Posted in: BBC, Disney+, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: bbc, christopher eccleston, david tennant, disney, doctor who, matt smith, Ncuti Gatwa, peter capaldi, russell t davies, steven moffat

Doctor Who & God: The Doctor, Who Art in TARDIS, Hallowed Be Thy Name

Over the last nearly 20 years, there has been so much Christian imagery in Doctor Who that the series could be seen as a parable about God.

In the season finale of Doctor Who, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) faces Sutekh, the god of death, and declares he represents Life to fight the likes of Sutekh, and not only does he dupe him into bringing back Life to the universe, he also plays god against the god of death and kills him. The Doctor is practically a God of Life, but wouldn't say it, of course. But the Doctor has been played as a God or Christ figure repeatedly for nearly 20 years.

This trend of the Doctor as a god has been a recurring motif since Russell T. Davies revived the series in 2005, and it was he who repeatedly used the imagery throughout his run, and Steven Moffat also played with it to a certain degree. It began with "Father's Day" when the Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) sacrifices himself in a church, only to come back to life when Time is restored. It was in this era that when the Doctor regenerates, they stretch out their arms like a crucifixion as they're literally reborn into a new person. He has been described as "the lonely god."

Christian imagery abounds in series all the time now. When the Master (John Simm) ages the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) thousands of years into Nobby, it's the power of prayer that restores him, Christ-like. The Doctor cradles the dead Master like a pieta. On the Starship Titanic, The Doctor is lifted into the air by a pair of (robot) golden angels to save the day. The 13th Doctor (Peter Capaldi) defied the Time Lords like God, defying his own kingdom since he's the President to play God and bring Clara (Jenna Coleman) back from the dead, only to lose her.

But before that, he's accused of abandoning his kingdom, and Rassillon attempts to usurp him. Rassilon is banished for his sin of rebellion against his god, like Lucifer was. And the Master/Missy has played the role of Lucifer in perpetual rebellion against God/The Doctor. The dying Thirteenth Doctor wandered the wastelands of Time with his earlier incarnation like a dying god wandering the underworld trying to decide whether to be rebuilt like a version of Dante's Inferno and a Buddhist parable at the same time. Most recently, Mrs. Flood talked of storming the "golden kingdom" in death to take the Maker's throne as if she were a fallen angel. And of course, the Fifteenth Doctor bringing Life back to the universe.

With so much Christian imagery over nearly twenty years, Doctor Who can be considered a Christian parable since its return in 2005. The funny thing is Russell T. Davies has said he was an atheist, yet he's made the series as much a parable as C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been for generations of children.

Doctor Who is now streaming globally outside the UK on Disney+.

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