Monday, January 4, 2016

Star Wars, The Force, And Christianity

With the release of a new film Star Wars has reemerged with great popularity.  The Star Wars films have generally been family-friendly containing little profanity and immorality.  Some Christians have even compared "the force" in Star Wars to the Holy Spirit.  But is this an accurate or wise comparison?

Actually the concept of "the force" has much more in common with Eastern or New Age religion than it does with Christianity.  The "force" in Star Wars is an impersonal force that can be tapped into to be used for good or evil.  Power is achieved by a blend of discipline and mysticism.  

On the other hand the Holy Spirit is a person with intellect, will, and emotions.  The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  The Trinity is one God in three distinct persons.  The Holy Spirit is equally God with the Father and Son, he has all the attributes of God.  The Holy Spirit is only good and not evil.  The Holy Spirit is sovereign, leads people to the truth, and convicts them of sin.   All true Christians have the Holy Spirit, he is our teacher and the Bible is his textbook.  

So comparing the Holy Spirit to "the force" is just plain wrong.  They are not the same and are in fact very different.  Star Wars does depict good and evil and good is portrayed favorably while evil is portrayed unfavorably.  In modern Hollywood this is often not the case.  Christians need to be discerning when they watch a film like Star Wars.  They need to develop a Christian worldview so they will be able to tell if something is in line with Biblical teaching or not.  

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