Luke, I am (Y)Our Father, Who Art in Tatooine
A Presbyterian minister named Russell Smith is leading a Bible Study called “Gospel According to Star Wars” according to Karen Vance of the Enquirer in Cincinnati. The article cites Matthew 28:19, and says that R2-D2 going to such lengths to give Obi-Wan Kenobi the message from Princess Leia is like the Apostles spreading the word of Jesus. Personally, I think the connection between Leia and Jesus is a stretch. However, I was speaking with my friend James McGrath about this, and he mentioned that the connections between sin and the dark side, as well as the possibilities of grace, forgiveness and redemption, which ultimately come to Darth Vader are more fruitful lines of inquiry, though the article doesn’t mention these. And what about Yoda as a Moses figure? And David as Anakin? And Egon as Jaba the Hutt? I was glad to see that the article cited Bill Blizek, the founding editor of the Journal of Religion and Film, and a great teacher at the U of Nebraska-Omaha where I did my undergrad work. The force is strong with young Bill.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Thanks for mentioning our discussion - I do indeed think there is a lot of importance that one can learn from, and discuss on the basis of, science fiction. My recent blog entries have focused more on Lost, while most of my recent writing has focused on the new Battlestar Galactica and other shows exploring artificial intelligence.
I have a site (not updated very regularly) dedicated to religion and science fiction. It is at http://blue.butler.edu/~jfmcgrat/sci-fi/ I hope some readers find it useful!