Wednesday after one28 I joined the Sarr/Barnts small group at the Weinbergs’ new house for a holiday party. Amidst pizza and smack downs we watched Episode III on the 119” projection screen with surround sound from our fully reclinable theatre seats. It was a sacrifice.
As we watched the Revenge I recalled a Time Magazine article from a few years ago about George Lucas, creator and director of the Star Wars empire. In the interview Lucas declared “the conclusion I’ve come to is that all the religions are true.” He went on to explain that on a mystical level God is simply, “what one might describe as supernatural, or the things we can’t explain.” In order to capture this concept Lucas created the “Force,” an energy source upon which the good characters draw strength. For Lucas the Force is his attempt to “awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people — more a belief in God than a belief in a particular relgious system.”
It is ironic that Lucas’ attempt to awaken spirituality is communicated through an almost completely anthrocentric world, a setting where man’s abilities through technology have made the impossible possible. This futuristic world is the envisioned fulfillment to modern society’s use of, and trust in, science and technology. In the midst of such a culture, Lucas preaches that “to remain stable, remain balanced” there must be faith and “interest in the mysteries of life.”
I don’t really even know what that means.
But back to the larger subject, is belief in this impersonal and remote energy truly able to answer universal questions? Does it really explain the unexplainable? Can the “Force” bring stability and balance to lives of 21st century mankind as Lucas promises?
The answer to these questions is an unequivocal, No! The genuine channel of life, of soundness and wholeness, is not faith in the Force, but rather it is found only in a relationship with the God of the Scriptures, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I assume no Christian is surprised by that judgment. We confess life to be from, in, and through the Trinity alone. However, many professing believers trust more in human ability — just like Lucas — than the enablement of the Spirit. Not only that, they also tend to imagine the power of the Spirit as something similar to Lucas’ impersonal Force. This short series of posts intends to show that many in the church act in ignorance and independence of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis.
read Part 2: a practical denial of the Holy Spirit
One Comment
it is sad to think that professing believers somehow would love to retain autonomy. One of the greatest joys of my life is the fact that God has shown me I am nothing, with no hope of pleasing God alone. We have forgotten the divine, and also forgotten where He is revealed.