(warning - spoilers below - you might want to watch the movie first before reading)

I really liked Star Wars episode VII "The Force Awakens"... I thought it was the best of the series so far.  However, some of the worldview implications were sad (though definitely thought-provoking).  Here are 3 things I noticed: one good, two bad.  (One additional point that I might write about some time are the extreme feminist characterization of Rey...)

 
1. Stormtroopers can be saved too
I liked the plot twist of having stormtrooper "Finn" end up deciding that he's going to leave the First Order, despite growing up loyal to it.  Basically, before this point in the Star Wars saga, stormtroopers were always bad, all the time.  They were 'one-dimensional'.  The idea of a stormtrooper with a conscience, and a choice to decide whether he's going to follow a commander he thinks is gratuitously evil, is an idea that is powerful (think modern bogeymen, like ISIS terrorists...? There is good in all of us, and evil in all of us) and realistic (all of us DO in fact have a conscience and moral choice, implanted in us by God, our Creator.  I see this plot twist as saying, no one is too evil to be redeemed... those who repent can be forgiven and have a new life, regardless of their past...  (cf. my note about Orcs in the Tolkien world... http://tim223.xanga.com/2015/01/05/the-orc-that-nobody-wanted/  )

 
2. "The Force" tries to imply that You (human) are ultimately the most powerful being (in the Star-Wars world, and beyond) (unfortunately this common and comfortable narrative is false...)

The Force obviously plays an important role in the Star Wars story.  This concept of an impersonal mysterious force created-by and permeating all of life pulls ideas from a range of eastern and pagan religions (but is not identical to any of them, to my knowledge).

One reason the Force is so interesting is that it taps into something we are already familiar with in daily life - the "religious" or "sacred".  For example, Han Solo (in the original films) or Rey asked skeptical questions of their elders about whether the Force is real or just a hocus-pocus fable - this dialog is a common theme in our polarized religious/secular world.  Phrases from the movies like "May the Force be with you" and "The Force will be with you, always" are obvious allusions to the Bible (with the Force as a replacement for God), and Rey's "religious experience moment" near the end of SW7 seeks to glorify the Force (it saves her, as she remembers it, rests in it and then utilizes it...)  George Lucas has explained that one of his deliberate aims in adding the Force to the movies is to stimulate a sense of spirituality in young viewers.

(Side tangent #1 - I've often wondered why the characters in the story who sometimes use the Force to do amazing (paranormal/supernatural) feats can't utilize those powers more often... why can they only pull it out once in a while?  There are probably two explanations: in the story world, they simply forget about the Force (and remember in the nick of time), whereas in the movie-making world, it would make the story too simplistic if the heros simply used the Force all the time.)

But interestingly, the Star Wars "Force" is actually instead directly analogous to spiritism and the occult, not the God of the Bible.  How so?  In the story, the key aspect of the Force is that you can control it, or channel it, to do your bidding.  Granted, there are certain individuals in the story which are more "sensitive" to the Force than others (e.g. the Skywalkers, Rey, Palpatine, etc), but in principle it's just a matter of mastering certain techniques to make the Force do what you want it to do.  The Force never disobeys, it only obeys you to a greater or lesser extent.

Similarly, the occult (evil spirits) in our real world provides real supernatural powers to those who surrender their lives to it.  This is connected with what might be called the "universal religion" - all spiritistic or theistic religions (other than Christianity) provide a way to 'gain control over' the spirits and get what you want... or 'put the deity in your debt' so that you can get what you want. Hindus offer gifts to a particular goddess for prosperity, Catholics offer prayers to patron saints, animistic folk offer chickens to their idols, Shintoists offer gifts to their dead ancestors, and even materialistic cultures like the Chinese spend money on all kinds of good luck charms.  Americans holding to "moralistic therapeutic deism" (the dominant 'religion' in America) likewise tend to believe in a false prosperity gospel... 'give to the church, and God will bless me financially'... 'do good works, and God will let me into heaven'.

By contrast, when we pray to God (the Creator, the One True God, described in the Bible), there are no techniques for manipulating Him.  Unbelievers have no connection with Him... and as for us, His children (Christians), we can submit our requests to Him, but He will answer or not answer depending on what He knows is best for us, because of His love for us.  He cannot be tamed or manipulated.

