Star Wars is Christian

This is a pretty cool article about Christianity and Star wars!    I’m pretty pumped. Star Wars Episode VII is in the works. I’m super excited, but I know that not everyone shares my geeky expectation. Some folks have serious theological disagreements with Star Wars. We’re going to try to rescue Star Wars today using a little Thomas Aquinas… Star Wars VII is going to be directed by JJ Abrams (new Star Treks, Super 8) and will include the original cast with the likes of Harrison Ford, Mark Hammil, Carrie Fisher, and even new faces like Andy Serkis (the actor who played Gollum in Lord of the Rings). Hopefully Andy Serkis was not cast for the part of Jar Jar Binks. Just sayin’. Christians (both Protestant and Catholic) have over the decades expressed concern that the worldview of Star Wars does not conform to the Christian worldview. I want to look at this concern, and then try to rescue Star Wars for all you Christian Star Wars fans (yes Greg Willits, I’m looking at you). The mistake that people make when getting all down on Star Wars is that they make this equation: Christians have God Star Wars has the Force But the Force does not map on the biblical doctrine of God. Therefore, Star Wars teaches a false worldview, a false theology, and must rejected as evil! Let’s take a look at this in more detail. May the Force be with you: What the heck is this Force? Let’s start with what the Force is not? The Force is not a personal God to whom one prays. The Force is not omnibenevolent or ‘all good.’ There is a ‘dark side’ to the Force. The Force is not just for good guys. Bad guys use it, and apparently use it more powerfully than the good guys. It seems that the force is really an impersonally energy source. You can seem immediately that this does not jive with a Judeo-Christian understanding of the universe…or does it? Christian Star Wars fans: Do not fear! Let’s look again at the anti-Star Wars argument: Christians have God Star Wars has the Force But the Force does not map on the biblical doctrine of God. Therefore, Star Wars teaches a false worldview and false theology, and must rejected as evil! Let’s flip this around. Let’s say that the Force stands for something other than God. Perhaps the Force is neither a spiritual entity nor a divine essence. What we need is to find in the Force an analogy to our current Christian worldview. Pause: I realize that we don’t even really need to do this. It’s a fictional movie saga that’s fun and mythical. But to appease those that want to have a philosophical justification, here goes. There is one thing in our universe that maps perfectly with the Force. I’m going to go down the Thomas Aquinas trail, so please follow me. According to Thomas Aquinas (and the Catholic tradition), humans and preternatural spiritual beings (angels and demons) have a power that stretches beyond the faculties of all other natural things and species. This special faculty shared by angels, demons, good men, and evil men is called intelligentia.This word comes from two Latin words: inter + legere inter means “between” (like interstate) and legere means to “choose, pick out, or read.” Intelligence, then, is the ability to choose between or to discern. This is a power (or might I even say force) given to us by Almighty God. Your dog, cat, fish, and cactus plant do not have it. We do have it. You guardian angels also  has it. Since we have intelligence or rationality, we can manipulate our environment, manipulate nature, manipulate objects around us, and manipulate other people. Our influence over creation through the reign of rationality can be really good, but it can also have a dark side… The Passions and the Force of the Intelligence According to Thomas Aquinas, there are eleven passions. Emotions like fear, joy, and anger. Because of original sin, these passions interfere with our rational intelligence. We eat too much ice cream, scream at other drivers, and cry over silly things. The passions twist and thwart the force of our intelligence so that we do dark things. The Dark Side of the Force We have perceived that the myth of the Force in Star Wars is not God or the Holy Spirit, but instead it is the shared experience of human and angelic rationality. This is why evil characters try to get good characters over to the dark side of this force by moving them to passionate anger, rage, covetousness, or lust. We see that the Sith Lords even overtake the entire Empire by manipulating others through this force of rationality. It happened to the Empire in Star Wars. It has happened to every human society. The only way to have the “Empire Strike Back” is to rule the passions rationally through right reason and prudential thinking. So being trained in the force is really just using the intellect to habituate virtue in ourselves and in society. The dark side of the force is like the dark side of human rationality. Rationality is a good, but it can be twisted and abused for evil – always through the corruption of the passions/emotions. Reassessing the Force as a Christian Analogy in Star Wars Someone might say, “Yeah, but Yoda can move rocks with the Force and Luke can stand on his head with the Force. What does that have to do with rational intelligence?” I answer, “Right you are. Yessss.” But there is more to it. We humans have used our minds to accomplish all sorts of impossible things like fly in airplanes, walk on the moon, split atoms, and explore the ocean floor. Battles, scientific miracles, healing – all these are accomplished through the force of right reason. The lesson is that it is intelligence rightly used that accomplishes great things. In Star Wars, we see that the Force is the power rightly used to bring a civilized society into a civilized society. Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and Aquinas would applaud George Lucas’ depiction of “the Force” as the only power to order society – because all these philosophers realized that it was true rationality that provided humans with law, order, and civilization. Even natural law requires rationality to see it. Star Wars actually gives a pretty accurate political picture of how human intelligence can be thwarted to accomplish society evil. Evil politicians are always flexing the force of their intelligence. When men appeal to the “dark side” you have bad things happen like this: http://youtu.be/qBAZGtBfcY4 So next time somebody at donut hour after church says, “Yeah, I used to love Star Wars, but I don’t let me kids watch it. It’s so unbiblical,” brush off your philosophy skills and go to work. Remember: Force does not equal God. Force equals human rationality. And remember, next time you turn into a rage monkey and start living according to your passions, you’re becoming more and more like Darth Vader. Don’t do that! You may not have a death bed conversion where someone takes off your helmet and give you a last chance. Want to learn more about Catholic philosphy, theology, and Thomas Aquinas, join the New Saint Thomas Institute and take classes online: New Saint Thomas Institute Waiting List. Please share this post with your friends on Facebook by clicking here. Question: Okay, let’s talk about it. Do you think rationality or intelligence is the right lens through which to analyze Star Wars? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Copyright © 2014 Taylor Marshall, PhD, All rights reserved. Howdy! You are receiving this email because you opted into my Catholic website: taylormarshall.com. Our mailing address is: Taylor Marshall, PhD 800 West Airport Freeway Suite 1100 Irving, TX 75062

