(Continued from last file.)
This brings me to the most difficult part of my "Christian defense of Star
Wars": Anakin/Darth Vader as Christ-Figure.
Qui-Gon You should be very proud of your son.
He gives without any thought of reward.
Shmi Well, he
knows nothing of greed. He has a…
Qui-Gon He has special
powers.
Shmi Yes.
Qui-Gon He can
see things before they happen. That's why he appears to have such quick
reflexes. It's a Jedi trait.
Shmi He deserves better
than a slave's life.
Qui-Gon Had he been born in the
Republic we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong
with him…that much is clear. Who was his father?
Shmi
There was no father. I carried him. I gave birth. I raised him. I can't
explain what happened. Can you help him?
Qui-Gon I
don't know. I didn't actually come to free slaves.
This was a shocker to most Christians — even to myself at first. If
Anakin is virgin born wouldn't that clinch the fact that he is meant
to be some kind of Christ-figure? — and wouldn't that, then, give us
some serious questions about his role as the one who "will bring balance to
the Force?": with all the dualism which that would seem to imply?
Does Anakin bring this balance by being a Christ who is both good and
evil? Is Lucas saying that what the world needs is a nice gray
mixture of good and evil — and that the Evil side of God needs
equal time with the Good Side or things will get boring?
Well, let me admit right off that there are some forms of religion that do
harbor these kinds of ideas.
But as I said before, I don't think George Lucas does a very good job of
speaking for Eastern Religion.
I think that in spite of his hippie-ism, George's Lutheranism has a funny way
of popping out from time to time…especially when Eastern ideas get too ugly
or alien to be good ingredients for euchatastrophe. But perhaps,
before getting into the details, we'd better address this "Virgin Birth"
business head-on.
First of all, let's get something straight. Yes, Anakin Skywalker is
virgin-born. Lucas has said so in interviews…despite some weird speculations
to the contrary. (And by the way, did you notice what was the very next role
of actress who played Anakin's mother, Pernilla August — TV miniseries
Mary, Mother of Jesus Same role twice in one year!)
So — what's George saying here? Is this a mockery of Christ?
I don't think so. In a recent interview Lucas said that people shouldn't get
so hung up on the connection with Jesus. He correctly points out that just
about every mythology known to man has a virgin birth story in it. It's a
worldwide theme. Just about any mythological avatar who is going to be set
apart for some great purpose is likely to be Virgin-born in these stories.
And it isn't necessarily a sign, always, of divinity or sinless
perfection.
Lucas gets this from Joseph Campbell, who devotes a whole chapter of his
"Hero with A Thousand Faces" to the virgin-born heroes in mythology.
If you've been coming to my "King Kong Died For Your Sins" series, you've
already seen something about Christ-figures…that they often embody aspects
of Christ, rather than the complete meaning of Christ.
This is true of the many Christ-figures in the Old Testament as well.
Moses, for example. There are parallels between Moses and Christ: Moses is
the Prophesied Redeemer, the Chosen One, who longs to free his people from
bondage. But Moses is not sinless. In fact, it's precisely because of his
sin that he is not allowed to enter the Promised Land himself, but only to
view it from afar.
Possibly the best example of this principle, however, is Samson. Samson is
definitely a Christ-figure. The Church has always held this to be the case.
Among many other things, Samson stretches out his arms (between two pillars)
and by bringing death upon himself pulls down the house of his enemies…the
enemies of God's people. But Samson is definetly not sinless.
In fact, the whole reason he is in the house of God's enemies in the
first place is because he sinned with a Philistine woman…joined their side,
so to speak. Just as Anakin is able to destroy the Empire precisely
because he's in the Death Star with the Emperor…and the Emperor trusts
him. Maybe we can call Anakin a "Samson Figure" and Samson a "Christ-Figure"
if that makes you feel any better.
See, God is not afraid to let sinners stand in for him symbollically at
times. There's David, upon whose throne Christ sits. Solomon, who
judges the world from that throne with infinite wisdom. And Jonah, whose
"three days and nights in the belly of the fish" are Jesus' own favorite
symbol for his death and resurrection. But these three were notorious
sinners, all. And even as symbols they are very iffy. Jonah, for
example, goes into the belly of the whale because of his disobedience. Which
might make us want to second guess it as a symbol for Jesus' tomb…since Jesus
goes there as the ultimate sign of obedience …
But if we do this, we're second guessing the Lord Himself. So I think we can
say:
1. That Christ-figures who fall from grace are not only acceptable, but
actually an old Christian tradition...and Old Testament tradition.
