“I See You... Satan!”

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle’s Mars Hill Church, has been taken to task for denouncing Avatar in a recent sermon [pdf] as “the most demonic, satanic movie I’ve ever seen.” Mark Moring of Christianity Today criticized his comments on his blog:

...did I find it “overtly demonic”? Heck no — and even on the contrary. I saw some distinctly Christian themes in the ideas of self-sacrifice, unconditional love, incarnation, and even a model for missions.

When Star War was released in 1977, one response from Christians was an attempt to capitalize on its success by trying to relate ‘the force’ to some aspect of Christianity. (You may remember a book entitled, The Force is Jesus.) Unfortunately, these attempts are doomed to fail because even non-believers can see through the subterfuge and realize that ‘the force’ and Jesus are nothing alike.

In a interview years later, Star Wars creator George Lucas said that every major religion used the concept of ‘the force’ as an evangelistic and proselytizing tool — confirming his view that “if you believe there’s one God, then all religions have to lead to the same place.”

Mark Moring, in his Christianity Today blog post is trying to do the same — reconcile the central themes in Avatar to aspects of Christianity. And while I don’t think he’s intentionally trying to come to the same conclusion as Lucas, he’s coming dangerously close to doing so, and leading others to to the same.

I think he’s missed the mark (no pun intended, Mark...), because the things he calls “Christian themes” — self-sacrifice, unconditional love — are not Christian themes at all... they are universal Human needs and desires. Let’s look some of them:

Unity and Love Among People
Although they do have internal conflicts, the tribe is united in a common purpose. The authority of the leaders is respected when final judgement on a matter is pronounced.

Connection to the Supernatural
In Avatar, the Na’vi are connected to their deity, Eywa, via a global network of interconnected synaptic energy. Contrary to what many Christians think, non-belivers are looking for spirituality. As in Paul’s day, we have a plethora of idols: Wiccaans, New Age, etc. People are looking for spirituality in all the wrong places.

The Ability to Defend what Belongs to You Against a More Powerful Adversary
Like the Native Americans in the 19th Century, the Na’vi homeland is threatened by outsiders who want to drive them away and take the planet’s resources. As believers, aren’t we supposed to do the same?

Knowing and Being Known
The traditional Na’vi greeting is, “I see you,” meaning I see into your soul; I see who you are. People crave to be loved and accepted for who they are.

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I find it strangely disturbing that Moring would come so strongly against Pastor Driscoll, even praising non-Christian Houston Chronicle faith-and-art blogger Menachem Wecker for his criticism of Driscoll. Wecker believes that Avatar should be “applauded for celebrating a spiritual approach to life,” but as Driscoll points out, just because it’s spritual doesn’t mean it’s good.

Attacking Avatar was not Driscoll’s main point... he merely used it as a sermon illustration to show how Satan and his demons operate. Driscoll simply pointed out that Avatar clearly advocates Paganism and that Paganism is satanically inspired. He never said that the characters themselves were satanic (but you wouldn’t get that from Moring and Wecker’s criticism).

Personally, I thought Avatar was a great film, but I didn’t buy into its message; and I’m concerned about any Christian who cannot disern what that message is and thinks Avatar expounded “Christian themes” and had “Christian undertones.”

One of the commentators on the Christianity Today blog hit the nail with this statement: “Perhaps we would do well to watch Avatar with discernment and see its popularity as an opportunity to engage others thoughtfully about biblical truth.” Well said.