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Watchman F & jasoncran
Well, as I said before, I am just the positive counterbalance on the subject. So your negative view is just as “fanatical†as my positive view. But I don’t think fervently defending anything through that which is a lie is really defending anything. But then like I have already said, whether or not either of us right is up to no one except James Cameron who wrote and directed the movie. And Like the smart man that he is, he is saying nothing at all about the controversy. The more controversy, the more money.
But he did say this in an interview:
““For me, technology in and of itself is not evil, but there is a great potential for evil in the human misapplication of technology… So its really about people and the moral and ethical choices associated with the technology. So in avatar, they’re mining for unobtatnium. Why? Because they’re using unobtanium to solve an energy crisis on earth. Even though that’s not specifically spelled out in the movie. But they need it for some technological thing. But they are getting it; they are making choices, which are unethical and amoral essentially, about how they are going to interact with the natural world and the indigenous culture on Pandora. So its really just asking people to be accountable. Accountable in their use of technology… Maybe people want to go see a film for pure entertainment, and not want to think about it and not have to feel guilty – I’m not trying to make people feel guilty. I just want them to internalize a sense of respect and a sense of taking responsibility for the stewardship of the earth. and I think this film can do that by creating an emotional reaction.â€â€
Does that sound like the epitome of evil to you? I fully agree with what he said here. If that makes me a non-Christian in your eyes, then in your eyes I am a non-Christian. He did not mention Hinduism or Pantheism or any of that. He is writing a book based on the movie where he wants to give a little more background. We’ll see what he says in the book.
Unfortunately, I have not been here long enough to fervently defend “the faithâ€. So you don’t know what I am liable to say. There are certain things that I believe. But I won’t force any of them on anyone. I firmly believe in what Peter said, “be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you to anyone who asks youâ€. I generally wait to be asked before I say anything about the Reality that is in Christ as I see and experience it. Most will NOT do that. They just get all JW on you and force it down your throat. And sometimes like the fool that I am, I do respond to that. Rather than being wise and keeping silent towards those who have already made up their minds. But that is only true about the Reality that is in Christ.
In this case, we have a simple movie. A movie that is rather Christian at its core. Good vs evil in as stark black and white as the Bible says it is. And certain people who appear to be on the side of evil who are actually not at all. Take care of the planet like God wanted in the first place. Help protect the less fortunate or weaker than yourselves. Though I’m not sure if the Na’vi fit that bill completely. They did in Jake Scully’s eyes. Stand against evil in whatever form it takes, even when that form is a human corporation with a mercenary security force. Of course, this movie is considered evil in itself, supposedly negating any Christian ideas that it may contain. And maybe negating Christianity with it?
The first version of this story that I know of was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. The human looking humanoids in that story are red. The animals and another humanoid race have two rear legs and four front arms or legs. The other humanoid race is green and have been at war with the red race for eons. And they are ugly. And they are the obvious antagonists. I know where Cameron got his idea for this movie. He admits to being a Science fiction fan. And he is about my age, so I know he knows about the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. And like many have said, it has been told elsewhere. But this version is very well told. And until Cameron himself says that Avatar is intentionally related to a particular religion other than Christianity, I will continue to defend it against those things that I see that are at this point simply not true. And I have no sense of sin in what I am saying on this forum. And if I discover that I have been wrong, then that is all it will be, not sin on my part. And I will apologize accordingly and change sides if and when I find that out.
JamesG