2.
That George Lucas is not saying anything in particular about Christ by making
Anakin virgin-born. He makes him a Christ-figure…but not a strict
Christ-allegory.
Now, concerning His mission to "Bring balance to the Force."
This will take us into some very deep water indeed…but if what I'm saying
does turn out to be right…then the ultimate message of Star Wars will
be a very Christian one indeed!
Do you recall that in Lecture #2 (or "Episode V") I wanted to address the
pious Christian T-Shirt that read: "JESUS — The Force Without a Dark
Side"? And how — without mitigating the fact that Christianity's God is
pure good without any admixture of evil — I wanted to simultaneously
express the fact that "Aslan is not a tame lion." I wanted to remind you
that we are all "Jobs" — to whom God says, "Who are you, little man, to
question me?" That sometimes God's purposes can be good…but also
terrible.
Some of this is expressed in the ancient Easter prayer which reads:
"Oh happy fault! Oh necessary sin of Adam, that brought down
from heaven so great a redemption!"
Now, obviously, in the strictest sense, Adam's fault was clearly not
happy. But the poet does not speak strictly. He wants to express
something nearly inexpressible — the fact that good and evil are
intertwined in this world. Not mixed, mind you, but intertwined with
each other — in a wrestling match that might easily be mistaken at times
for an embrace.
Orthodox Christianity teaches that our world is indeed sadly fallen…but that
this fallen world has a certain poignancy to it, a particular type or flavor
of goodness in it, which we would never have seen if we had not known evil
first.
That even though a timeless, static Garden of Eden would
undoubtedly have been a great good. Nevertheless, we would never have
seen the Garden of Gethsemane without losing it first. And — in our
heart of hearts — would we really want that?
Recall that Jesus said that the man who has been forgiven many sins will love
Him more than the man who has been forgiven few.
Now: If this emotion is legitimate, even in Christians, might we not expect
to see it being addressed (very imperfectly) outside the Church as
well? This, I think, is what the Orientals are really trying to express in
their Dualisms, their Shiva/Kali pairings… That there's a certain kind of
good which is so severe and extreme that in the eyes of mortals it might pass
for evil. And evil, though ugly in itself, brings out the best in the forces
of good which combat it.
Now please don't go out and tell everyone that "Rod is a dualist." The
Eastern Religions know nothing of The Fall. As a result, they are forced to
imagine some kind of God who wants things to be the way they are now! A
prospect which would ruin anybody's theology! This is the reason their
version of this legitimate impulse really is open to terrible abuses. But
notice that they're inconsistent — as they must be. They're better than
their philosophy…they love Shiva and fear Kali…even though they are supposed
to be the same person.
Watch Lucas' version now…which is even more diluted with Truth:
"[On the state of the Republic in Episode I] If good and evil are mixed,
things become blurred-there is nothing between good and evil, everything is
gray. In each of us, we balance these emotions, and in the Star Wars
saga the most important point is balance, balance between everything. It is
dangerous to lose this."
He's using the word balance — but if you listen closely you see
that what he really means is segregation. We need to segregate good and
evil, and it's dangerous not to. Notice that Lucas is explicitly
rejecting the graying of good & evil!
"…I think the core issues I'm dealing with are still valid…if
they were valid 2000 years ago, they've got to still be valid today, even if
they're not in fashion…I think a lot of those moralities have gotten grayed
to the point that they don't exist anymore. But those issues are still
there…"
Lucas himself thinks he is doing battle with the very forces he's been
accused of promoting!…that is, the idea that good and evil are (or should be)
mixed into shades of gray. He wants them to be balanced — not
like the black and white pigments in a pot of gray paint, but like black and
white stones in the dishes of a scale, with all the black ones on one side,
and all the white ones on the other.
With all this in mind, let's examine some of the actual material in
Episode I.
About the story, Lucas says this:
"In The Phantom Menace, one [member] of the Jedi Council
knows that the balance of the Force is starting to slip…and will slip
further. It is obvious to this person that the Sith are going to destroy
this balance. [By coming back into existence!] On the other hand, a
prediction is referred to which states that someone will replace the balance
in the future. At the right time a balance may again be created, but
presently it is being eroded by dark forces."