St. Michael School opening celebrations

St. Michael School opening celebration today. Went to St. Laurent today to Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine. Yeah it sounds exotic but really it's only 30 mins south of Prince Albert. Actually, that IS what makes it exotic! From the moment we arrived, there was a sense of peace. The kids were great. Mass was great. The choir was amazing. I hope they got my point in my homily. Peace is the theme this year. Peace is found when we humble ourselves and remove all pride. I had the privilege of escorting a couple of groups to the buffalo jump, where the early inhabitants used to run their food off a cliff. It was brutal, but it was an effective means of hunting. They wasted nothing of the buffalo, using all the bones and organs for tools, etc. It makes you appreciate Safeway and Rona

Easter Sunday Homily

This is my Easter Sunday homily notes! Blessings

All though it doesn't look like it from what we see outside, spring is a time of new life. The dead begins to grow, the farmers get read to plant to grow food for the world, gardeners have their itchy green thumb probably trying to plant in the snow. Animals and birds emerge and give rise to new life. 

Even people receive new life! I'm sure most of us were getting beyond depressed with the bleakness of winter and the sun is a welcome blessing. The brightness and length of the day giving us strength and energy.

This is what the first reading proclaims! Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring new life! The new life he brings is healing and forgiveness. Oh how desperately in need of healing and forgiveness we all are. Today, through the power of Christ, we receive that! 

But it cannot stop there. If Christ heals and forgives us, so must we bring healing and forgiveness to others!

