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National Geographic Channel

Mars S2E3: What Is Your Passion Worth?

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All is well . . . for now.

It seems Mars has been all the rage this week.  On Monday, NASA was able to land the InSight rover on the planet, leading to numerous cheers (and a well-choreographed celebration) from the scientists tasked with getting it there.  Over the next months and years, I’m sure they’re going to acquire an immense amount of data that will prove to be beneficial when humans take their first steps on the Red Planet.

Adding to the intrigue was the third episode of Mars on the National Geographic Channel Monday evening (9 PM/8 CT). The last time we took a look at the scientists and miners, they were engaged in a full-on fistfight over a discovery of liquid water by the Lukrum company. Commander Hana (Jihae) was also dealing with the loss of her sister and as the new episode begins, she’s not done a good job handling the situation over the previous four months.

Marta (Anamaria Marinca) was incensed in episode two about the water issue and she’s still fuming about it.  When she beings it up to Hana, the commander’s repression of grief gets the best of her, causing her to explode on her colleague.  Marta decides that she’s going to get samples to prove the existence of new life forms and despite being told otherwise, takes a rover to Lukrum and starts collecting.  It’s at this point in the show that the drama really begins.

What do you do when you’re running low on oxygen and the temperature is -40? (National Geographic/Richard Donnelly)

Interspersed with clips of scientists working in remote portions of the Greenland Ice Shelf, a solar flare damages a transformer, throwing everything into disarray. Nobody can communicate on either base. Marta loses her navigational system and stubbornly tries to drive back to the base.  This isn’t a good idea when night is falling and temperatures plummet to levels that would kill humans. Since she’s on battery power, she’s limited to what she can do.  It suddenly becomes a race against time to rescue Marta from freezing to death. All that she’s worked for up until this point is seriously in jeopardy.

It’s at this point that a distinctive message arises from the episode of Mars. Scientists aren’t always folks who work in labs, but individuals who are so called to their respective projects that they are willing to sacrifice any and everything to make their goals happen.  The folks in Greenland left family to accomplish their tasks.  Marta was so committed to going to Mars that she put the mission ahead of her boyfriend, who didn’t take the news well.  For those who wish to follow after Jesus and be his disciple, they have to be willing to do the same thing—leave all they’re comfortable with and follow him, no matter what (see Luke 9).  He never said it would be easy, but worth it in the end (see Matthew 19:29).

At the end of the episode, one of the samples Marta collected begins to show movement.  Could this be the start of something big?  Or could it be something else?  Be sure to tune in next week to find out!

Genius Ep. 3 – Character Counts

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(National Geographic/Dusan Martincek)

When we last left Genius (Tuesdays, 9 PM/8 CT, NatGeo), the individual having the worst of times was Mileva Maric, Albert Einstein’s romantic interest. Mileva (Samantha Colley) had left school in Zurich due to him, gotten back together with him, and suddenly found herself back in her home country of Serbia because of him.  To make things worse, she was also pregnant.  The third episode picks up the obvious tension and carries it in both predictable and unpredictable directions.

The episode begins with a scene involving Philipp Lenard (Michael McElhatton), the professor in the first episode who made an impassioned speech about German unity to his students (seen above).  At the beginning of the century, Lenard discovers the basis for the x-ray, then watches as Wilhelm Röntgen steals the discovery for his own, forcing Lenard to attempt to validate himself in the eyes of the scientific world when the first Nobel Prize is offered.  Needless to say, it doesn’t go well.  This may play a role in subsequent episodes . . .

Mileva struggles with knowing what to do, asking her father to give Albert a chance.  Einstein (Johnny Flynn) isn’t around but is trying to make a name for himself in Zurich.  But he can’t get a job and is unwilling to simply take what’s out there (even a job at a patent office) to get some funds.  Desperate for money, he begs from his mom, but there’s nothing left.  He worries that Mileva and the soon-to-be-born child will be an albatross that weighs his professional life down; she feels similarly about him.

(National Geographic/Dusan Martincek)

The two carry on an academic-based relationship, but Mileva wants Albert to care about her as a person instead of just a brain. He struggles with this—and the struggle is exacerbated when he meets a young gentleman with an interest in philosophy and science.  The guy (and his brother) are rich, and the three form a sort of triumvirate called the Olympia Academy.  It is at this point that Einstein is torn three ways—one for the Academy in Zurich, one for his estranged father who is dying in Milan, and one for Mileva who has just had their child in Serbia.  What direction will he choose?  What will be the ramifications of his decision? You’ll have to watch to find out.