Remember that "balance" is really segregation in Lucas's mind.
All this establishes one important fact, which might seem obvious at first
but is often missed: The Force needs balancing. In other words, the
Republic we see at the start of Episode One is not what it should be.
It has already fallen, to some degree, before Episode I ever opens.
Recall Palpatine — "The Republic is not what it once was."
To illustrate this, I'm going to evoke one more source: the New Testament
itself. Other than the Virgin Birth, which series of events in Episode
I is most like a series of events in the life of Christ? Answer: Christ
before the doctors at age twelve. Also: Christ on trial before the
Sanhedrin. "We don't know who you are." Anakin is presented to the Jedi
Council as the fulfillment of a prophecy which they are supposed to have been
waiting for.
Yoda Master Qui-Gon. More to say, have you?
Qui-Gon With your permission, my master. I have encountered
a vergence in the Force.
Yoda A vergence, you say?
Mace Windu Located around a person?
Qui-Gon A boy. His cells have the highest concentration of
midi-chlorians I've seen in a lifeform. It is possible he was conceived by
the midi-chlorians.
Mace Windu You refer to the prophecy
of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this…boy?
Qui-Gon I don't presume to…
Yoda But
you do. Revealed your opinion is.
Qui-Gon I request the
boy be tested, master.
Yoda Oh? Trained as a Jedi your
request for him, hmmm?
Qui-Gon Finding him was the will
of the Force. I have no doubt of that?
Mace Windu
…Bring him before us then.
In this analogy:
Anakin is Christ.
Qui-Gon Jinn is John the Baptist.
The Jedi Council is the Sanhedrin.
And Yoda is… Caiaphas?
Gee, I hope not. I have another theory I'll propose in a moment.
For now, let's listen again as the Doctors test Anakin's credentials:
Anakin A ship. A cup. A ship. A speeder.
Yoda Hmmm. How feel you?
Anakin Cold,
sir.
Yoda Afraid, are you?
Anakin
No sir.
Yoda See through you, we can.
Mace
Windu Be mindful of your feelings.
Ki-Adi Mundi
Your thoughts dwell on your mother.
Anakin I miss her.
Yoda Afraid to lose her, I think…Hmmm?
Anakin What has that got to do with anything?
Yoda Everything! Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear
leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much
fear in you.
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
But what does suffering lead to?
Yoda doesn't want to know. Neither do the other Jedi.
Now, we, of course, as the audience, know that Anakin will, in fact, become
Darth Vader. So many of us may have assumed that these scenes are just
supposed to show how wise and forward-looking Yoda and the Council are…
But what if they're not?
Many people have also noticed how stiff and unappealing the Council seems to
be. They would have made them better than Lucas did — more
swashbuckling, romantic, more noble. But what if the council we see here is
not what's supposed to be? What if the Force is out of balance right from
the start — and the council have ossified into a clinging, rigid body of
old men, looking out for the nation and their place like the Pharisees?
Look how different Qui-Gon's response to Anakin is to theirs:
Obi-Wan It's not disrespect, master, it's the
truth.
Qui-Gon From your point of view…
Obi-Wan The boy is dangerous. They all sense it. Why can't
you?
Qui-Gon His fate is uncertain. He's not dangerous.
The Council will decide Anakin's future. That should be enough for you. Now
get on board…
"Finding him was the will of the Force." And Qui-Gon responds to that fact
in faith. If Anakin is the Chosen One…the Messiah…well, then he's
the Chosen One. Who are we to question God? And if the Force has
ordained that suffering is what the world needs right now, then that, once
again, is His business. We must respond as Mary did: "Behold the
handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to thy word."
The Council, on the other hand, responds to the Chosen One exactly as the
Pharisees did:
Ki-Adi Mundi The Force is strong with him.
Qui-Gon He is to be trained then?
Mace
Windu No. He will not be trained.
Qui-Gon No?
Mace Windu He is too old.
Qui-Gon
He is the Chosen One. You must see it!
Yoda Hmmm.
Clouded this boy's future is.
