Think Supernaturally

One of my favorite churches (I know many) is Capital Church in Salt Lake City. On a regular basis, the pastor, Troy Champs, does a series called, “God and the Movies.” It is always interesting to hear what connections he makes with otherwise totally secular themes. This effort has inspired me to think about two of my favorite movies (or movie franchises) in a similar way.

Many people have tried to draw Christian themes from the Star Wars movies. Although the creator, George Lucas was raised Methodist, he identifies more strongly with Eastern religions, calling himself at one time, a “Buddhist Methodist.” Lucas admits to a strong influence by Joseph Campbell, a twentieth Century Literature professor who coined the term “monomyth” to propose that all literature is drawn from a single human story that transcends cultures and ages.

I believe Campbell was correct in principle; there is only one human story. He was wrong to ascribe the similarities across time and cultures to a pervading secular myth. The “true myth,” as Seth Steele of True Myth Media puts it, is the one recorded for all time in the Bible. The universality of the Bible story rests in its revelation of and by the one Sovereign Creator of all things. The creation, fall, and redemption epic that is the Bible finds resonance in every time and place because it rings true; it is the true myth.

Lucas capitalizes on this universality with the themes he develops in Star Wars. For this reason, it is possible to draw Christian analogies from the films. One of my favorite lines is from the tutor of young Luke Skywalker who has failed to psychokinetically raise his sunken star fighter. Luke says he will, “Give it another try.” In response Yoda, says with uncharacteristic firmness, “No! Do… or do not. There is no try.”

I cannot keep myself from comparing Yoda’s instruction to the Scriptural principle stressed by Jesus when he told His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” The Lord followed that up with, “whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:23-24 ESV) Do, or do not. There is no try.

Another line from Star Wars always hits me as exciting Scriptural truth. When Obi Wan Kenobi is about to be killed by Darth Vader, he says, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Obi Wan knows that the physical body is a hindrance to the fullest expression of what he is supposed to be. If you will pardon my imagination, I can picture Jesus saying the same thing from the Cross. When our Savior’s earthly work was done, He was “struck down” only to become more powerful than His enemies could ever imagine.

This leads me to one more line from a far less popular movie, but one of my favorites nonetheless. The movie is Harvey, which is based on a play of the same name by Mary Chase. Briefly, the plot revolves around human interaction with a mythical creature called a pooka named Harvey. Late in the action, a psychologist who has been engaged to help a poor soul who believes he has been befriended by the pooka encounters his own pookalogical epiphany. Upon making this discovery, Dr. Chumley says, “Fly specks, fly specks! I've been spending my life among fly specks while miracles have been leaning on lampposts at 18th and Fairfax!”

I must agree with Michael Heiser, whom I have referenced before, that, like Dr. Chumley, we enlightened moderns have lost our appreciation for the supernatural. Heiser argues that the original authors and audiences of the content of our inspired Scriptures would have been completely comfortable with the idea that there is more to our existence than what we can encounter with our five senses. The supernatural realm, as Heiser calls it, is in constant intersection with our everyday lives, but we have lost touch with it. We concern ourselves with fly specks when unimaginable glories transpire right under our noses.

I tried to imagine the interaction between the natural and supernatural in my novel, Wings of Mentridar. It was easier for me to picture angelic intervention in the lives of “Bible characters,” than to see it today. Frank Peretti did a marvelous job in his darkness series showing how angels might be playing a part in our daily lives. The New Testament is clear that believers still have occasion to encounter “angels,” or supernatural beings (Matthew 1,2; Acts 5:19; Hebrews 1:7; 13:2). It is narrow-minded to exclude the supernatural from our thinking.

Apart from New Testament reports or fiction, I believe we should all try to have a more “supernatural” view of life. When Paul admonished the Colossian believers to, “Set your minds on things above” (3:2), I believe he had the supernatural in mind. The word “above” is used throughout the New Testament in reference to that which is spiritual as opposed to physical. Jesus counselled Nicodemus that he needed to be born a second time “from above.” (John 3:3 CEV). James insisted that true wisdom comes “from above” (3:17 ESV)

Neither Obi Wan or Yoda can be construed as Christian characters. Harvey the pooka is not a good example of angelic influence, at least not biblically speaking. In spite of that, I enjoy thinking about the “true myth” they represent, and I know my soul is enriched by my flights of fancy into the glory to which we are being transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18). Paul says, ““What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). The movies help me to imagine what Paul says I cannot imagine. I recommend it; after all, we are going to become “supernatural” someday.