My life, my dominion

Dear all,
If you do read my blog, thank you.
Below is an email that i received from a friend. while well meaning, i was rather apalled by the comparisons that this person drew and his substantiations.

This is possibly going to upset some of you so let me say this up front. I do no condemn the person nor the movie, i am entirely driven to right a wrong that has been stated and possibly widely spread.

Hopefully you all see this from my pov.

Thank you.
My response is in the next post.

THE SAGA IS UNCOMPLETED

A.W. Tozer wrote an essay entitled "Do you know about the next chapter after the last?". In it, he pointed out that the gospels were a revolutionary biography. Every other biography in human history had ended with the death of a great or terrible man, followed by eulogies and assessments of his life's work. But Jesus' story was different. There was a chapter to write after the tomb was sealed and everyone went home. Our hope and confidence for life rests on our knowledge that there is Something beyond the grave.

For months and weeks before Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith opened, ardent fans camped outside cinemas to watch this final capstone to George Lucas' storytelling genius. Around the world, when newspapers interviewed Jedi wannabes and Force fanatics, their anticipation was
tinged with sadness that "After this there is nothing to look forward to". The last great Sci-Fi legend had appeared, and the saga was to be complete.

Even more depressingly, this last epic would be the most tragic ever created by Industrial Light and Magic's studios. In Episode 1 we were charmed by a young boy's hopes of becoming a Jedi Knight. In Episode 2 we were thrilled by Anakin's fighting prowess and identified with his rebellious struggles over love, hate and mentorship. But in Episode 3 - arguably the most visually dazzling yet emotionally harrowing Star Wars ever - we already know that will happen. Hate and evil will destroy Skywalker's life, his body, his wife, his mentor, and the entire
universe. When the final shot fades and the credits roll and the lights come on, the sinister triumph of pride and corruption will linger.

And so the saga ends. But does evil win? We already know it doesn't. And here is where, by a strange quirk of movie-making history, we have an interesting parallel to Christian hope. Lucas originally wrote a 9-
part story, but chose to make Episodes 4, 5 and 6 first (parts 7-9 may never be made into movies). And so even while we watch the darkest moments of Episode 3, the experience is mitigated by our knowledge of what will happen in Episode 6. Someday another gifted young fighter
named Luke Skywalker will train to be a Jedi. Someday he will redeem his father from the power of the Emperor's darkness. His belief in the remaining goodness inside Anakin paves the way for Darth Vader to reject
the evil he once chose. The dark helmet will come off. The saga will end truly in a victory celebration, a marriage, and the re-institution of a righteous government for the universe. Anakin, no longer damned, will join his former mentors in immortality.

Everywhere I go, I meet people who have reached the same tragic conclusions about life. They have angrily thrown off their childhood dreams, innocence and naivety. They have tasted the corruption and prejudice and unfairness of the world, and have all reached the same inescapable answer: "The only way for me to survive is to join in this
backstabbing and heartlessness, and moreover to beat everybody else at their own game.". They proudly tell me that were is no final word beyond this. "The world is like this. It will never change. There is no way out."

Have you bought into this as well? Or, like Tozer and Star Wars fans, can you see beyond the moral carnage of Episode 3 to the bright promise of Episode 6? Some Star Wars fans are so caught up in this mythic story that they draw all their inspiration and spiritual guidance from it. But
we have something better: the historically undisputed fact of an empty tomb. Our story of a Hero, His Bride, His enemy is all more real than even our perception of reality.

We are all in the process of leaving childhood behind and forging into the tough world of adult life. It is our responsibility to live according to the most brutally realistic assessment possible of our world and universe. But what is the final word for you? Are you subconsciously stuck in Episode 3, mentally and emotionally defeated by
the power of evil to corrupt everything? Or have you seen the Next Episodes after the Last, recognizing that all evil is a temporary deformity, that its overthrow is both certain and coming?

Secular thinking today all assumes that the ways of the past are no longer relevant, that we must find a new truth and system of living to cope with the future. It legitamises rebellion and arrogance to former authority. The biggest movie sagas of late, however (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars), envision a salvation for mankind closer to what we believe. In these stories, perfection and order only comes through the re-institution of a former authority. Only when Righteous power is restored to pre-eminence shall wars cease and evil flee.

So for now, Evil will have its day, and not just at the box office. But we already know that Victory has been won a long, long time ago, in a galaxy not very far away. Our own galaxy.

yours
David

DISCLAIMER: This commentary is written with the posture of "Extracting the precious from the worth;ess" (Jer 15:19). I believe there are lessons and observations to be drawn from art and culture, even when produced by fallen and unredeemed man. I am fully aware of the New Age / Occult influences within the Star Wars philosophy of "The Force". Nonetheless for the mature and discerning an appreciation of secular culture can be an important launch point in reaching out to people. Needless to say the bulk of Hollywood's products are spiritually empty or negative and have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and should thus not take up our time. For example every last Jennifer Lopez movie.

Final Trivia: Never judge anything or anyone too early. When the first Star Wars was released in 1977, 20th Century Fox believed nobody would see it, and signed away all merchanising rights to George Lucas. In the
end the film saved the studio from bankruptcy, and of course Lucas personally made millions from the merchandise.