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A common ministers reaction to avatar.
Upon asking my friend about his thoughts on avatar i got a response saying "My pastor told me not to see it because its demonic". I LAUGHED in his face, i used to be a religious person (i worked at a Christian camp) and due to my studies and quite frankly my knowing better i have lost my faith. Now, i realize this opens a huge religious debate WHICH I DO NOT WISH NOR INTEND TO DISCUSS IN THIS THREAD! I'm just interested in peoples views on this opinion. I'd say consider both religious and non religious perspectives, but i think that goes without saying.
Also, before you get to the passage, i dont intend to offend anyone, and if this affects your beliefs please let this be a tool to help guide you in a way that brings you peace. That said, Here is what my friend's pastor felt "COMPELLED" to email his youth group after seeing Avatar: Hi everyone, So I know its quite late for sending out this email-- but I felt I couldn't sleep until I wrote this out to you all. I hope that you all will understand, that when I send out these emails, its to encourage, convict, and motivate all of us towards godliness--- and if you aren't interested in receiving my emails, let me know, I can take you off the email list. I JUST WATCHED AVATAR. YES. I know that I'm totally behind on everything, but I don't always have the greatest motivation to watch large epic movies. (unless its Lord of the Rings) Before I watched this movie, I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll (a well known pastor from the states--- awesome pastor, godly man), and he mentioned about how Avatar was the most Demonic film he has ever seen, and went on defending his argument. Now, I kept my mind open, and was thinking, maybe its not that bad--- and so I rented it and saw it to see what all the fuss was about. ( i was actually excited to see it, because I had heard so many good things about it). All I have to say, is----- He couldn't be any more correct on what he said about this movie. It's incredibly demonic. I literally felt sick when I was watching parts of this movie, and wasn't able to finish the movie. As you can tell, I am extremely disappointed and beyond disturbed by this film, and really hope to expose the film for what it REALLY is. I say these things, not because I want you to side with me on this--- and I'm not saying these things because I "hate" movies, or because I "didn't like the titanic" (which james cameron did as well). I'm saying this because I HATE (btw its ok to use that word when referring to things that are evil and demonic) what this movie is doing to GOD's glory and His reputation,and I want you to be sensitive to the spiritual evils around us, and how it infiltrates our culture, through the media, and blinds, destroys and desensitizes the minds and hearts of people who need Jesus. (and even those that know Jesus already). I know some of you may be thinking, 'well, its not a horror movie---its not like "Paranormal Activity" or something--its rated PG 13! how can it be demonic?" Some people, (like Pastor Mark Driscoll, myself and many others)have encountered the demonic, and may be more sensitive to these things, but I recognized right away when I was watching it that it was clearly demonic. The movie is filled with the ideas of paganism, animism, new age movement, as well as occult and witchcraft practices. NO matter what other christian magazines or reviews say about this film, its NOT about having a "christian" perspective or outlook. (And NO, I am NOT just "agreeing" with Pastor Mark Driscoll because I think he's a good pastor). Here are a few things that stuck out to me: a) I was frightened, appalled and angry when I saw the "prayer" scene when they were praying to the "tree of souls". That reminds me alot of occult and witchcraft practices. Some mystical, and hindu and buddhist practice this kind of prayer chanting as well. The woman, also was channeling" some sort of spirit, which was taking control of her and "possessing" her. b) When the character, Grace, is about to die, she looks up to the sky and says, " She IS Real". What is refering to the fact that she can see that now that "Eowa" their god/deity (god) is actually real. c) Also, speaking to their "ancestors" through the tree of souls (since it holds infinite memories, etc), is a form of ancestral worship, rooted in paganism. Some of you may be thinking--- well its not that bad. Its just a few scenes". I would beg to differ. The entire premise of the movie is glorifying paganism, which is masked and covered by a "pocahontas" like story of saving the environment and all its inhabitants, and saving "culture"-- even if it means keeping demonic practices and rituals. All of this to say, that this movie glorifies false pagan worship, which is completely covered and masked by the stunning visual affects. HOW DO YOU KNOW A MOVIE IS DEMONIC? Most movies, are difficult to distinguish. Some are straight up demonic, just by the content. However, if a movie glorifies SIN(sexual immorality, jealousy,violence, revenge, hatred, gossip, slander, murder, deception, lies, adultery, impurity) and makes it look ok or makes excuses for it and glorifies human righteousness" and subtly demeans godliness, we know that it is clearly demonic. A movie that exposes sin for what it is, are good movies. A movie that DISGUISES sin, and makes it look "fine", appropriate etc. is demonic. SATAN MAKES HIMSELF LOOK LIKE AN ANGEL OF LIGHT (2 Corinthians 11:14), so be alert and discerning about the movies you watch. I think Pastor Mark Driscoll states it very well in this video of what he thinks about the movie. Take a look at what he has to say. Avatar: Demonic or Inspirational? | ChurchCreate In Christ, Lesley (Pastor of a friends church) |
Honestly, if I knew someone like that who actually took the advice, I probably wouldn't continue speaking with them.
