Eywa's Test

[Cyan]

Bear in mind, this thread is the result of some tired guy, thinking he has made a good point, and through my sleep deprived state at this moment in time, i am trying to write these thoughts down, if it does not make sense just tell me

Could the human invasion been some religious test by Eywa?
Like "Job" in the bible, no matter what your beliefs are, this particular man was tested by god, had his family killed, and had his crops and source of money destroyed, but he retained his faith, and prayed to god every day to keep him going. This showed to god, the extent of some people's beliefs, and how nothing could overcome them.

This is similar in the case with avatar, the human invasion brought suffering, misery and pain to the na'vi people, but through this they retained thier belief in Eywa, prayed to their deity in times of great sadness, and never lost their sense of community, and in the end they had their faith rewarded.

[allycat]

YAY! this post is awesome Cyan! it makes sense i feel bad about before.. maybe cause you are tired.. no worries! everyone gets tired.. and everyone gets cranky (ie me lol)
but you are right!! they have faith in Eywa and its restored!! it comes for them in their greatest need! its awesome!

[Kelariarh]

Cyan i totaally agree with your point borther!

[Devourment]

Eywa herself is simply the connections between the trees of Pandora that formed intelligence, not an all powerful god, so if you're wondering if she made it so that the humans would find and go after Pandora, she didn't.

[joeylovesgaia]

Ah, yes, the problem of theodicy, or how to explain death, misery and evil while assuming an all-powerful God. Easily solved when you realize that the Earth and the Sun created us, and neither is infinite, neither is all-powerful.

[Stanley_9875]

I'm sorry I feel the need to correct something real quick

God didn't test Job, Satan came to God and asked if he could test Job, it was like a challange, Satan making a bet with God that if he could do whatever to Job that Job will curse Gods name, God simply gave permission (seems like Satan doesn't get it... God knows everything, and He knows Job won't curse His name, yet Satan continues, Satan has to ask Gods permission to test Job) Sorry Cyan just something that I had to correct

But a great point none-the-less! Good thinking Cyan! It's funny, some of the greatest and brilliant ideas (although probably not the safest) I've had are when I'm tired... let them flow!

[Ay'iheyu]

I'd have to agree with Devourment, I don't think that was Eywa's doing. Good comparison, though. Tiredness brings out the best in people sometimes.

[Boomachucka]

Interesting thought, but I'm with Devourment. Eywa isn't an omnipresent being on another plane, but a semi-omnipresent life form on which The People live.

Also, on the topic of being tired- My vocabulary gets better and better until I'm ready to pass out, however my train of thought gets less and less coherent and intelligent. Figure that one out!

[Human No More]

Eywa isn't like human 'gods'. She's just a planetary organism, she has no specific supernatural powers. She didn't cause the human invasion.

Of course, not to mention the fact that it would be completely unjustified to deliberately cause so much differing and death, as well as damage to Pandora, to herself.

[Fkeu'itan]

Hmm... an interesting proposition indeed.

I'm afraid i'm with everyone else though. I don't think the human invasion was really a test. As HNM said, there was no need for Eywa to test the Na'vi on their faith (or whatever you wish to call it) as they never doubted her existance. They can 'feel' her after all.

[Apollo]

The point you say is sound, and heartily agree with you. However I really hate comparing religion and something special together. Like I refuse to listen to anything said about how Narnia is almost directly relatable to the Bible. Right there I stopped listening.

Personally, I can't understand truly how Job felt.
Has anyone been under this kind of strain that could measure up to this?

[Devourment]

Anyone else realize god was being a total jerk?
I'm paraphrasing:

Satan: Haha I bet this guy won't stay true to you.
God: Lulz you on punk, I'll torture him and stuff and kill his family and he'll still love me.

So god ruins this guys life and makes him suffer to prove a point to Satan.

[Apollo]

Divine figures are typically cruel. God is just more happy about it than the others were.

[joeylovesgaia]

Originally Posted by Human No More

Eywa isn't like human 'gods'. She's just a planetary organism, she has no specific supernatural powers.

Well, Jake had those dreams before he even knew he was going to Pandora, yes? And some of the Na'vi seem to able to connect to her without tsahaylu. It's great that She has a body which even a super-materialistic scientist can measure and verify, but there seems to be more going on. How much more, we don't know.

But she isn't like Jehovah. She would never purposely allow an invader to harm her or her children (everything alive on that moon is part of her body, and at the same time her child). She isn't omnipotent, and doesn't pretend to be. She is, however, a lot smarter than any individual Na'vi or human, and a lot more powerful than RDA gave her credit for.

[rapunzel77]

Cyan, very good post and a good observation. This is one of the aspects that struck me the most about Avatar: the Na'vi's reaction to the destruction of their home. It probably could have been very easy to fall into despair and curse Eywa but they didn't. In fact, in the voiceover, Jake tells us that the Na'vi saw her as their only hope. They clung to their "goddess" even more after Hometree was destroyed. That touched me a lot while watching the movie.