(Side tangent #2 - I suspect that we are being "set-up" for some upcoming supernatural demonstrations, when the Great Imposter (the Antichrist) arrives... As Jesus predicted: Matthew 24:24 "For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect...."  (not that the movie creators are doing this consciously, but the spiritual forces influencing the world may be doing this... imagine what you would think if you saw supernatural powers (like in the movies) being displayed in broad daylight in our world?  Like this, except real? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=999277153464049  )

(Side tangent #3 - I've been realizing what a large percentage of our modern cinematographic heros are in the same exact story position as ancient gods (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Babylonian, etc).  Basically, they have superpowers of some kind (supernatural powers), but other than that they are human... they have all the same foibles, lusts, arguments, indulgences, etc.  They are mere "larger-than-life" men/women.  They are on a 'continuum', so to speak... as in the Mormon doctrine "...as God is now, man may be."
This includes Star-Wars Jedi & Sith, X-men, all the Marvel/DC comics - Batman, Superman, Captain America, Thor (perfect fit), IronMan, etc.
(It also includes Tolkien's characters, like Gandalf, Sauron, Elrond, Galadriel, etc... Each of these in Tolkien's saga have "personal power" of greater or lesser degrees.  In Tolkien's saga, there is at least a "God", Illuvatar, who started the universe, but then he never again gets directly and personally involved... so there is a dim step toward accuracy, but not clear.  In the other superhero movies, "God" is eliminated - he is viewed as irrelevant, and mankind's only hope is the various "demigods" such as Superman, Luke Skywalker, etc.)
I think this trend is deliberate... perhaps not on the part of the moviemakers, but on the part of the evil spiritual forces that are constantly trying to pull and push the world and all its humans away from God the Creator.  The same pagan metanarrative keeps popping up, generation after generation: "You don't need God, instead, you yourself can be the supreme power.")

The Star Wars concept of the Force fits perfectly into this narrative which is so comfortable to us as fallen sinful humans... it reassures us that WE are in control... "I am master of my own fate".

However, this is a lie.  God is in control, and we are not Him.  My point is not merely that the Biblical worldview is different than the Star Wars worldview, or that the Force doesn't exist in the real world.  Instead, I am making the case that all religions other than Christianity seek to put man at the center (in the position of control), and that not only does the actual world we live in correspond to a different order (God, not man, is in control), but that it is BETTER this way... that God OUGHT to be in control... that if there was no God and we were really in control, we would royally mess things up.

 
3. "History is cyclic", says Star Wars (and many other epics)

My final point is that in the Star Wars world (as in eastern religions), there is no end to the historical cycle of good and evil.  After each movie's (or set of 3 movies') finale, it seems that "good has triumphed"... but we know it is not permanent.  Evil will always arise again, in some other form.

(Side tangent #4 - Tolkien's LOTR shows the same - the world keeps groaning on, and the happy moments of triumph (Sauron/Morgoth finally defeated, Aragorn finally crowned king) are followed by more pain and sorrow (Arwen loses immortality, then Aragorn dies, then Arwen dies... and even those who go to the Gray Havens, while they get a little peace, end up living with the escapist and callous Valar.... evil is never permanently removed, only put into remission for a while, only to break out again.)

In Star Wars, even the Force, whose 'imbalance' is supposedly connected with the pain and suffering inflicted by those (Sith, Empire, First Order, etc) utilizing the 'dark side of the Force', does not draw toward a conclusion of perfect, permanent, goodness and happiness... but instead toward "balance".  Balance between good and evil?  Unfortunately, yes.

Consider how much more beautiful (not to mention the fact that it's also true!) is the Biblical view - that history is linear... it had a (beautiful) beginning, it was marred in Genesis 3 (the Fall) by sin and the subsequent legacy of pain and death, and it is headed toward an awesomely beautiful ending.

In heaven, there will be no more rebellion.  No more cancer.  No more death.  That is to say, in this world, our world, the real world, the final "End" (which is the beginning of many good and better things) puts a complete end to sin, death, evil, corruption, pain, etc.  To those who might complain that this is boring, please read this: http://tim223.xanga.com/2015/08/13/do-you-really-want-to-live-with-him-forever/

Conclusion

Hooray!  We really do live in the best of all possible worlds.  When I see films like Star Wars, on the surface level (entertainment) I enjoy them.  Great storytelling, great acting, great cinematography.  On the deeper level I loathe the dismal alternate hypothesis they suggest... and I find renewed delight that the actual state of affairs (described in the Bible) is so much better.

This is a great article... http://www.kendrabroekhuis.com/blog/i-dont-know-what-to-say

I saw this article today about how "pay now, consume later" can help people gain more happiness from their monetary spending. http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/05/can-money-buy-happiness-2/

Quote:

Delay can enhance the pleasure of consumption not only by providing an opportunity to develop positive expectations, but also by enhancing what we call the "drool factor."