Director Minkie Spiro continues to do a great job setting up the characters and weaving their lives into the overall fabric of the story.  The viewer knows where the story will eventually go, but the side stories subtly add tension and background.  Einstein, for all of his smarts, comes off as an academic jerk who cares only for himself.  His mind is in the clouds, wanting only a teaching job—to the detriment and befuddlement of those around him.  Mileva is obviously the sympathetic character, and by the end of the episode, you want to stand beside her, wrap her in a hug, and cry with her.

Einstein is faced with his character issues early on when he asks for a reference from the headmaster at Zurich, Heinrich Weber (Alistair Petrie).  Weber alerts him that his academics are superb, but he couldn’t provide him a favorable recommendation due to issues with his character—namely insolence.  Instead of accepting it and attempting to get better, Einstein fights Weber and attempts to get him to change his mind.  You can guess how that turned out.  God wants people who follow Jesus to be people of character that exude the “fragrance of Christ” to everyone they meet (see 2 Corinthians 2:15).  It’s difficult to do that when one’s lifestyle includes such things as lying, cheating, stealing, or a host of other offenses. However, God’s goal is to help people become more like him in their thoughts, feelings, and actions.  He will use numerous ways to get our attention—perhaps even in a direct manner such as the one Einstein faced.  It’s up to us to listen, respond, and make the changes he asks.  The end result is an individual who knows what to do for God in all situations and makes a positive difference for others they come across.

Origins Ep. 5 – The Blood of War

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(photo credit: National Geographic)

Conflict is something that most people find unenjoyable.  In many cases, we do our absolute best to avoid it at all costs.  But at some point in our lives, we will all have to deal with some aspect of conflict, whether it’s against another person, an aspect of society, or even ourselves.  Yet no matter how we feel about conflict in our lives, most of these situations do not involve going to war. However, war has done more to shape the history of the world than one might be willing to consider. In tonight’s fifth episode of Origins (NatGeo, 9 PM/8 CT), the topic involves fighting (and killing) other people (it’s a bit gory, so be advised, parents).  The episode starts off a little slow, but picks up in the middle, providing a challenging look at our past—and a hope for our future that, sadly, will not come to pass.

Tribal groups grew crops and killed animals for food.  But when food was difficult to find, fear took over and the people resorted to taking it from other tribes by any means necessary.  Stealing was one option, but eventually people found it more effective to just beat up and kill members of the other group. It seems war is a symptom of our humanity, showcasing our worst attributes.  But it has also given rise to civilizations, such as Genghis Khan’s massive Mongolian empire in the 13th century (aided by an important military item known as the stirrup). As a result, people became loyal to beliefs (such as the Crusades) and nationalistic creeds—and yet fighting continued over large and small issues.

(photo credit: National Geographic)

More changes came with modern warfare, as World War I proved. As part of the terms of peace, boundaries were created in the Middle East, creating countries that had never seen a specific form of government before.  This led to anarchy within those areas and gave rise to something called terrorism, seen in the US in 1993 when the World Trade Center was bombed and eight years later when it was destroyed by two airplanes. One commentator in the episode likened it to David versus Goliath in that ‘David’ is willing to do anything to keep himself alive in the eyes of the general public.  Think about it: do we still talk about terrorism today? Are we a bit fearful of what could eventually happen if terrorists go unchecked?  If so, ‘David’ has done his job.

Host Jason Silva introduces the concept of cyber warfare at the end of the show, noting that people have the ability of using 0s and 1s to take down physical objects, thus controlling society through their monitors.  If the power goes out with no way to turn it on in a city, what would happen?  No ATMs, no shopping, no internet (once the batteries on the smartphone are dead), and no ability to perform daily tasks that people take from granted.  It wouldn’t be pretty.

Of course, humanity can do lots of good, but we also have the propensity to be quite evil.  In the Bible, Cain didn’t like that God rejected his sacrifice but accepted the one his brother Abel gave.  His way of resolving the situation involved killing his brother, then having to deal with the consequences of his actions (see Genesis 4:1-16). War is simply an example of humanity not getting along with each other for reasons such as fear, power, money. I was struck that Silva asked, at the end of the episode, “Can we find the will to destroy war?” We’ve tried to give peace numerous times in the past, but eventually, something happens and the killing begins anew (sorry, John Lennon).  The Bible says specifically that war isn’t going to go away, as man becomes more corrupt and power-hungry leaders seek to impose their will on the whole world (you know, the whole mark of the beast thing in Revelation 13). But in the end, God’s plan is to bring peace back—not through the doings of humanity, but through Jesus, who’s already battled death and won. Only then will war truly be over.

