Top 5 Tuesday- Bible Sidekicks

In general, we associate heroes and sidekicks with comic books and superhero stories, but the roots of these character types run deep in human nature. Discipleship and mentorship are part of God’s plan for human relationships. Logically then, we find some of the best examples of heroes and sidekicks in His word, the Bible.

For the purpose of this list I disqualified the twelve disciples of Jesus, (because really, they would take up the whole list, and then some. And their mentor is kind of unbeatable).

So, all that said, here, in no particular order, is this week’s top 5 list:

5. Joshua (Exodus-Joshua)-

As the faithful young aide of the newborn nation of Israel’s leader, Moses, Joshua had a pure heart, a strategic mind, and a fierce devotion to his leader and his Lord. After serving under Moses for many years, he became the leader of Israel himself, during their period of conquest.  God constantly exhorted him to be courageous, and encouraged him with the promise of His faithfulness. One of the most interesting aspects of his life was the way he dwelt in the presence of the Lord constantly while working with Moses:

“So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.” (Exodus 33:11 NKJV)

4. Elisha (1 Kings 19- 2 Kings 13)-

Elisha trained under similarly-named prophet,Elijah, before witnessing his mentor’s ascent to heaven in a flaming chariot. Then, he began his own prophetic ministry, which, in many ways paralleled that of Christ.

3. John Mark (Acts 12, 15; Colossians 4; 2 Timothy 4; Philemon; 1 Peter 5)-

In an amazing, (though subtle in the text), story of redemption, the young man who broke trust by abandoning Paul on a missionary journey became the apostle’s trusted confidant and loyal assistant. Many people believe that the gospel of Mark was written by John-Mark, under the tutelage of Paul.

2. Samuel (1 Samuel 1-25, 28)-

In contrast to the other stories mentioned here, this student ended up teaching his mentor a lesson or two in listening to the voice of God. Despite Eli the priest’s sometimes poor leadership, Samuel served the Lord, and the priest faithfully, and ended up hearing from God

when his teacher could not.  

1. Timothy (Acts 16-20, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Philemon, Hebrews)-

The first Biblical figures we think of when we think of mentorship (other than the twelve disciples, of course), are Paul and Timothy. And rightfully so. Paul found Timothy as a young man, raised in the faith by his mother and grandmother, and took a vested interest in him. Paul served as the Christian father-figure that we generally assume was absent from Timothy’s life. The young disciple experienced amazing works of God during his time with Paul, and became a steadfast servant and leader. Despite his struggles with insecurity and sickness, God used him as a humble, passionate conveyer of the good news, and encourager of churches. The epistle that was most likely Paul’s last was a deeply personal letter to Timothy.

What do you think? Is there anyone I could add? What are your thoughts on Biblical mentorship and discipleship. I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

48 Years Later...

-Everyone knows that space is the final frontier

-Red shirts aren't just red shirts. They are omens of doom.

-When you position your fingers like below, you can draw a reply from most people in the room.

-Scotty is frequently called upon to beam people up.

-We have flip phones.

-We have Skype. (Unfortunately, we still can't Skype Abraham Lincoln to my knowledge.)

-We have computers we can talk to.

-African American women are heroes in our stories, and Russians aren't always the bad guys.

-Seven space-faring characters in colorful uniforms are part of our modern mythology.

-Nerds are cool.

… And this success story of science fiction impacting society began 48 years ago today, when a space show premiered on NBC. The episode was entitled “The Man Trap”, the series, Star Trek. Happy birthday,Trek! Live long and prosper.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Geeky Day Trips: The National Air and Space Museum

     It's hard to resist a good space museum. Especially if said space museum is free.

     A few weeks ago, I was able to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.  It is a veritable treasure trove for history buffs, flight enthusiasts, space cadets, and even sci-fi fans.  I could have spent weeks there. There are far to many things to see and read. But I did feel like I accomplished quite a lot, so I thought I would give you a list of things you can do at the National Air and Space Museum.