I wonder if this is part of the reason God chose to rescue a group of us humans (the Church) but not take us to glory immediately. Instead, He waits some thousands of years, while the gospel spreads throughout the world, and more and more people hear about and believe the truth... while also experiencing persecution and hardship for their belief in Jesus Christ, in addition to the regular pains and sorrows of this broken world.

As we look forward to being with God forever, the waiting period ('the betrothal period' before our 'marriage' to Christ, so so speak) enhances the drool factor... and thus our eventual happiness.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith (more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire) may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3-9, ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21:1-4, ESV

Today I read this interesting article ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2015/04/04/tech-titans-latest-project-defy-death/  ), about how lots of rich philanthropists are trying to invest in medical technologies to expand their lifespans to 150 years or so.

It's a thought-provoking article, but it basically highlights the fact that most people are afraid of death.  In fact, most people try not to think about it.

In contrast, those of us who know Jesus Christ and are aware of the evidence that He actually rose from the dead are able to be unafraid of death.  It's not that we are naturally more peace-filled people, but instead that we have heard the good news report (and believed it). We know that while death is indeed an enemy, it is only temporary for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ.  Soon we too will be resurrected to eternal life, never to die, and will live in happiness forever.  As the Bible says in Hebrews 2:14-15:

"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives."

Happy Resurrection Day!

"The only love that won’t disappoint you is one that can’t change, that can’t be lost, that is not based on the ups and downs of life or of how well you live. It is something that not even death can take away from you. God’s love is the only thing like that."

-- quote from Tim Keller's book "Walking with God through pain and suffering", http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/20-quotes-from-walking-with-god-through-pain-and-suffering

To the person who left the anonymous note on my door today:

Thanks!   I appreciate the encouragement and the reminder about God's plans from Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8, Joshua 1:9, etc.   Truly, God's plans are higher and better than our own.    Thanks also for the prayers - I definitely need them.  May God likewise bless you in every way.

As Bruce Ware says in his book "God's Greater Glory", if we had the perfect knowledge of past, present, and future that God has, we would agree with Him that His plans for our lives are the best plans...  even though now, with our imperfect knowledge, we sometimes question and doubt and wonder whether His plans are best or not.   Here are some more thoughts on God's promises - http://tim223.xanga.com/2009/05/09/gods-promises-not-to-be-confused-with-the-health-and-wealth-gospel-name-it-and-claim-it-etc/     and   http://tim223.xanga.com/2009/10/11/558/   and   http://tim223.xanga.com/2009/09/21/lamentations-3/

Thanks again,

Tim

This is a fascinating and thought-provoking article...

http://www.dioceseofraleigh.org/content/raleigh-seminarian-terminal-brain-cancer-responds-brittany-maynard

Here are some more book reviews from recently-read (or not-so-recently-read) books. For my previous reviews, look at here or here or the "book reviews" category on this blog.

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Evolution's Achilles Heels - edited by Robert Carter - Nine creationist PhD's discuss the latest (2014) scientific and philosophical case against evolution. It is technical, but also well-written and clear. It has chapters about the fossil record, the origin of life, natural selection, the geologic record, cosmology, genetics, radiometric dating, and morality. I would compare this book as a rough equivalent to Stephen Meyer's "Signature in the Cell" and "Darwin's Doubt", with the following differences: (1) EAH is written by 9 people rather than 1, so it is slightly less coherently written (but still good), (2) EAH is much shorter (260 pages rather than 1100 pages for Meyers' books combined) so it's easier to read quickly, but it's also a little more concise/dense than Meyer's books (he's a bit more verbose), (3) EAH is written from a young-earth creationist perspective, which is farther outside the mainstream than Meyer's age-agnostic or old-earth Intelligent Design perspective (but of course I fully agree with EAH's perspective), and (4) EAH is even more up-to-date scientifically than Stephen Meyers' books. For the best up-to-date perspective on the paucity of evolution and the strength of the ID (and/or creationist) view, one should read BOTH EAH and Meyers' books.

The Insanity of God, by Nik Ripken - Great book... he begins by telling about his own humanitarian/mission work in Somalia several years ago immediately after the war finished, and how things got more and more difficult for Christian work there. Then their son died. At that point, stricken with grief and somewhat disillusioned with missions work (where was the fruit, the conversions, that they were hoping/laboring for?), they went home. But then Nik decided to travel around the world and interview Christians in other nations who had faced persecution, to learn how they had come through it. His secondhand recorded stories from these interviews (Russia, Ukraine, China, Middle-eastern countries, etc) are very powerful and encouraging. Many persecuted Christians around the world consider persecution a matter of course, not anything unusual. This encouraged Nik, and he published this book. He next started writing The Insanity of Obedience, which is also good (I just started reading it). By "insanity", Nik means that God's ways are not our ways... and God uses our weakness to display His strength, and grow His church despite/through suffering.