Being Chosen: The Story of God With Morgan Freeman S2E1

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(Photo Credit: National Geographic/David Kraemer)

The success or failure of a television or cable program can be largely attributed to many different factors.  Having a good story is important, as is good videography and relatable characters. A topic that’s intriguing also helps considerably.  But in the end, it all comes down to the number of eyeballs looking at the show each week. In the case of National Geographic Channel’s The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, there were a lot of eyeballs looking at Freeman’s foray into faith-based questions we’ve probably asked at one time or another.  In fact, the show was National Geographic’s most watched of all time. Thankfully, a second season of episodes are one the way—the first airing this evening (9 PM/8 CT).  In it, Freeman (and a few new characters) take a look at the concept of the Chosen One and what that means across faiths.

If you’re not familiar with the show, Freeman takes a topic relating to faith and looks for commonalities within various religions around the world. Christianity is given significant attention, but so are Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu perspectives. It can be quite fascinating, and the first episode of the second season is no exception.

What does it mean to be chosen? Is it exclusive to a specific faith?  Freeman takes a look at a number of different variants of this concept, beginning with a nine year-old named Jalue Dorjee.  He plays soccer like many kids his age, but at age two, his parents were given a paper from the Dalai Lama signifying he’s a reincarnation of an individual who has inhabited folks for five centuries.  In another instance, Freeman travels to London to celebrate the martyrdom of a grandson of the prophet Muhammad. Native Americans are also represented in the form of Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the chosen one of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota tribes (see top picture).

(Photo Credit: National Geographic/Seth Nejame)

Even though chosen ones “help the faithful get back on track,” they’re not always living.  In the case of the Sikh culture, their chosen one is a book (see photo above). Some show their devotion in Thailand by piercing themselves with various objects such as metal spears (!) to gain superhuman powers. And sometimes the chosen are more along the lines of missionaries, such as Christian Kenneth Bae, who endured two years of hard labor in North Korea for simply organizing prayer groups.  His journey has brought him to the realization that “Jesus is [his] hope—[he] wants to be a blessing.”

There are a few changes to the program this season.  Gone is the blast of the shofar to start the program; instead, a graphic montage replaces it.  I thought the horn was a great part of the first season and am sad to see it go.  In addition, Freeman is not in every section of the show—at least in the first episode.  Two people—a man and a woman—take his role as they explore aspects of the episode’s theme (I think they’re one-time examples, however).  It adds a different perspective, but I think the focus of the show has been Freeman’s personality shining through the exploration of certain faiths and customs.  In the two sections of note, that seems to have been somewhat lost, although the two individuals do a good job with their questioning.

For me, the biggest takeaway from the episode was along the lines of what it means to be chosen.  In essence, it’s another way to say an individual is called out by God for some special purpose.  Sometimes it happens in a dramatic way, such as Paul’s encounter with God on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9:1-18) or Moses finding a burning bush (see Exodus 3:1-10).  But for many people, it’s not that way.  There’s an inward nudging that God has plans beyond anything a person could ask or even imagine.  To respond in any way other than acceptance is to be in a state of rebellion akin to Jonah (with or without the whale).  From there, it’s a process to become so in tune with God’s plans that one’s plans simply become his. In fact, Jesus made it clear that all that follow after him are to be his ambassadors to the world in their words, thoughts, and actions, seeking to make disciples of all nations (see Matthew 28:18-20).  It’s not easy, but being chosen is a responsibility that must be taken seriously.  The end results can be incredible—if we’re just willing to listen and respond in faith.

Mars Ep. 6 – The Cost

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(photo credit: National Geographic/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic/Robert Viglasky)

Space travel is an endeavor that is not without risk.  As we’ve seen during the first five episodes of the Mars miniseries on the National Geographic Channel (Mondays, 9 PM/8 CT), the crew of the Daedalus endured a difficult landing, the loss of their mission commander, the constant risk of freezing to death, as well as a host of other issues.  Why would they put their lives at risk in this manner?  If you asked them, they would say it was necessary to put humanity in a position to live on a planet other than Earth.  Yet the tragic events of the fifth episode have put Olympus Town on complete lockdown and are threatening to end the whole mission. As a result, there’s an opportunity for the viewer to stop and consider what it means to count the cost. Is risk worth it in the end?  Perhaps there’s an answer in the final minute of the episode . . .

At first glance, the final episode of Mars may seem like a simple retrospective due to the sheer amount of downtime the crew experiences, so if you’re looking for lots of action, you’re going to be disappointed. However, there is quite a bit to consider, and that is perhaps why so much space (pardon the pun) is given for contemplation by director Everardo Gout. The people on Earth and IMSF are at the point where sentiment in the mission has given way to concern for death and destruction. Do the scientists of Olympus Town need to be evacuated for their own good?  Has the expeition become the biggest and most expensive failure in human history?  Were we always so farsighted to think we could seriously explore and inhabit a planet we were not created on?