Things you can do at the National Air and Space Museum:

1. See the original plane developed by the Wright Brothers




     Now, from what I understand, the framework of the plane is the original framework from the first flight in 1903 that launched the world into the aerial age. The canvas in the picture is newer, and the original canvas is in a glass case nearby for protection. Still, it's a pretty major piece of history to behold.


2. Walk Through Skylab



     Skylab was the first U.S. space station. It orbited the earth from 1973 to 1979 for experimental purposes, including solar observation, and multispectral analysis of the earth. At Air and Space, you can walk through a portion of it to get a glimpse of how its inhabitants lived in space. As a special bonus, you can also  see this creepy mannequin guy.

3.  See a gallery of pictures from Mars



     In the upper story of Air and Space, there is a room devoted to pictures taken of our neighboring planet by the Mars Rover. The exhibit is set up to have a sparse and bleak ambiance, sort of like Mars itself

4. Become more informed about NASA's manned space missions



     Downstairs, there is a cool recreation of the Apollo 11 lunar landing module that you should probably take your picture in front of. Upstairs is an exiting exhibit dedicated to NASA's manned space missions, from Mercury to Apollo. There is a great timeline explaining the missions and listing the key players in each one, as well as a plethora of space memorabilia. (Including some control panels from the flights, which you unfortunately can't play with , because they're behind glass).

5. Make your inner (or outer, if you are me) sci-fi fan smile



     Go down to the very bottom level of the museum gift shop, toward the back of the room. There, you will find the U.S.S Enterprise. You should take a picture with  that, too. Also, on the top floor of the museum in general, right across from the Skylab entrance, there is a series of informational posters, one of which is about the original series of Star Trek, and the way it was effected by and had an effect upon our culture. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this. Also unfortunately, the poster had an entire blurb about the episode "The Way to Eden" on it. I highly doubt that the creator of the sign watched that episode before mentioning it.

     I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my highlights of the Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Do you have exciting Air and Space stories you want to tell? Is there anything I wrote that you want to elaborate on? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. 

Keep on glowing in the dark ,
Elora

Unleash the Bible Geeks

 

As geeks, we like to know things. Things like pi to as many decimal places as possible, the atomic number of, say, potassium (it’s 19), the opening scroll of all the Star Wars movies, the flavors of subatomic particles, Klingon, Elvish, Pavel Chekov’s starfleet service number, (which is 656-5827B, but shhh, I didn’t tell you that). Memorizing, knowing, it expands our minds, and challenges our neurons. It gives us a springboard for our creativity, and makes us really, really good at trivia games.  Plus, it’s just plain fun.

As Christian geeks, we have a veritably inexhaustible supply of information to learn and have handy. Which name of God conveys His sovereignty? What is the chronological order of the non-Pauline epistles? How many times does Paul say ‘therefore’ in all his letters put together? What is the genealogy from Abraham to Moses?  

All of these are questions that take us deep into the heart of God’s word. So, why is it so much harder to know the Beatitudes than to know the lines to our favorite movies?

(Feeling lame yet? Don’t worry, me too. But that’s not the point of this post, so keep reading.)

Here’s what it is, plain and simple: It’s a spiritual battle.

The Bible is so potent- so powerful- that the spiritual forces of evil don’t want us to know it. It is one of the two offensive components of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18.) When we decide we want to become someone who wields this weapon powerfully for the Lord, the forces of the world, our own flesh, and the devil will come against us. But the more we fight, by the strength and urging of the Spirit, the more equipped we will become for the fight.

So pray, my fellow Bible geeks, pray. Pray when you don’t want to, when you don’t feel like it. Pray to know the Lord better. Pray for the strength and desire to know His word. And pray for me, too, if you think of it. Pray that God would raise us up as a specialized, spiritual strike force defending and presenting the truth.

Keep praying. Keep fighting. Keep learning Keep memorizing. Keep knowing. Keep doing what you do best.

Geek out.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Top 5 Thursday- Best Sci-fi Duos

     Hey  everyone! Welcome back from my accidental hiatus. Here's a list for you. 