Here Yoda is doing nothing less than second-guessing the Force. There's no
legitimacy at all to his attitude. They've seen every sign that they could
possibly want…Anakin prophecies, he shows them miraculous signs…he's even
Virgin-Born, for crying out loud. The final proof of Yoda's sin in this
matter comes later:
Listen to perhaps the most important line in the film:
Yoda The Chosen One the boy may be. Nevertheless, grave
danger do I fear in his training.
He said what? Listen again: Yoda The
Chosen One the boy may be. Nevertheless, grave danger do I fear in
his training.
Did you hear it? I thought fear was the path to the Dark Side?
And though Yoda is even willing to admit that Anakin may, in fact, be
the promised Messiah, nevertheless, for the sake of the existing order of
things — the current state of placid, static peace, in which even "the
Sith have been extinct for a millennium" — Yoda is willing to defy the
Force's decree in a vain attempt to preserve the status quo.
Which is the quintessence of Phariseeism.
The Pharisees had no other excuse for existing except to be waiting for the
Chosen One when He came and to teach others to do likewise. Yet when He did
come, they rejected him as a dangerous challenge to their own plan for the
future. Did they consciously say to themselves, "We can run things better
than God?" No, but it amounts to the same thing.
Jesus came as a "Suffering Savior"; the Pharisees wanted a king. They
refused to join Him in drinking the cup Gethsemane. It was the will of God
to bring a greater good than they could understand imagine by means
of suffering. Yes, "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate
leads to suffering." But sometimes suffering leads to redemption.
Both the Pharisees and the Jedi Council responded to the prospect of
suffering not in faith, but in fear. For Yoda to admit, then, that he is
afraid…is heavy duty.
So is Yoda Caiaphas?
I don't think so. What if he's Nicodemus instead? And a conversion — a
transformation — is in his future?
To get Yoda from the fearful, suspicious person we see in Episode I to
the gentle, peaceful sage we see in Episodes 4-6 means that Yoda has
quite a path to walk in the remaining two Episodes.
We may have to change our assessment of him.
If my intuition is correct, then Yoda will go from being the most static
character in the series to one of the most dynamic.
Keep in mind, we know that he is fated to watch the Republic fall in the next
two chapters, to watch nearly all of his Jedi friends wiped out and his
religion brought to the point of extinction. And Lucas recently said that
Yoda — via the new CGI technology — may have to dust off his
lightsaber in these Episodes and… go down fighting.
Is there really any evidence that this is where the story is going?
Consider one more quote from George Lucas:
"Ultimately —
after you've seen all six episodes — you will understand that the final
story has really been between Obi-Wan, Anakin, the Queen…and Yoda. Those
four characters."
Perhaps we get an inkling of what Yoda has been through when we get to
Episode V: Yoda Will he finish what he
begins?
Luke I won't fail you. I'm not afraid.
Yoda Eh?…You will be. You will be.
One more point. We still have not answered the question of how Anakin's rise
and fall and rise again will manage to "bring balance to the Force". I think
we'll have to see the movies to get the complete answer. But Vader's "Samson
act" does do something very interesting: He sacrifices himself to kill the
Emperor — thereby ridding the universe of the Sith Master/Apprentice
pair by taking them both out at once — something impossible to
anyone but Darth Vader.
So, as we come to the end of our Seminar Saga here, I ask those of you who
may have had questions about where things were going after Episode One
to be patient with me as we wait. Unless I miss my guess, the man who saved
Darth Vader's soul has a good deal more to say to us before he's through
— things of a very spiritual nature.
One last time, let's allow George Lucas himself to give us a sneak preview:
"It's not as apparent in the first three movies, but when you
see the movies I haven't made yet you'll see that the issue of 'How do we get
Darth Vader back?' is really the central issue. How do we get back to that
little boy he was in the first movie? — that good person who loved and
was generous and kind. And had a good heart."
And I must say, that is an issue that all of us ought to be able to relate
to. All of us "Anakin Skywalkers" out here, who can come back at any time,
like the Prodigal Son, to our Father's house — if only we can learn to
respond in faith, not fear, and to accept — without any second-guessing
— any crosses that God may need to send our way.
I've been told that Episode II is filming as we speak in Australia.
If that's true, then perhaps tonight, as we lie in our tents here on the Cornerstone Festival grounds
trying to sleep…let's offer a prayer or two for George Lucas and company.
Let's ask God to be with them.
And may The Force be with you.
