A Christian Response to Avatar
Dec 29th, 2009 by Steve Highlander
Note: I don’t always take the popular position, but I am always serious about what I say and what is happening in the church. I think there are times some stuff needs to be addressed. I think it is time to lighten up about stuff that doesn’t matter and get serious about the stuff that does. I would appreciate your serious consideration to what I have to say.
The opinions about the new movie Avatar have been making the E-Mail circuits. Avatar is about a race of people on a planet with an expensive mineral that a vicious mining company wants to exploit for a profit - even of they have to kill the people who live there to get it. The movie plot is about how the people end up fighting for their lives, their culture and their civilaztion. They are connected with the nature around them and they worship the Mother Spirit and the connected energy life shared by all. Of course this is very much new age doctrine. However - it is a movie, and a sci fi one at that, not a documentary.
As a dedicated Christian and pastor/minister/educator/etc. I will share my OPINION. I saw Avatar today and thought it was great and enjoyed it thoroughly. First off I was not on a crusade. I can watch a movie for the sake of a movie. It was A SCI-FI movie after all. It was not a doctrinal statement - it was a movie. I was not attacked by demon spirits compelling me to worship mother nature. It didn’t affect me at all. I still believe Jesus is God; I didn’t go blind or insane or have any serious doubts about my faith either. I hardly see people walking out of the movie discussing earth worship or the mother goddess, They will Walk out and talk about the awesome special effects and a good tight story line with a lot of action. By the way there wasn’t any sex either.
In fact it made me think about what the American government did to the Indians when it wanted the land that the Indians owned. It is the age old story of greedy people taking what they want from weaker people. A plot, by the way, that Jesus asks us to be involved in stopping in our world today. Seems like the bible has a lot to say about helping the weak and the oppressed - which was a big part of this movie.
While there are real mother goddess worshippers out there - the other message that you can’t kill people just because you want what they have is valid too I think. And I am not sure it is wrong to be against the rape of nature for the profit of man.
So a non-existent race on a non-existent planet has a connection with nature! Again, it is a movie plot.
Does every movie have to be totally and thoroughly Christian in content and doctrine? Then we would all be fighting about WHO’s doctrine was being preached. Did it seem a little too Calvinist in parts? Maybe the deliverence scenes portryed a bit too much Catholicism. Maybe they didn’t baptize right. You see, Christians will always fuss about stuff. I think it is time to lighten up on stuff that doesn’t matter and get serious about stuff that does.
Honestly I am really starting to get annoyed at the “Christian” attitude that has been increasingly negative the past 12-15 months. I saw it again with the angry (yes anger - is that a Christian virtue?) stuff that went around about some SECULAR businesses not saying Merry Christmas. Now we have Christians denouncing a really good movie, with exceptional effects and a good story line with action. IT WAS JUST A GOOD MOVIE. Can’t we leave it there? If nothing else use it for talking points for your youth group or your kids. Are we afraid a movie has more power to impact us than the REAL gospel? (I don’t mean the wishy-washy, feel good, convenience gospel being preached today.)
The issue is not saying Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. It isn’t even about a part of that movie that had some pagan elements in it. It is that “christians” seem to making a crusade out of every little issue. Now, the problem with that is while we are sitting around E-Mailing each other and boycotting the movie, nobody is DOING anything about the kingdom. Instead of complaining about the doctrine in the movie, lets go out and win a few pagans to Jesus. (When I was in Africa I spoke with and preached to a lot of Voodoo witch doctors. We even called a special meeting and invited 5 main witch doctors and about 25 of their apprentice witch doctors to a meeting in a village. The entire village ended up showing up. These people worship a certain tree because they believe their first anscestors stepped out of a tree. I spoke for well over an hour about worshipping and serving the creator more the the created. At the end, before we left, the young people sent me a message that said, “the young peope of the village have heard what you said.”)
I think Christians need to be more concerned with reality than a sci-if movie. Let’s go win a few goddess worshippers to the Lord. That would be more effective than boycotting a movie. It is time for Christians to be about the Father’s work, not complaining about everything they don’t like.
The bottom line is that I am terribly afraid we have focused on the wrong stuff the past 30 years and WE are the cause of the deterioration we see. Jesus said that we (read that you and I) ARE the salt and light of the world. He didn’t say we should be, could, be, ought to be, or try to be - He said YOU ARE! Then He went on to say what happens when the light is covered and the salt is mixed.
The church is not significantly impacting America anymore and the response of many is to complain about our feelings getting hurt because they don’t believe like we do. It is time to return to living for the Kingdom of God rather than our own agendas, pleasure and comfort. It is time to GO into all the world (let’s start in our own hometowns) and share the love and power of God, not tell them how angry we are that they don’t believe like us. It is time to refocus on what is important and stop fighting battles that will never win souls.
Blessings,
Steve
Hi Steve, I’m glad to hear that I’m not they only one who thought to myself, ‘It’s just a sci-fi movie’. We took our company with us to see it and I was thinking this will be a great memory in years to come. If christians spent one fouth the time praising and wittnesing for Christ, how good would that be! Jan
Thanks Jan, so far the response has been positive, but I know I will strike a nerve with some.
Steve, I agree with you. We Christians are way too critical of things. Yes, we need to be discerning, but this movie is not a documentary, it is sci-fi. If you like that sort of movie, go for it. I think I would like to see it to experience the special 3-D effects. Let’s let our light shine for Jesus and may our words draw people to Him and not repel them away.
I like your post here…really! Steve, I tried to email you back regarding the World Mission Impact blog, but the email was rejected. Don’t know why. Could you shoot me a different email address, perhaps?
Steve,
I totally agree with you. There are many, many movies out there to beware of, but this isn’t one of them. One caution, though, I did get the impression they had sex under that special tree. That’s how they showed they had chosen each other, and why no one could break them up. I think that in itself was an interesting statement. Once they had sex, they had to be together. That was the “right” way in their culture, or at least one that couldn’t be argued with. Now, of course we would require a ceremony before God, but in a way, they committed to each other before their god, and it was binding. If you see it again, tell me if you don’t see where I think they “did it”… Not too graphic, but if a sharp young one is paying attention, there may be questions.
Loring
She was also a bit too sexy in my book. Clothing a bit skimpy. Yes, I KNOW it was animated, but we shouldn’t “normalize” near nudity and desensitize our young men…