My Star Wars Christianity

“A long time ago, on a galaxy far far away… STAR WARS” The long silence followed by the immense amount of sound, the giant ships flying over head, amazing flashes of light preceding huge explosions. Star Wars rocks! I love those movies. They are one of the best set of movies you will ever get your hands on. Episodes IV through VI are my favorite, but I would be a liar to say I did not love I through III. As a Christian, I hear teaching and preaching all the time using those movies as metaphors for my Christian walk. But is it a great metaphor? Yes it does show the good against evil, light against dark, God against devil contrast quite well, and it shows an ongoing battle against dark forces in an overtly metaphorically Christian way, but I think there are some fundamental flaws in what the Sith and the Jedi believe compared to what Christians believe.

In episode III, Anakin sits down with chancellor Palpatine in some sort of theater. There is a huge amount of people sitting and watching as giant balls of light seem to float around to entertain them. The chancellor tells those who are around him to leave so he is able to talk to Anakin alone. He begins to tell him a story of a man called Darth Plagueis the wise. Palpatine said to Anakin, “He was a man who was so powerful and so wise that he could use the midichlorians to create life. He had such knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying… unfortunately; he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep.” He ended by saying, “ironic, he could save others from death, but not himself.”

There once was a real man who was very wise. He had such great power, He could create life, and may times He kept people around Him from dying. He taught twelve of His apprentices everything and showed them that they could heal others and raise people from the dead. Then one of His apprentices betrayed Him, and gave Him to people to kill Him. While dying, one of those with Him mocked Him by saying “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” (Luke 23:39b NKJV) This man has a very similar story to Darth Plagueis’, but this man’s story is real. This man is Jesus Christ.

The story of Darth Plagueis is almost parallel to the story of Christ. It has been twisted, and some points have been changed, but it is the same. It almost sounds like Jesus’ story was passed from person to person, until after years of being said, the facts had changed. The Sith have a man in their past who is almost identical to a man in our Christian past.

Now a new convert to the Sith, Anakin Skywalker commits horrible atrocities to many who had been his longtime friends. After killing many people, including children, Anakin retreats to a giant factory built upon a boiling volcano. Learning of the atrocities her husband has done Padamay runs to Anakin. They share a long passionate discussion during which she realizes how her lover has changed. From behind her, Anakin’s long time friend and mentor in the force appears from out of a docked ship. They begin to argue and as the intensity grows they begin to fight. During this argument Anakin says, “If you are not with me, then you are my enemy” Obi One responds with, “only a Sith deals in absolutes.”

This one line reminds me of something someone else has said. “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30 KJV) At another point He said, “he that is not against us is for us.” (Luke 9:50 KJV) Jesus Christ thought of everything in black and white, and he said almost the exact words said by Anakin after he joined the Sith.

Let’s take a look at the life of Anakin Skywalker. He was brought up in the way of the Jedi. From a young age he started following Jedis around and learning how to be one himself. As he grew older, he began to kill the Sith. He sought them out with the permission of the Jedi, and killed them. One day while on his way to arrest and kill more Sith, something happened. His entire worldview changed. He realized that everything he thought was wrong. The people he was killing were right. And he decided he must become a Sith. It was at this point that his name was changed from Anakin to Darth Vader. He became the most influential Sith in history. He converted thousands into Sith and he became a leader looked to by many for guidance.

Let’s now take a look at the life of a man in the Bible by the name of Saul. He was brought up in the Jewish tradition. From a young age he started to follow Pharisees around and learning t be one himself. As he grew older, he began to kill the Christians. He sought them out with the permission of the religious leaders, and killed them. One day while on his way to arrest and kill more Christians, something happened. His entire worldview changed. He realized that everything he thought was wrong. The people he was killing were right. And he decided he must become a Christian. It was at this point that his name was changed from Saul to Paul. He became the most influential Christian in history. He converted thousands into Christians and he became a leader looked up to by many for guidance.

These two people have very similar stories. In fact, all I did to write the story of Saul was change around the names of the people in the story. It is almost like the life of the fictional Anakin Skywalker is based on the life of the real Saul.

Throughout the Star Wars episodes IV through VI we see the Jedi talking to dead Jedi, a practice that is forbidden by the Bible. We also see that the Jedi are supporting a democratic republic government, while the Sith support an empire, where there is one person who is above everyone else, and everyone is both being led by those above him and is leading those below him, a system that is based on the kingdom of God.

As we can see, the dark side of the force seems to be based on the Christian worldview and doctrines. We are portrayed in these movies as horrible group of people who are bent on destroying everything that is good. The Star Wars series seem to be putting the Christian faith down. I am not trying to say that we should stop watching Star Wars in any fashion. There is no reason to stop watching them. They are great movies that I enjoy watching and you should too. But I do believe that we should not be comparing Christianity to the Jedi, because they represent our polar opposites.

