From a friend's blog post on Avatar:
People applauded at the end of the film, which I found a bit disturbing. Visually, it was awesome. But we just saw humanity slaughtered on an alien planet. We just saw the greed of humanity at its worst. We just saw a terrible spirituality exalted as ideal. And, finally, we just saw the remnant of the humans sent back “to their dying planet,” and we cheered.
No wonder people feel depressed after stepping out of the theater and back into reality. We are scum. We are parasites. We deserve to die on this rotting planet for our sins against Mother Earth.
Yet people applauded. Was it just the visuals that they were applauding? Was it the predictable love story or battle scenes? I hope so, but doubt it. Many people are not seeking the transcendent God of reality, the one whose beauty and perfection we see reflected in that awesome beauty of the real planet Earth and in the cosmos. People are not seeking the transcendent God whose truth and wisdom is reflected in our own intellect and the sciences. Instead, they are stuck with a smallness of vision and are, even if they don’t realize it, turning to the religions of environmentalism and animism. Do not weep if a tree is felled in the forest. Yes, use the forest responsibly as a precious resource given to humanity by God. But don’t worship it. Worship its Creator!
I felt the same way at the end of this film: are we so far removed from the truth that we can't see how truly good is humankind? We have dignity, and we are a beautiful creation. Pandora is a substitute reality for the divine reality, and a lot of people in our culture, who have rejected God completely, find solace in Pandora, or in an idea of 'mother nature' and the interconnectedness of beings.
Little do these people know: they can experience this oneness with creation, and this ecstatic union with the divine, simply by conversion of heart and receiving Jesus Christ!
Comments
Thank you so much for the above
ahaha you're out of your mind.jesus christ is about as real as that movie, only older, you're making a fool of yourself.as for the "we are a beautiful creation" part i suggest you go back to elementary school and study a bit of history...the truth is sad, but not as sad as running to an imaginary man for help
It is always easy to hide behind a mask of anonymity... regardless, your comment does not take into account that there is quite a bit of historical precedent for, if nothing else, the man Jesus Christ, who was a human being on this planet. Even the most radically anti-religion historian will have to admit that there was Jesus, the historical figure.
I think it's sad that you can't find any beauty in creation. Maybe you could go on a hiking trip in Colorado, grab a microscope and look at a cell (any will do), or watch a time-lapse video of a flower opening. Heck, take a glance at a baby. It's not hard to see beauty, if you're able to be honest.
I will pray for you :)
I'm just disappointed that the blogger you quoted (and by association, you) can't allow for a multiplicity of spiritualities. I am an atheist. I am proud and solid in my viewpoint, but not proud enough to believe that my path is the only viable or true way.
Avatar is a masterpiece for the senses, which was enough for me to applaud at the end. However, it also reminded me of the many cultures and spiritualities of the Native Americans, whom I often admire.
An inter-connectedness to nature and eachother is not a religion as it is a way to view the world. To belittle it at as naivete and base archaism is to follow the ignorance that I find disheartening in most of the West's modern religions.