But yeah Christians who freak out about this are hilarious, they also fail to realize what Eywa actually is. |
I laughed.
The church feels threatened (for some odd reason) by Avatar. Just another reason to go do your own thing rather than follow others. |
I really feel sorry for this man... oh my...
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Oooops, now I really don't know ... shoudl I cry or laught at him ??? This man is sick, this has nothing to do with god or religion he is just sick! I am not used to get angry , but this time it is a BIG exception.
" like story of saving the environment and all its inhabitants, and saving "culture"-- even if it means keeping demonic practices and rituals. " So here he says that he prefer the old practics "search and destroy" all different cultures...great :( EDIT: I don't have enough energy to comment the rest, it makes me too sad. |
Perhaps he is sooo upset because JC makes the Na'vi god so obviously real, whereas our human gods are surrounded with mystery and plain faith. Human religion is based more or less on faith. Deep down I do believe in God and realize that Eywa is a creation of JC. Too bad this poor fellow doesn't realize this.
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Idiots like this pastor have ruined a beautiful religion. This is why I don't go around flaunting my beliefs. This guy seriously needs a punch-in-face.
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Just ignore him. http://www.ayo4theo.com/stuff/pics/h...gonna-hate.gif A common beleif I've held for a long time, thats simply becoming stronger as I see the Church react to pop culture, is that they are loosing their grip on the masses. Back in the day, religious leaders we're second to only a monarch. (and in many cases, they truly held more power than the leader behind the scenes) Nowadays however, people are starting to look inside themselves for spiritual guidance, weakening their power base. Expect many popular things to be attacked by religious leaders, not to sound nerdy or anything... >.> But if you recall Palpatine from Star Wars (another, "Demonic film") "All who gain power, are afraid to lose it..." ^ truer words have never been spoken. (the whole clip if you want to re-watch it) YouTube - Anakin and Palpatine at the Opera |
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I literally have no words for this.
I can understand how an extremely devout follower could see such a thing, but even then it's still a rediculous notion. For a movie that inspires such deep human compassion, love and a want for a better future of our planet, how it can be interpreted like this is just completely unbelievable. |
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Otherwise, I wouldn't bother. Might be counter-productive. |
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I was once involved with the Assemblies of God - very fundamentalist Christians. Nice, nice people. But with their free will locked down so tight it hurts. I look back on those days with regret, and glad that I can see any movie and realize one thing: It's. Just. A. Movie. Sure, Avatar is great, and it's messages are some of the best to come along in a long time. There are similarities to paganism, sure. But it's all made up, and it's all a consistent part of the essential good of the story. A story rooted in science, not fantasy. Well...I could go on. But I'm preaching to the choir. ;) |
Oh how I love to read these stories, they make me feel so much better about myself. The problem with most people this deep into religion is that they view their religion as the right religion. A movie advocating their religion is fine, but anything else is "evil". Which is a pity since most people, religious or not, are tolerant of other religions.
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everything that could proof the christian religion wrong or stand for another religion/belief is marked as either demonic or evil by those old jerks ,no big surprise .
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