A Remnant

This is an essay I recently wrote for a class after reading The Remnant by Pastor Larry Stockstill.

“I’m going to shake this nation.” (Stockstill, 2008) these words were given by God to Larry Stockstill in 2006. Since then we have seen preachers who have been heading up giant mega-churches fall in the way of sexual morality, embezzling money and setting themselves up as all knowing leaders of congregations. From this we have seen many churches destroyed, some to the point of ending service, others just lowering standards so as to justify every unbiblical action in the name of God. it has also brought up a “new” group of believers, who instead of justifying their actions, looked at what the Bible said about their deeds and changed their lives accordingly. A group of Christians who have resolved to be Christ like. Pastors who demand their congregations to live holy lives, not just holy lives by name but by action and works. This “new” group of Christians is a remnant of the old way, a remnant of the living for Christ.

We as a church are to be the bride of Christ. She is seen by John in the book of revelation adorned in beautiful garments being joined with her husband, Christ Jesus. “And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2 KJV) The bride is to be beautiful, adorned with beautiful clothes and jewelry, yet we as a church (here in America) have adorned ourselves with filth and mud and are now strutting about for everyone to see. We have become proud of our sin. We are showing the world, unashamedly, our greed, our lust and our malice towards members of our own body. We must become a purified body of believers who will clean ourselves (inside and out) of every unrighteousness, become a pure bride that is not bringing shame on our bridegroom.

Where does this start? Does it start with the new believers? Does it start with the congregations of churches across our country? No! It must start with the leaders. Everyone who reads this, everyone who realizes the importance of this cleansing, whether the lowest in his church, a new believer or a great minister bringing thousands to the Lord must understand and implement this in their life. but more importantly, this is a principle that must be sought after by every Christian leader in the church. it must start with the one who is coaching everyone else. When you see a professional sports team, it is rare to find one with a coach that has not played the game. When you see a coach of a basketball team who has never dunked a ball, you feel there is something wrong. Moreover, if you find that same coach telling the team to work on a specific fundamental (dibbling, passing, shooting) and he has never developed that skill himself, you feel as though he may not know what he is talking about and that he may be a hypocrite. This is what is going on in our church today. We see pastors telling their congregation (and sometimes others over various media) that tithing will bring the double double, and triple triple, when they themselves have yet to bring in their tithe. There is something wrong.

In every way, we must be pure. We must be pure. We must be pure. This is a statement that must be burned into our every thought. We must pray, every day. We must read our bibles, every day. There needs to be only truth coming from our lips. We need to be pure in our relationships. Meaning we are never alone with someone of the opposite sex. We are not in charge of the passwords to our internet and television filters. We are accountable in every way. If we are tempted to take money from the church, we don’t possess a key to the room where it is kept and we are required to have a cosigner when using the church account. We know how to use Godly wisdom when dealing with those around us. We have Godly counsel that we regularly come to when making a decision. Every word we preach, we already practice or are putting into practice. We must be pure.

The bride is called to be pure. She is to be adorned in fine clothing. In many ways we have failed to do this. We have failed to live unto the standard laid down by the Bible. We have seen “pure men of God” fall into horrible deprived things. We have seen entire churches let go of all Godly standards so as to “be a light to the world”. There must be a change. The book, The Remnant by Pastor Larry Stockstill is a letter to every Christian leader regarding how to live. It is a must read for anyone who is a leader in God’s house, whether a leader of one or a leader of millions.

The epilogue of The Remnant is the ten commandments of ministry. This list is not found in the Bible, but every principle is, and every principle is found in the lists of requirements for Godly leaders found throughout the Bible. They are as follows:

1. I pledge myself to a life of prayer and fasting, making time alone with God my highest priority. (Acts 6:4)

2. I pledge myself to faithfully study, teach, and preach the scripture itself. (2 Timothy 3:1-4:4)

3. I pledge myself to integrity in the areas of financial accountability, commitments, honesty, and doctrine. (Hebrews 13:18)

4. I pledge myself to moral purity in thoughts, media, appearances, and the marriage covenant. (Hebrews 13:4)

5. I pledge myself to be an example in my work habits, community reputation, and family model. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

6. I pledge myself to covenant relationships that foster accountability, networking, team building, and a kingdom mentality. (Hebrews 13:17)

7. I pledge myself to a philosophy of simplicity, sincerity, and sacrifice. (2 Corinthians 1:12)

8. I pledge myself to living a life of faith through clear vision, fearless trust, and a conquering mentality. (1 Timothy 6:12)

9. I pledge myself to a spiritual warfare against principalities, not people. (2 Corinthians 10:1-5)

10. I pledge myself to walk in the humility, teamwork, order, and creativity of wisdom. (Ephesians 5:15)

Works cited
1. The Remnant, Larry Stockstill, 2008 Charisma House Publishing
2. All scripture is taken from the King James Bible