I’m a geek.
I have been my whole life, and proud of it—especially now, as geek-hood swells to maturity in our society. The fringe is rapidly becoming the core, and I love it. Geek, I realized the other day, is becoming the new jock. According to Wikipedia, “In a 2007 interview on The Colbert Report, Richard Clarke said the difference between nerds and geeks is “geeks get it done.”[2]
Boo-ya.
The article goes on to say, “Persons have been labeled as or chosen to identify as physics geeks,mathematics geeks, engineering geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, various science geeks, movie and film geeks (cinephile), comic book geeks, theater geeks, history geeks, music geeks, sport geeks, art geeks, philosophy geeks, literature geeks, historical reenactment geeks, video game geeks, and roleplay geeks.” I’d add gadget geeks to that list.
The article includes a few definitions of geek, but these nail it for me:
- A person who has chosen concentration rather than conformity; one who passionately pursues skill (especially technical skill) and imagination, not mainstream social acceptance.
- A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. This could be due to the intensity, depth, or subject of their interest.
Building on that definition, here’s how being a geek helps my faith and can strengthen yours, too.
1. Being a geek helps my faith by spawning curiosity.
I love to explore, create, write, paint, you name it. And there’s something about sci-fi and fantasy that feeds my curiosity—a curiosity that bleeds into everything I do, including my faith. It’s that insatiable curiosity and focus that leads me to dig deep into the Bible to find ideas and connections other people marvel at.
2. Being a geek helps my faith by stirring my imagination.
My imagination, nurtured and expanded by sci-fi and fantasy, is one of the elements that makes my faith so strong. The essence of faith is seeing with the eyes of the heart, being able to visualize what’s possible. This energizes my prayers, kick-starts my creativity, and deepens my hope.
3. Being a geek helps my faith by anchoring my identity.
A strong sense of identity is foundational to my life of faith. The ability to stand up for something regardless of what others think, the decision to embrace the fringe and chart my own course is part of who I am. Sure, there are closet geeks, but these are also the people who wear Storm Trooper getups to Comic Cons. It’s been said that geeks are by nature not “evangelistic,” that they aren’t trying to convert anybody. I’m not sure that’s true, but I will say this: they do convert people, by the strength of their passion and visibility of their interests. Their identity is contagious. Which is exactly what a Christ-follower is aiming for too.
4. Being a geek helps my faith by infusing my life with epic themes.
My love for movies, adventures, and story infuse my life with purpose and excitement. I see parallels to biblical themes everywhere, from the Matrix to Kindergarten Cop to The Green Mile. Good stories inspire loyalty, help me reject temptation, point me in the right direction. Even soundtracks stir me. If I want to be a better husband or am facing a big problem, I’ve often listened to the soundtrack from Last of the Mohicans. Stories, you see, follow a predictable structure that mirrors the structure of life. True, some geeks use fantasy to escape; I use it to engage in life more fully.
So there you go, that’s how being a geek helps my faith. You may also want to check out my post, Why Geeks Make Great Christians.
What about you? Are you a geek? Does being a geek help your faith?
A very well-put viewpoint that I completely agree with.
On one hand, escaping into fantasy can diminish our zeal for our real lives. While we save the galaxy in a video game we do nothing for the people living next door who really do need our help. But that’s if we embrace these mediums without the understanding of WHY we love fantasy.
Whether it’s the longing for a more beautiful world or to become the righteous warrior saving the galaxy, fantasy and sci-fi points us towards are true identities.
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien from his essay, “On Fairy-Stories”.
I think the same can be applied to videogames, that when we get a glimpse of joy from the aurora of Skyrim, or stand in awe of a misty mountain peak or bring justice to evil, we satisfy a deep longing, a longing for a good and just world. Something that doesn’t often occur in our daily lives.
That often comes from fantasy, through their happy endings, a phenomenom Tolkien dubbed, “eucatastrophe” or the sudden turn from darkness to light. These moments give us a glimpse into the grand mythological nature of the cosmos, that things were meant to be better than they are.
I believe it’s John Elderidge who talks about how we scoff at movies with happy endings because they aren’t “realistic”. But this broken world of sin was never the home we were created for. Sadness, sickness and death was not what we were created for.
I agree. Well put, bro.
Well said indeed! Yes Geek here! Hubby is a geek too ….bringing up 2 geeklings. Nice to know we are not alone in our faith based geekiness! I have a geology background and Hubby Biology…we enjoy the epic creative adventures of sci-fi . Sometimes I feel like I get the “you sprouted a third eye” look from other Christians when they see our enjoyment of ” unnesisary ” things..
Not too long ago Hubby and I had a great convo about how the tenth Doctor who drew parallels of christlikness and relationship of unconditional love and love of created life.
Any way thanks so much for your blog!
Elizabeth, welcome! My son is a Dr. Who aficionado… I’ll have to talk to him about this. Fun!
I can hardly wait to see how this blog might bring together Christian geeks (and maybe draw those who are seeking). Hope to “see” you guys around here.
I’ve always found geek & faith go together!
as for geeks not being evangelistic– ever heard of Firefly conversion parties? 🙂
for anyone interested, my husband, and Orthodox priest, is doing a series of blog posts on the spirituality of Firefly:
http://frlawrencefarley.blogspot.ca/2012/04/firefly-creating-family.html
Hey, thanks for stopping by. I’ll check out the blog series. Sounds cool.
Awesome, Brad. I’m printing it out to show to my 12-year-old geekling. He and I have been discussing Geekdom lately and I love how kids are beginning to embrace the idea. He comes by his Geek genes naturally, I’m afraid. Though I still get sad when I think he’s missing out on some of the “cool kid” stuff like sports, I’m secretly tickled to discuss the theories behind warp travel and the problems with time travel with him. Once he gets past the awkward teen age, I think he’ll go far.
What a wonderful post! I have always been somewhat geeky, but only recently have I allowed myself to see it as a good thing.
Thank you for the reminder of how it deepens my faith.
You bet! Thanks for stopping by. I think there are a lot of people that need to accept this about themselves and use it to follow Christ more passionately.
Love it. Sharing with my fellow geeklings on my FB author page. 🙂
Hey, that’s awesome. Glad you like it. I think I’ll stop by your author page, too. You go to Mount Hermon Writer’s Conference, don’t you?
Sure do!
James, thank you for posting, and for taking the time to share articulately. I admire your being real about where you’re at, especially on a blog that maybe represents part of what you’re struggling with. Part of the reason I created this space was to offer a place where one could be a Christian geek without being ostracized as you were. I can certainly appreciate the questions that burn in your gut related to the brand of Christianity you were exposed to. You are loved!