The second reading builds on this. Who would take old yeast, and try to make bread. Surely it's going to taste bad. Clean out the old yeast of malice and evil and add the new of sincerity and truth! Whatever in the past has gone bad, throw out! It is no longer good. You should have seen my fridge when I cleaned it. I think the mould had mould growing on it! It was gross. And this is what happens when we cling to unforgiveness, when we harbour grudges. It's like trying to cook with rotten food. 

But it isn't easy to get rid of the old. I get that. I bought that cheese and by Goly I'm going to cut off the mould and eat it. But it just doesn't work. 

Finally the Gospel reminds us that Jesus rose from the dead. Mary Magdelene encounters Jesus but does not recognize him! She is expecting the old Jesus and doesn't understand that he is Risen. She thinks she knows Jesus, but she doesn't. She truly sees him for who he is when He speaks her name. How many times have we thought we knew someone because of past experiences or gossip. But when we truly speak to someone and get to know them, we realize that, despite their failings, they are one of Gods children too. 

Let Easter remind us to renew our selves of love, so that we may be healed and forgiven; and renewed, may heal and forgive others.

Christ is Risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Love hurts!

We have now just begun the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Yay! Preparing for Christmas can be fun! Decorating, shopping, baking, planning, etc. However, all of this can be expensive, busy, stressful as well. The Gospel of the 2nd Sunday of Advent has St. John the Baptist call for us to make straight the way for the coming of the Lord. Making crooked ways straight can be a ton of work!

The Church calls us to prepare for Christ with joy! Don't get caught up in the road building, the busyness, this Advent; rather, allow joy to surround everything we do. If Advent is not a season of joy for you, do something about it!

God bless your Christmas preparation!

FT

Christian Marriage

     Haven't blogged in O too long! Gonna jump right in. I love family, marriage; its great. I chose to stay single, not because I hated family or marriage, but because I felt that it was one way that God was calling me to be able to support it. I love working with couples preparing for marriage. I love trying to create a kid friendly church, where children are seen as a blessing and joy rather than a distraction. That being said, it is more difficult than ever to find a good spouse, to keep said spouse, and to raise good children.
    Of course there are many factors as to why it seems more difficult today than it did 3 or 4 generations ago. Many blame technology, the economy, or globalization. Others celebrate the freedom in which women are more easily able to leave abusive husbands, stating that the divorce rate would have been just as high 150 years ago if women had rights.
    I am only going to offer one thought on families. This comes from my personal experience growing up in a single-parent household, my studies on church teachings, and my ministry with couples and families. It also stems out of a recent Twitter conversation that 140 characters could not deal with.
    I believe that if couples placed more priority on their own relationship than their relationship with their children, their family will be more healthy. This is includes prayer as a couple, date nights and supporting each others actions in front of the children. When couples sacrifice their relationship for their children on a constant basis, they grow farther and farther apart. I guess the question is, what is better for a child? To have a mom and/or a dad who love them (but not each other), or a mom and a dad who's love for each other pours forth onto the children and models for them what true love really looks like.
    Now of course I am not saying that mom and dad should be absent parents, going to bingo every night and letting grandma take care of the kids. I'm just saying that there is a reason that, biologically, couples come before kids. Maybe our priorities need to be that way as well!

Agree or disagree? I would love to get a comment thread going on this!

FT
   

Fishers of men

Jesus told his disciples, at least the fishermen, that he would make them fishers of people. This was of course to mean that they would draw people to Christ. I had the blessed opportunity to do both this past weekend: celebrating Mass at St. John Bosco wilderness camp AND catching a 9.3 lbs jack. It was so awesome!

Does the fish look bigger when I hold it away from myself? #cameratricks lol

Hike and Pray!

I'm excited about an initiative this summer that the diocese of Saskatoon is providing in June. We are going to do a 16km hike overnight and pray for vocations. Come join us if you love to hike and or pray!