Footprints in the Ash, by John Morris and Steven Austin - this is a book about the 1980 Mt St Helens eruption, and all the geological lessons learned from it, and the implications of those lessons for dating other features (such as the Grand Canyon). It is a great book, with clear illustrations and many amazing photos. It points out that many rocks from historic volcanic eruptions are dated by radiometric techniques to be hundreds of thousands or millions of years old, illustrating that the radiometric techniques are quite inaccurate. It has a brief application / sermon-type section at the end where it applies the lessons to our spiritual lives. Highly recommended.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi - Powerful, gentle, authentic, sincere, well-written, well-paced autobiographical account of a devout young Muslim (from the Ahmadiyya sect) who eventually came to believe in Jesus Christ (of the Bible, not the Quran) in his 20's. Along the way he has a lot of explanation of Muslim culture and terminology to help other culture understand Islam better. Nabeel chronicles the very painful and arduous journey he traveled, most of the time thinking he was 'refuting' and 'disproving' Christianity, but eventually he could no longer deny the truth. He described the heartbreak that came between him and his family when he left Islam and followed Jesus. But the way he writes about them, you can sense how much he loves them. Nabeel is now a speaker with Ravi Zacharias' organization. Highly recommended.

In Six Days, by John Ashton
On the Seventh Day, by John Ashton - both of these books are great reads. Each book has short articles from 40 or 50 scientists about why they believe in God and/or God's creation of the world (not evolution). Even though not every article is as 'powerful' as the others, it is a very 'genuine' book that gives a snapshot of the thought patterns of many different people - some more scientific, others more intuitive. Many of them were previously evolutionists and sometimes atheists. It is an encouraging book, and demonstrates that it is easily possible to be a scientist who believes in God and in the Biblical young-earth creation.

Dear Muslim Friend - by Jerry Mattix - Short, 120-page booklet, "explaining Christianity to a Muslim". Very excellent. It is gentle, yet firm, answering objections Muslims have to the Bible ("was it 'corrupted'?") and "Christianity"/Crusades/politics/etc, and showing clearly the Jesus of the Bible.

Money, Greed, and God by Jay Richards - He writes about how capitalism has roots in the Biblical worldview (but of course it is not the perfect solution)... and he writes as a former socialist! So he deeply empathizes with socialism, but shows how capitalism is a 'less bad' solution out of all imperfect approaches. Well written.

Follow Me, by David Platt - This is an intentionally "challenge"-oriented book, like Francis Chan's books. It's an exhortation to follow Jesus into the uncomfortable obedience, wherever/whatever that is.

The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence - This is a collection of letters by a monk from the middle ages. He went into a monastery when a young man, anxious about his soul. After many years, he came to know God well, and became an example to other people of the peace of God. As the title implies, Lawrence continued to live in close fellowship with God, in constant prayer, etc. His main duties were in dishwashing and gardening, and he gradually came to understand that he could be just as close to God while dishwashing and cooking as in a prayer service.  I don't agree with everything in the book, but it does sound like Lawrence was a true believer in God, and we can learn some things from him.

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, volume 3, Michael Brown - More excellent work.. this volume focuses on the messianic prophecies, and deftly demonstrates that Jesus fulfills them marvelously. It is a great read, because it cuts through the simplistic 'foretelling' approach which skeptics like to skewer. For example, "the virgin shall be with child" in Isaiah 7:14- some people simplistically claim that this was a prophecy of a virgin birth, which Matthew then quotes. The skeptics point out that the Hebrew word 'almah' does not necessarily mean virgin, so Matthew was (according to them) misquoting. However, serious scholars have always known that there are deeper aspects to Matthew's usage, and in fact he was not just focusing on the virgin-birth aspect, but using the prophecy in typological ways which are more in-line with the Jewish mindset regarding prophecies. If you like the articles at www.christianthinktank.com , you will like Brown's book too.

Mission Drift, Peter Greer - A great short book examining certain ministries that stayed true to their original Christian mission, and many others that gradually drifted away, and summarizing principles that help to stay "mission-true".

Divided by Faith, by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith - The authors summarize some history of evangelical attitudes toward race (and slavery) in America, and then try to make the point that white evangelicals in America tend to focus only on restoring personal relationships between races but ignore the "larger, systemic issues of injustice" like police profiling and enforced neighborhood segregation. They base much of their book on interviews conducted with evangelicals. Some points they make are correct, like the fact that many cities today are still quite segregated, and many churches are too. Other points they make are suspect. I took a lot of notes on this book, and I may publish a longer review later if I have time. One big critique of this book is that they spend 170 pages describing the problems as they see it, and then less than 1/2 page describing the solutions, and their solutions are extremely vague. I do not necessarily recommend this book.

