Star Wars Themes: Sharing Our Faith

On a recent Sunday, I had the opportunity to lead a presentation for adults and youth on “The Spiritual Dimensions of Star Wars.” Much of the content has been published here in blog format. After the session, one of the adults texted me with this comment: “I always enjoy any chance to tie pop culture to Christian faith and beliefs, and I know it helps me find new ways to witness in conversations not directly faith-related.”

This was a great insight. Those of us who call ourselves “moderate Baptists” often struggle with the term “evangelism,” but my friend had discovered one of the most effective ways we can engage with the culture in order to communicate our faith.

There are three levels to the Star Wars films or what we now call the Skywalker Saga.

First, there is the Commercial/Entertainment/Pop Culture level. The studios continue to make these movies because they make money, but George Lucas made the first film because he wanted to tap into the adventure and excitement of the old movie serials. In fact, he wanted to remake Flash Gordon but couldn’t get the rights to it.

Second, the films reflect what’s happening in the world at the time they were created. The
first trilogy was made in the aftermath of the 1960s. There was both a need for escapism and a desire to address war and rebellion during a politically charged time, so Lucas transferred the topics to “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” The third trilogy (the prequels) dealt with how we got where we were culturally at the turn of the millennia and considers that perhaps not everything we inherited from the greatest generation was all that great. Compromises had been made to achieve success. The final trilogy deals with the problems that the current generation has received--broken families, disillusionment, etc.--and the need to find some balance in our lives.

Third, there are the spiritual and philosophical issues. In a Wikipedia article about George Lucas, we read:

Lucas was born and raised in a Methodist family. The religious and mythical themes in Star Wars were inspired by Lucas's interest in the writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell, and he would eventually come to identify strongly with the Eastern religious philosophies he studied and incorporated into his films, which were a major inspiration for “the Force.” Lucas has come to state that his religion is “Buddhist Methodist".

Among other things, Lucas wanted to rekindle a discussion about spiritualty--humankind’s search for meaning. When he designed the original trilogy, he included a number of themes that speak to the basic concerns of humanity. Although set in another time and place, the protagonists are human beings dealing with universal human concerns.

Although we should not embrace the spiritual themes in the Skywalker Saga as Christian doctrine, Lucas and his successors have given us a gift--a platform to engage non-believers or disaffected Christians in dialogue about life, death, redemption, and grace. What a wonderful opportunity!

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