Find the information here

Reflection

"And as priests of Jesus Christ we carry out our task with enthusiasm. No one should ever have the impression that we work conscientiously when on duty, but before and after hours we belong only to ourselves. A priest never belongs to himself." Benedict XVI

Bulletin for 4th Sunday Ordinary Time

Hey guys! Here is our weekly bulletin to keep up with parish things. Also, find in there helpful prayers to assist your prayers throughout the week :)

Pope Benedict on World Communication Day

Yesterday Pope Benedict released his message for World Communication Day. It is amazing as is everything he says and writes :)

You have to read it for yourself but here is my summation.

Silence is integral in communication. People today often believe that to communicate with someone is to say as many words as quickly as possible. With the internet and television we are bombarded with words and images. Basically, communication slowly begins to lose its meaning and relationships fall apart because silence is lost. We need time to reflect, not only on the words, but the person who is saying them.

Thank you Pope Benedict for your ever poignant truth!

My February goal is to reflect more and to spend more time in silence with the people that I truly love.

Satisfaction of the Living Waters

This short reflection is based on the lectionary readings from last Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Lent.

When the Ancient Israelites wandered in the desert, they complained about and too their leader Moses. They were in dire straights in slavery, God freed them, and yet they complained.

Continuing upon the theme of our baptism, we recognize that these living waters call us to respond to our vocation, our call from God. The Israelites, through Moses, responded to God's call, and then complained that it was not as they thought. The grass was always greener, and God's people felt cheated, betrayed.

We too complain about our religion, our country, our family. If God would just leave it up to us, we could fix things!

Enter the woman of Samaria.

She represents everything undesirable: her religion and politics were wrong. She was morally weak, and to cap it all off, she was a woman. Jesus doesn't complain about her, rather, offers her living water, his Holy Spirit!

Jesus takes people from all different areas and unites them through the power of the Holy Spirit; rather than becoming a leader of a political group, Jesus is a priest, prophet, and king, determined to come as a servant.

Partisan politics have no place in the Kingdom of God. That said, as Christians we have every duty to vote, to serve our country. We do this positively and enthusiastically, not complaining about all the other parties, leaders, etc. Imagine what Canada could do if we united as one people. Not a people that agrees on everything, but a nation that doesn't let disagreement get in the way of cooperation. If the three major parties (and much of Canada) could get past attack adds and quit complaining about everything, what a difference we could make. \

Therefore, let us stop wishing and praying for a society that agrees with everything we believe. Let us not ask God to fulfill our every desire. Rather, let us ask God for the grace to be satisfied with what we have.

Hot Cup of Ministry

So friends of mine just started up a new ministry podcast, featured below!

http://hotcupofministry.ca

And guess who is a guest this week? Yep, yours truly!

God bless!

How much does it cost?

A familiar question as we sit down at a restaurant to eat, or go shopping at Walmart: How much does it cost?

Have we ever considered the cost of discipleship? This Sunday Jesus tells us that we are a fool if we do not first sit down and consider the cost. But what does this mean? Does it mean that to follow Jesus costs money, so that only the rich may be disciples? No. All of us has a price to pay to be a disciple of Christ. This may mean that we need to give something up, like fasting or almsgiving. We are so burdened down by all our material possessions. Maybe we need to take on extra; prayers, bible studies, etc.

The point. You cannot purchase heaven. However, you can "purchase" happiness here on earth. If you put Christ before all, thats right, even your precious Television, happiness will follow. If we put all before Christ, when that is gone, so will your happiness.

My ordination pics

As promised, here are a couple of ordination pics! Our James and Geoffery pilgrimage is coming up next so stay tuned!



Obedience to him and his successors . . . speaking of which.



Please pray for me . . . that I am able to remember when to stand back up.



Consecrated for service



Me and my (old) boss!

Warmer Feet

So I have went through many vocational crisis' throughout the years, both public and private. My latest was when I had to put the roman collar on for professional pictures. I felt like I was play acting. Like I was pretending to be someone I was not. Then I felt like it was someone I never could be. Combined with lack of sleep and stress, I was getting pretty nervous. As a result, last weekend we had a retreat during which I thought I better pray about some of this stuff before I invite any more people. I sat down in front of the Lord with the Mass readings and bam, not only does he tell me i'm supposed to be a deacon but that I should shut up and quit being afraid. I'm serious, this is exactly the scripture I read, check it out.