    Everybody wants to be best friends with someone the way these characters are best friends. They look out for each other, understand one another, and really, they complete each other. They are the best friendship duos of sci fi. And I actually had some serious dilemmas while putting them in the order they’re in.

     Let’s get started.

5. R2-D2 and C3PO (Star Wars)-

    Even though they are the humorous side characters, the friendship between these two droids has stood the test of time and spanned six movies. R2 is the adventurous one, who is ready to throw himself into action as soon as it becomes necessary. If it were up to him, I’m sure he would be the hero of the entire story. C3PO, on the other hand, is the worrywart who would rather stay in one place peacefully...translating stuff, I guess. Even though he says too much, and worries too much, he probably actually does keep them from getting blown up- while R2 keeps them present in the story.

4. The 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith (Doctor Who)-

     Sarah Jane and the 4th Doctor are often cited as the best Doctor- companion pair of the series, and with good reason. Sarah Jane understands the Doctor in ways he doesn’t even understand himself. She knows that he is flawed and vulnerable, even when he doesn’t. He takes her to explore all of time and space, and she keeps him tethered down to earth.

3. Jack O’Neill and Daniel Jackson (Stargate SG-1)-

    Jack is all military pragmatism, and Daniel is all civilian scientist ethics. Not only does this lead to good character development for the two, it provides hours of entertaining banter. They balance each other almost perfectly. Jack will shoot the thing if the thing needs shooting, and Daniel will stop Jack from shooting the thing and figure out what to do with the thing if the thing doesn’t need shooting.

2. Kirk and Spock (Star Trek)-

    These last two entries in the list  nearly gave me a headache as I tried to decide which to put in first and which to put in second. In the end, I decided to put this memorable pair second, because the main partnership in Star Trek isn’t just between Kirk and Spock. It’s about Kirk, Spock and McCoy. And this list is about duos. Kirk and Spock do very clearly demonstrate logic and emotion, and how they must work in tandem with each other. It’s a very interesting dichotomy explored in Star Trek that I’ll have to write a post about it later.

1.Batman and Superman (DC Comics)-

    Even though it took some deliberation, these guys really do deserve the top spot on my list. They are the oldest, and probably the most iconic characters on here. You may be wondering why I chose to put Batman and Superman over Batman and Robin. Well, I think that Batman and Robin have a different sort of relationship than the rest of the friends I’ve written about. That type of relationship is more in line with the association between the World’s Finest- Batman and Superman. (I may, however, write a hero and sidekick list later on, and the Dynamic Duo will certainly top that).  Batman is the dark detective who doesn’t always feel the need to follow the rules, while Superman is the conscientious, compassionate superhuman. It seems like another weird versus to me,  like Star Wars versus Star Trek. Superman and Batman aren’t against one another- they need to exist in the same universe to balance each other out.

    Who are your favorite pairs of best friends in science fiction? Did you agree with my final decision? Let me know in the comments. As always, I’d love to hear from you!

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

Star Wars Not Versus Star Trek

 

It’s a question of galactic proportions. It’s been debated, bickered over, and bantered about for thirty-seven years. If you are a sci-fi geek, you have probably asked yourself this question at least once -(Spoilers: It’s not 'Doctor Who?' Sorry Whovians. Not this time.) Which is the superior science fiction franchise- Star Wars or Star Trek?

I can feel the fans who adamantly argue one side or the other gearing up to disagree with me. And you may, but I’m not here to argue either side. Today, I’m going to discuss the differences between the two and explain why, on a closer examination, I think that this decades old question may be irrelevant.

Let’s start with setting. This is the basis on which I think the two series are really comparable. They both have “Star” in the title. Aesthetically, they both qualify as science fiction. They both take place in space. They have cool weapons, ships, droids, planets, aliens, and space battles. If you want to debate this debate, these are your categories. However, setting isn't all there is to a story.

Next up in our survey are the ever-so-beloved characters. Both Star Wars and Star Trek are populated by characters that have shaped our modern culture. When trying to do a side-by-side comparison, however, we really can’t fit them into the same molds. At all.

