An Editorial by Christine Ivy
Rogue One was great. My critique ? as I sat there, moved by the story and impressed with many great strides this movie made socially ? was with how violent it was. It wasn?t gory, it wasn?t graphic, but a lot of people died (no Bothans). It was about David vs. Goliath. It was about rebels vs. the empire. It was about terrorists vs. America (no?). It was a good ol? fashioned glorious war movie.
It is the best our culture can do. The best we can do. It was a very human story.
War.
Superheroes.
FUN.
But if that?s all we have in our life, it?s woefully insufficient.
Christians, we have something to say in the face of death.
Our defining narrative isn?t popular culture, it is the Word of God. Jesus is the way, truth and life that ? if actually true and ?the? way and our very LIFE ? such a belief offers hope in the face of death. Real hope that can stare real death in the face, because we are not afraid, because we have the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Carrie Fisher died.
And that sucks.
But how remarkably sad if our only comfort is in ?the force.? Because the force was invented by this guy:
Is it just a sign of the times? Post-religious society?
We all have a choice of religion. There is no opting out of what you worship; whatever fills your life is your religion.
For most people it?s consumerism and violence. It?s zombies. It?s Marvel?s Avengers and toys and MMA. It?s Disney Princesses and clothes and Keeping up with the Kardashians.
So we can either be shaped by the culture out there that wants men and women to be consumed (porn! violence!) and be consumers (porn! shopping!) creating addicting behaviours that numb the pain and deny the reality of our mortality,
or ?
we can choose something that defeats death, heals blindness, sets captives free. We can choose the personal God who has already chosen us.
May your life have more in common with Jesus than Star Wars.
Amen.
This post was originally published at www.thisistemporary.wordpress.com. To read more of Christine’s thoughts, please visit her site!
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Hmmmm…. I will have a response to this sometime soon. Well, I might not specifically address this review, but I don’t think I’ll be this harsh. And, if anyone is wondering, the Bothans died bringing the Rebellion info about the second Death Star, not the first.
hey there 🙂 . . respectfully, i wonder whether this piece comes off as well as it could . . in general, i of course agree that the gospel presents a hope that pop culture by itself cannot . . however, i wouldn’t therefore put those two things in opposition as you have here – if you’re looking to make the gospel relevant and (appropriately) attractive to said culture, that is . . perhaps instead look for something in Star Wars (or whatever) that already points to the gospel, perhaps unbeknownst, which can then be built upon? . . this seems like the Paul at the Areopagus move to make to me (Acts 17), which ftr, i think is the key biblical passage when it comes to how faith/culture/evangelism/etc. intersect . . humbly, this is what i was trying to do here: https://screenfish.tempurl.host/why-star-wars-is-more-than-a-movie/ . . the internet and this site, i think, is full of other examples
The piece is certainly not an apologetic to non-Christians. It’s more of an exhortation to Christians to remember that we have a LOT to say in the face of death (re: Jesus), and it’s not that “the Force is with you.”
There is a time for everything, including using Star Wars in your sermons.
okay . . it didn’t read to me like the church was the only intended audience . . of course i agree that we have a lot to say in the face of death (the *only* thing, really) and that there’s a time for using pop culture like Star Wars in sermons . . to me, this whole site is pop culture in sermons 🙂 . . my feedback has to do with *how* we do this . .
i’d again apply this feedback to what you say below re: the “may the force be with you” tweet . . of course there’s no force, of course there’s not true hope there, but that doesn’t mean the best response is “anger” “frustration” etc. . maybe it’s pointing out that the world’s impulse to find meaning/significance/etc. through something like Star Wars or the force is a *correct impulse*, but that the true way to get that meaning/significance/etc. is only through the gospel . . again: Acts 17
I hope you don’t mind me changing the subject here in the comments to another issue. You critique my anger as not the best or perhaps ideal response. I’ve done a lot of work with the idea of emotional health and believe that it’s ok to be angry, and as a human emotion, we need to accept that it is appropriate especially when things are wrong, there’s injustice, or when things require passionate energy to be remade or rebuilt. God describes himself as a God of wrath a lot in the Bible because there is a LOT to be angry about (people be cray). Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine, so he would have experienced the full range of human emotions, too. Perhaps I am flipping over the money changers’ tables in my father’s house, because they’ve taken up space that was meant for prayer and filled it with Star Wars paraphernalia.
I also am aware that as a woman and as an evangelical Christian, I have grown up with the (wrong) messages that anger is a sin, or that we should always be happy if we’re Christians, and that means stuffing down anger and not expressing it (it doesn’t go anywhere, it just eats you up inside).
So I disagree. But thanks for engaging me on it, and the respect and civility in your post.
Removed from this post was an image, a screengrab of Pierre Trudeau’s tweet that read, “We’ll never forget you, Carrie. May the Force be with you always.” which was at the top and sets the context for the anger in this post. The tweet was a nice gesture but it’s also a face-palmingly frustrating moment, because Princess Leia didn’t die, Carrie Fisher died. The Force isn’t with her because the Force doesn’t exist. We treat Star Wars like a religion (I have never seen more Star Wars paraphernalia in my life and it reminds me of the religious devotion of Catholics and with their icons, saints, pilgrimmages – to Disneyworld…). But Star Wars isn’t real. It feels so stupid saying it but when the Prime Minister of a country doesn’t say something from a religion but from a movie, maybe we’ve made religion the enemy and not realized what we’re trading it for… I know he’s liberal and Canadian so I shouldn’t expect more from him (I don’t) but it just sounded pathetic. It’s not comforting because it’s not real. You know what’s real? Carrie Fisher. You know what’s comforting? Hope of the resurrection. THAT is real hope. THAT is what we have to offer. Not the friggen “force”.
Anyway, I’m probably burnt out on Star Wars ads… I thought this movie was out months ago based on how much I’d seen it around.
*Justin Trudeau. Pierre is dead. Whoops.
Ooops! Sorry, Christine! Somehow that tweet didn’t make it on the page. We’ve corrected that.