Acts 6:1-6
The calling of the 7 deacons
&

John 6:16-21
Do Not Be Afraid!

Thanks for your ear as always!

My New Car!

The car has been purchased but I won't be taking possession of it until after Easter. It is a 2005 Mazda6 hatchback, 67,000kms, 5speed manual, 2.3L 4 cylinder engine. Zoom Zoom!






What I need from all of you is name suggestions. It must be a gals name and I am leaning towards biblical (or perhaps Xian saint). So far I am favouring "Maggie" as in Mary Magdalene.

Please email, comment, or facebook your suggestions with motives as to why I should choose yours. The one I choose will be rewarded with first drive! (Alvin is ahead so far as he suggested Maggie.

o blessed days of penitence/ bless us with reticence

News relevant to Travis

Well, the Double-Double Brier is going on right now. Not sure if you all are paying attention. It's in Winnepeg and the playoffs are this weekend. Heres the scores so far.

LEADERBOARD

Alberta (Martin) 8 - 0
Ontario (Howard) 7 - 1
Sask (Simmons) 7 - 1
Manitoba (Burtnyk) 5 - 3
NL (Gushue) 5 - 4
B.C. (Ursel) 4 - 4
PEI (Gallant) 3 - 5
Quebec (Menard) 3 - 6
N.Ont (Harnden) 2 - 6
Yukon/NWT (Cowan) 2 - 6
N.B. (Grattan) 2 - 7
Nova Scotia (Rafuse) 2 - 7


In other news. Harry Potter producers have decided to do 2 movies in order to do justice to the final book "Deathly Hallows." Finally they have decided 1 movie isn't long enough!

In Church news, apparently the media believes the Vatican has "updated" its 7 deadly sins with new ones, more relevant for the 21st c. Uh huh. Well, the Vatican clarified what really happened here.

And here is a quick-read quote:

"The Vatican has not published a new list of seven deadly sins; this is not a new Vatican edict," said the conference. "The story originated from an interview that Bishop Gianfranco Girotti gave to the L'Osservatore Romano in which he was questioned about new forms of social sins in this age of globalization."

Media as Service to Truth

Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said: "The theme chosen by the Holy Father for World Communications Day ["The Media: At the Crossroads Between Activism and Service. Seeking the Truth in Order to Share It With Others”] calls on us to reflect on the role played by the media and especially the increasing risk of their becoming self-absorbed and no longer tools at the service of truth -- something that is meant to be sought and shared."

World Communications day this year is May 4, 2008. The Sunday before Pentecost.

Cardinal Ruini of Rome gets behind blogging

Well, apparently the Universal Church is telling me not only to continue blogging, but to use it more to spread God's Word!

Read this!

In April, Deacon Andrew and myself are taking a trip to South-East Asia, to Laos (pronounced like 'house') in fact, to visit a friend whom we studied with at Newman and St. Joseph Seminary: Souksavath Nouane Asa. Just recently Souk made it into Zenit so I have posted the article so that you can read yourself. As per new tradition, I have accompanied this post with pics. These are from a trip Souk, Marc, Gary, and myself made to Victoria during which I learned much from Souk about holiness.

Native Laotian Ordained in PaksePAKSE, Laos, JAN. 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic community of Pakse celebrated the first priestly ordination of a native son in 50 years. Last month, Father Andrew Souksavath Nouane Asa was ordained a priest by Bishop Louis Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun. The Holy See's apostolic delegate for Laos, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, sent a message for the event in which he urged the new priest to strive to live an ever deeper spiritual life and put himself entirely at the service of the small Catholic community in Laos. With Father Andrew, Pakse now has four diocesan priests. The small community of 42,000 Laotian Catholics lives among a mainly Buddhist population of 5.4 million. ZE07012227