That’s a question that has haunted the residents of Earth since the late 1960s.

After successfully putting men on the moon, NASA struggled mightily with Apollo 13’s near-catastrophe.  They eventually considered two options: a full-scale expedition to Mars (the Saturn V rocket could do the trick nicely) or a reusable space airplane that would orbit the Earth and perform experiments.  Eventually, President Nixon decided a potentially fatal mission to Mars would ground the space program forever and chose the Space Shuttle as the premier vehicle for exploration.  As we know, that decision has not been without catastrophe on multiple occasions (Challenger 1986; Columbia 2001). But, as scientists noted, we’ve been stuck in orbit around our own planet for nearly fifty years. Is it time to change all that?

The issue of reusable rockets is revisited in the final episode as SpaceX attempts to land the first stage of a rocket on a floating barge, with the viewer getting a real-time perspective from CEO Elon Musk.  This time, the landing is successful. Perhaps we can make interplanetary travel happen sooner than later!

We create goals in life (maybe not as big as a trip to Mars), but along the way we get sidetracked by the noise of life and the dream gets lost or merely forgotten. Jesus discussed the solution to this once: “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’” (Luke 14-28-30 NASB).  Perhaps we’ll be on Mars in 2037 (or sooner), but if we really want to go there, we must keep the goal in sight and be ready to handle any setbacks that arise along the way.

(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)
(photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Robert Viglasky)

If anything, the Mars series has provided some topics for discussion regarding the reason for traveling into space (backup plans and safety concerns are two of them). Perhaps expeditions won’t be completely scientific in the future, instead transporting people to a new locale or expensive vacation destination.  But time will tell the answer if this is the case.  Until then, we continue to look at the stars and dream of the red planet.

How It All Began: The Story of God (Ep. 4)

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Past Articles in This Series: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3

The Creation of AdamIn the beginning . . . how did the heavens and the earth come to be?  It’s a question we’ve all invariably considered at some point in our lives. Morgan Freeman has been puzzled by creation since he was a kid attending church in his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi.  What else is out there? If God was the architect of everything, who (or what) created him? Or was chance a major aspect of the whole thing?

The fourth episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (National Geographic, Sunday at 9P/8C) brings the subject of creation to the forefront of discussion. And just like the preceding episodes, Freeman’s curiosity leads him to a worldwide search to find an answer (if one exists). He learns some interesting things along the way that are worth tuning in for.

For most people in the Western Hemisphere, creation is synonymous with Adam, Eve, and a garden in Eden. The two lived there peacefully, enjoying the place—all until the day they chose to disobey the one rule God gave them—eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:15-17).  Then they were thrown out by God and forced to work the land in order to survive. Freeman adds, “It’s hard to believe we all come from one man and one woman . . .  but we do.” Freeman has an intriguing discussion with researcher Jodi Magnuss where she mentions a legend about Adam and his dead bones. Supposedly, he was buried right above where Jesus was crucified.  When his blood seeped into the ground, it met the bones and Adam was resurrected. She then has a quick Hebrew lesson with Freeman involving the words adam (man), dam (blood), and adamah (land).

The episode continues with Freeman visiting Gobleki Tepe, an ancient city in Turkey, Egypt, Australia, India, and Guatemala to learn stories of how other faiths describe creation as occurring. Some involve twins and corn (Mayans). Some involve star babies and dreaming (Aborigines). Some are close to the Christian view (Islam), And others just focus on cycles of creation without getting into any details (Hindu).

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman filming in Italy.

(Photo credit: National Geographic Channels)
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman filming in Italy.

(Photo credit: National Geographic Channels)

There is a scientific look at the creation story as well—but the question of the Big Bang is proposed to some high ranking individuals in the Vatican. Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo (seen in the picture above) tells Freeman the Big Bang is not creation because “we don’t know what was before” it happened. But the story is compatible with the normal biblical account of creation because, according to Georges Lemaître, a member of the Pontifical Academy of Science, God is outside of space and time.  Creation is an everlasting act, according to Lemaître, one of the first to propose the Big Bang Theory.  I was surprised there wasn’t a quick discussion about whether the account in Genesis 1 took six literal days or simply six equal measures of time, as I’m sure there’s a scholar out there who could provide some perspective on the subject.

It was made abundantly clear throughout the episode that, regardless of belief, there is a standard that someone bigger than us had a hand in the creation of the planet we live on and the universe we look at on a clear evening. Something had to happen – and we’re a direct result of it. It provides us with a sense of encouragement and perhaps purpose. As Gandalf wisely noted in the Lord of the Rings, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

May we make the most of it.