When talking about character archetypes, Star Wars contains fantasy-type characters. There are: Luke- The hero; Obi Wan Kenobi- The wizard/mentor; Emperor Palpatine- The evil sorcerer; and the like.

In Star Trek on the other hand, the characters take their cues more from nautical and military literature. The captains are noble and brave, and universally admired by their crews. There are also some specifically science fictional character types. The best example of this is the alien characters such as Spock and Data. Though Data is an android, he fills the same role as Spock. Both are incredibly intellectual non-humans looking from the outside into humanity. (I personally hold that Star Trek: The Original Series introduced many of the sci-fi archetypes we use today.)

Though Star Wars has aliens and robots, their alien and robot characteristics do not play a major role in their character arcs.

As for plot, Star Wars really only has one- you may be able to argue for two- major plots. The original trilogy is the classic hero’s journey tale- a young boy finding his destiny, rescuing the damsel and saving the world. The prequel trilogy is the inverse story. It is the story of a promising young man who saves the world, then descends into villainy.

Star Trek, on the other hand is made up of multiple science fiction plot lines. They are the quintessential science fiction plot lines: robots, androids, clones, genetic engineering, super weapons, projected reality, aliens and the like.

The themes of the two franchises are inextricably linked to the plots. In Star Wars, the main theme is the fine line between heroism and villainy. An overarching theme of Trek is what it means to be human.

Star Wars is not science fiction in the way Star Trek is. It deserves it’s place in science fiction history because of the advances it made in special effects technology and the popularization of the “used” sci-fi universe. Star Trek deserves it’s place in the history of sci-fi for the revolutionary plots, themes and characters it introduced. So really, in the multiverse of our beloved genre, the occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. They’re not competing for one spot!

Honestly, the entire reason I've thought through this post is that I love both and didn't want to have to pick one or the other.

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Top 5 Tuesday: Fictional Characters I Would Want on My Personal Security Team

Yes. You read that right. Unless the whole title was too long to show up on whatever device you’re using to read this. If that is your problem, I’ll repeat myself. I’m going to list the top five fictional characters I would want on my personal security team.

Maybe I can explain. I was doing a homework assignment for a history class about presidential assassinations and security measures taken to protect the current president. After I was mostly convinced that federal agents in suits and dark sunglasses weren’t about to show up at my door and ask about my recent internet searches, I decided to form this list. Other than that, I really have nothing to say for myself. It just sounded like a fun list to make.

So let’s get started:

5. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Doctor Who) -

For a man forced to deal with bizarre and unearthly threats to his country and his world (plus working with several incarnations of the Doctor), he manages to keep a level head. He does his job well, and doesn’t put up with any nonsense. He could probably rout an alien menace before he finished introducing himself by his full name.

4. Chewbacca (Star Wars) -

He’s more intelligent than he looks, just as strong as he looks, and incredibly loyal. If he were on my security team, attackers would quickly develop a new strategy: Let the wookie win.

3. Tuvok (Star Trek: Voyager) -

As the security officer of the U.S.S. Voyager, he kept his crew safe for seven years from threats no one in our galaxy had previously encountered. Also, being a Vulcan, he has the power of the Vulcan neck pinch on his side.

2. Teal’C (Stargate: SG-1) -

Teal’C is my favorite character from SG-1 because of his innocent demeanor and his humor and loyalty. But he is also an incredibly skilled warrior with a great sense of honor. Plus, he has a staff weapon and knows Jaffa martial arts. He is also loyal to the planet and cause he serves. Indeed.

1. Agent Coulson (Marvel Cinematic Universe) -

He is used to dealing with sticky situations, and superhumans. He is incredibly relaxed and confident when dealing with aliens, as well as being smart, strategic, skilled, committed, moral, loyal, and a little bit geeky. Oh, and invincible.



So, now that I’ve nearly got deported from the country, (alright, maybe not deported), for bringing you this idea, do you have any characters you’d want as a security team?

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora