CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
August 14, 2005
LIFT UP IN PRAYER:
Our congregation Our nation, military and leaders
Various friends, relatives and co-workers All our students
David, Leon and James in the military
STAR WARS
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs” (Job 38:31-32).
I had not intended to see the first Star Wars movie in 1977 until a Navy pilot suggested that I go. He said it was a classic struggle between good and evil. I went and have enjoyed the entire series. This however is the first time I have written a review of any Star Wars movie, and it really is a review of the series.
A couple of things first. If you just enjoy good action pack movies with lots of special effects, you will enjoy Star Wars. It was the intent of George Lucas, writer and director, to make these movies like those he grew up with; the western with good and bad guys. Needless to say he succeeded. Second, from a Christian perspective, there have been two extremes. One comes from a little paperback book I picked up after the first movie. The author attempted to identify everyone with someone in scripture. Darth Vader was the devil for instance. This is certainly not the view of the movie nor Lucas. The other extreme from a Christian perspective is to see it as a eastern, New Age movie because of the use of the term “The Force.” Reading this into the movie is equally not intended by Lucas, though some of those ideas can be found.
So where does all of this come from? George Lucas, like all of us, is a product of his culture. He grew up in a Lutheran family in the fifties and sixties. Various influences affected the way he saw things. He has admitted that his views of religion played an important role in developing Star Wars and that there is a mixture of Jewish, Christian, eastern religions and New Age in it. But as we will see, there were unattended consequences that he might not have thought about in creating the movies.
Lucas was also a product of his culture. The sixties was a time of turmoil, of rebellion against traditional views of government and religion. Vietnam and racial issues were prominent. By the middle of the seventies, America was tired. Vietnam was seen as a defeat. The Cold War was going strong. A President resigned from office in disgrace. Oil embargos and malaise was the mood of the day. Into this came a spark, an unintended consequence called Star Wars. Episode 4 was the first released and was titled “A New Hope.” A young man named Luke Skywalker begins a journey that will lead him into a conflict and would find that he was someone out of the past that many thought were long gone, a Jedi Knight. Teaming up with an Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a scoundrel named Han Solo, they rescue a Princess and save a planet from destruction from the evil Emperor and his Empire. I believe this began what would lead to a new attitude in America, the rise of a new President who saw what evil was, and saw America as a shining city on a hill. We also see the change of heart in Solo who finds that there just might be something more worth fighting for than money.
Episode 5 entitled “The Empire Strikes Back” is a darker film. In it Luke learns that the one who he seeks to destroy, Darth Vader, is really his father, though he is not clear about how all that came about. He has since episode 4 learned some about The Force, but now he is trained by the Jedi Master, Yoda, along with the idea of the “dark side of The Force.” In this film, we see the conflict between good and evil, the dark and light. It is interesting that Lucas uses these words, the idea being emphasized in the Gospel of John. Light came into the world and darkness could not overcome it (chapter 1). This is not to say that The Force is connected to God.
Episode 6 completes the trilogy and is entitled “The Return of the Jedi.” In this movie, Luke finds out that the Princess is his sister, rescues his friend Han, and helps to defeat the Emperor. In the process, he brings his father back to the good side of The Force. Another unintended consequence is that of redemption, something not found in eastern or New Age religions. In fact, the battle between good and evil is almost an exclusively Judeo-Christian view. With the conclusion of these three movies, the culture was in the process of change. The President stood up and identified the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire. The creation of a missile, space defense system mockingly was called Star Wars. But America had a better view of itself by the late eighties than a decade earlier.
Fifteen years later, Lucas began to release what many called the prequels, the first three episodes. The culture had changed again. This time the philosophy of society was, and is, in a change from a modern point of view to a postmodern view. Episode 1 introduces us to the Republic, the Jedi Knights, and a trade war. We are told that for a thousand years the Jedi had been the peacemakers of the Republic. But when we see how things worked, things were happening that were disrupting the peace, and few understood the reasons. A young boy is found, Anakin Skywalker, who is strong in The Force and had an unusual birth. Taken under the wing of the new Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, he begins to learn the ways of the Force. One of the things learned from this film is the almost total paralyzing effect of a bloated government that no longer functioned well. As such, a strong leader appears to be needed. Be careful what you ask for.
Episode 2 continues the now teenage Anakin’s development as a Jedi. He is rash and has a difficult time controlling himself in certain situations. And he is frustrated by the lack of encouragement he thinks he deserves from both Obi One and the Jedi Council. It is near the end that he has a vision that his mother is in danger. Finding that she had been kidnapped, he goes to rescue her. Finding her, she is near death and dies in his arms. He takes his anger out on the captors by destroying them, but hides this from Obi-Wan. In this film, we see the struggle and choices that a young person makes in the battle between good and evil. This reminds us the struggle and warning against Cain; that sin was crouching at his door and he needed to master it before it destroyed him (Genesis 4:6-7).
Episode 3 continues that struggle. He is married and in love. We find that his wife is pregnant and he is having visions of her death in child birth. He is still angry with the way the Council continues to treat him. And he is tempted. The new ruler, something the government yearned for to protect the Republic is really the Dark Lord of the Sith, and he is looking for an apprentice. Anakin is that person. He encourages Anakin to murder a prisoner, tells him that if he learned the truth about the Dark Side of the Force, he would be able to save his wife, and convinces him that the Counsel intends to overthrow him and rule in his place. Needless to say, all of these are lies but Anakin believes them and becomes Darth Vader. He fails to save his wife, nearly kills her, betrays the Jedi leading them to their deaths, except two, and becomes evil leading the Republic to become the Empire. Anakin’s fall comes from guilt and despair.
Now for some unintended consequences. When I watched the progress of Anakin into evil, I was reminded of how Revelation pictured the devil. He often copied what was good. Jesus was raised, so the Beast was raised from the dead. God used words, so does the devil. God promises life, so does the devil, though it leads to separation and death. Lucas even used a number, sixty-six, as the signal to kill the Jedi, a number we see in Revelation as 666. I thought that Lucas did a good job of presenting of fall of a person into evil. It sounds good but it ends bad. Genesis 3 has the same idea.
In one scene, as Anakin struggles between good and evil, he states that evil represented by the Sith is selfish and self-seeking . The Jedi are selfless and willing to sacrifice to save and rescue. We can see the obvious Biblical view here. Others would include sacrificial love, patience, self-control, and courage. There are more Biblical ideas seen throughout the series. Some have suggested that the balance to the Force mentioned in the movies is not to suppress emotions and relationships as suggested in number three but rather to build relationships through sacrificial love as Luke does in number six.
Lucas was influenced by culture in episodes 1-3 in some of the things said. In one case, Obi-Wan argues that evil was a absolute view, emphasizing the relativism of today. And Lucas appears to have some struggle with this. When he re-released episodes 4-6, he changed a scene in which Solo shoots first to defend himself. It appears he struggles with one who turns out good doing this, which I think is another factor in our culture today. Rather, I see Solo has a character who changes over the course of the films from a bad, uncaring guy to someone who has found something worth living for and dying for.
Many now will watch these films in order from one to six. If so, we might come to realize that people change. Obi-Wan’s relativism changes to a more absolute position after he sees what evil can do. And this brings me to a final unintended consequence. The Force has become something many are looking for in the sense of spirituality. I was listening to Steven Mansfield who has written a book on the faith of the American soldier. We have all seen and read about this phenomena. We saw soldiers being baptized in the desert, of Bible studies and prayer groups, of those who carried Bibles wherever they went. We see our young people concerned for others, willing to sacrifice and die for them. We see them rebuilding schools and hospitals and helping wherever they can. This is the generation we see today. It should not surprise us. We had an inkling after the Columbine shootings in 1999. The youth at Columbine High School did not seek out secular counseling but spiritual, going to their priests, preachers and youth ministers. It is a generation, after 9/11, to realize that there is something really worth living for and dying for, not just democracy, but in bring the good news to those who hate us.
In my view, Star Wars has contributed to a renewal of seeking that which is spiritual. It is a series worth seeing. Just one word of warning. Let’s not run around saying “May The Force be with you.” As nice as that sounds, The Force is not clearly defined in the movies. They talk about “balance in the Force” between good and evil. Our theology would reject an equality between God and the devil. But maybe the balance isn’t between good and evil as God, but between how one speaks and lives a life. That would be Biblical as Paul taught in a number of places (see Ephesians - chapters 1-3 theology, 4-6 practical living - 4:1 being the bridge between the two).
Enjoy the movies. If you just want to escape into another world, you will not be disappointed. But if you want to see more, then keep an eye open for what positive things one can learn.
George B. Mearns
The following have helped me in my thoughts in this article.
Roy M Anker, “Star Wars Spirituality,” www.christianitytoday.com
Rod Bennett, “Cracking the Star Wars Code,” Episode IV, V, VI, I, www.cornerstonemag.com/imaginarium/features/starwars/1_episodeiv.html
Terry Mattingly, Star Culture Wars, tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/2005/05/25
Jeffrey Overstreet, “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith,” www.christianitytoday.com
Roberto Rivera y Carlo, “Where the Hope Lies,” www.boundless.org
Dick Staub, Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters, Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Gene Edward Veith, “Movie Review: Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith,” www.worldmag.com
Alex Wainer, “The Fall and Rise of Anakin Skywalker,” www.pfm.org (6/3/2005)