal Six, 33
  • "God is watching out for you, Gaius." -- internal Six, 33
  • "A connection, maybe, but not God. There is no God, or gods, singular or plural. There are no large, invisible men (or women, for that matter) in the sky, taking a personal interest in the fortunes of Gaius Baltar." -- Gaius Baltar, 33
  • "Be careful. That which God gives He can also take away." -- internal Six, 33
  • "It's God's punishment for your lack of faith." -- internal Six, 33
  • "It's God's choice. He wants you to repent." -- internal Six, 33
  • "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, Flesh and Bone
  • "I'm sorry, you're God? Wow... nice to meet ya. That's good, that's good. We'll give you a couple of minutes for that." -- Kara Thrace, 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
  • "It's your chance to find out if you're really God or just a bunch of circuits with a bad haircut. ... Somebody's programmed you with a fairy tale of God and streams and life ever after but, somewhere in that hard drive that you call a brain is a beeping message: 'Error, error, does not compute. I don't have a soul, I have software. If I die, I'm gone.'" -- Kara Thrace, 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
  • "God doesn't take sides. He only wants your love. Open your heart to him and he'll show you the way." -- internal Six, The Hand of God
  • "He didn't speak to me. God didn't speak to me. So I was totally lying. I just picked that spot at random." -- Gaius Baltar, The Hand of God
  • "Yes, suppose I did. Yes, there's-- there's really no other logical explanation for it. I was - [Six: Am.] - I am an instrument of God." -- Gaius Baltar, The Hand of God


Judeo-Christian References

Baltar in Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II
Credit: SkyOne

The reimagined series of Battlestar Galactica contains few references to Judeo-Christian concepts such as Jesus and Satan.

The "I am" statement in The Hand of God is noteworthy, because of the self-description God gives to Moses in Exodus, "I am that I am", and also Jesus has a series of "I am" statements in 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".

As one of mysteries of 33, 33 is not only the title of an episode but also the commonly reported age for Jesus Christ when he was crucified, so this is another possible reference to Christ.

Finally, "Christ" itself is from the Greek "Χριστός," or "Christos," which means "messiah" in Greek. In the reimagined series, the Pythian Prophecies tell of a messianic figure who will lead them to Earth.

Another reference to a Messianic figure in the Bible is 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 has a more direct tie to prophetic events in the reimagined series, that the messianic figure will not see Earth (Hand of God).

In the Original Series

In the Original Series, Lucifer was a name of an IL-series Cylon. Lucifer is also a name for Satan.

Count Iblis is a Satan-like figure, and Iblis is the Satan of Islam.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was reportedly an inspiration for some of the Original Series, as series creator Glen A. Larson is a member of this faith.

Official statements

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."
Spoiler follows, highlight to read.
(They) turned around and asked her "Do you want to play God?" There is a character who sets herself up as God, and Lucy would likely play her. Her theory is that there's nowhere to go after playing Xena but to playing God! But none of this is a done deal, she cautions, because they're still working out the logistics


  • 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 inabillity to write a feasible conclusion to the surprise revalation 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.
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. "


Notes

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