Walking with God through Pain and Suffering - Tim Keller - TOP QUALITY, He does a good job explaining how to handle suffering, and why God allows it.  He shares many stories from people in his church who have been through extreme suffering.  Well worth reading multiple times.

Don't Let the Goats Eat the Loquat Trees, by Thomas Hale - EXCELLENT fun-to-read account of his time working as a missionary surgeon in Nepal with his family. He mixes in informative and funny stories with info about Nepal and insights about walking with God in missions work. The only problem is that this book is a little old (~30 years ago), so the info about Nepal/etc is dated. Well worth reading.

The Pineapple Story, by Otto Konig - Actually, it's better to listen to the audio sermons by Konig rather than to read the abridged book. He has an amazing ability as a humorist, and also a lot of good insights about walking with God (basically - surrender everything to God, don't hold anything back - it's the best way to live). The one caveat is that he sometimes falls into an oversimplified theology, in which if I have a problem in my life it is because I'm withholding something from God... simply surrender it (or start praising God) and *presto*, God will remove the problem. But overall his insights and experiences are worth listening to.

The Great Divorce, by C.S.Lewis - I finally got around to reading the whole of this wonderful book. It tells of a man who (in a dream) visits Hell and Heaven, and came to understand that those in Hell really WANT to be in Hell... they do not want to admit that they are sinners and that God is good and right and loving. It has a lot of good thoughts. A drawback is that C.S.Lewis leaves the door open to universalism, but at least he doesn't push it. Highly recommended story. One of several famous quotes from the book:
"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened."

1 Samuel 19 -

"¹¹ Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. ....

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth."

Samuel was the one who had anointed David originally, with the message that he would be king of Israel some day (1 Samuel 16).   David believed God, and Samuel his prophet, and this probably helped him in his bold exploits like fighting Goliath, etc... it must have been pretty nifty to have a prophecy spoken over you that you would some day be king... if the prophecy came from a trustworthy spokesperson of God (since God knows the future), one could be certain that one would not die before becoming king, and that would tend to give one great boldness in battle and life in general.

However, David's success as a soldier and general caused the existing king, Saul, to become envious of him and try to kill him, multiple times and over the course of many years  (1 Samuel 18ff).  David could have simply fought against Saul and captured the kingship.  But interestingly, he did not, though he repeatedly had "perfect opportunities" to do so, including twice sneaking up behind Saul when he had no protectors.  Instead, David kept running and hiding and fleeing, rather than fight against King Saul (who was also his father-in-law!).

1 Samuel 24 relates one of these times, when David was close enough behind King Saul to secretly cut off a piece of his robe, without Saul even noticing.  David's men urged David to kill Saul.  But he refused, saying "I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed."  In other words, David resolved to wait until he could have the kingship "in the right way", rather than seizing it for himself "the wrong way" out of impatience.

He believed (enough) in God's promise, such that he was content to wait, and wait, and wait.

From whence came this faith/trust?

Probably from many factors... but perhaps one of these factors was this brief meeting with Samuel in 1 Samuel 19:18.   David was telling Samuel.... "Remember, you anointed me the future king!?!? But then why is all this happening to me?  The king is trying to take my life!?  Where is God?  I try to follow God and do the right thing, and what do I get for it?  I'm on the run for my life.  My own king, the one I have served sincerely and faithfully, is trying to take me out.  Why?  What's the point of continuing this approach of 'waiting' and 'doing things the right way'??"

What did Samuel tell David?  ...that old prophet, who had counseled and provided justice for thousands of Israelites over the years, who had originally anointed Saul and had seen Saul's heartbreaking perfidy and turning-away from God... then had anointed David but had not yet seen the fulfillment of his prophecy.

His words are not recorded.  But he apparently listened to David, went with him on a trip to a town where he could be temporary safer, and gave him some powerful advice, which kept David on the path of walking with God for the next few months or years.  Many times in our lives too, the advice of an older godly person at the right moment can be extremely beneficial.   Maybe Samuel shared with David what he had seen in his own life, that God's answers to prayer are often very slow, but worth waiting for... and that God always keeps his promises.

All of us have things that we are known for... our skills, our specialties...

God is known for many things... especially including the way He transforms lives for good.

Here's another great example of this -
http://www.worldmag.com/2013/10/a_legacy_of_life_and_forgiveness