A common ministers reaction to avatar.

[Migg3006]

Originally Posted by Sight Unseen

This just about summarizes it. Makes me want to bang my head on my desk repeatedly.

O.M.E!!! that's why I only believe in my own thing,

[Human No More]

That's why religion disgusts me.

[Migg3006]

Originally Posted by Human No More

That's why religion disgusts me.

Totally agree.
No offence to people who believe in.

[rapunzel77]

Originally Posted by Sight Unseen

This just about summarizes it. Makes me want to bang my head on my desk repeatedly.

*facepalm* Argh, why do they put such silly signs up? It just give fodder to those who hate all religion .

Originally Posted by Human No More

That's why religion disgusts me.

I know you you must know that not all of us think like that silly sign . I certainly don't. I firmly believe that God gave me a brain so I use it. Granted, you don't believe in God but you know that humans have brains. Sadly, you also know that many like the person who put that sign up don't know how to use it. Not everyone who is religious thinks like this, thankfully .

[Alyara]

Ah religion. No offence to those who believe it out there but I personally dont believe in that codswallop. As for Avatar, it is not demonic in the slightest, nor does it try to create any religion to sacrifice virgins to some weird strange diety that sprouts fangs and eats children. U know what's really demonic? Murderers, rapists, theieves, bombers, terrorists, pedophiles (both in and out of the church), all those people out there who seek to destroy life. YOU WOULD THINK that churches would be trying to stop that, or at least prevent some of it, but nooooo they want to attack a film thats more about saving the environment and fighting for what u believe in.

Ack, i dislike those idiots.

[rapunzel77]

Originally Posted by Alyara

As for Avatar, it is not demonic in the slightest, nor does it try to create any religion to sacrifice virgins to some weird strange diety that sprouts fangs and eats children.

I agree.

U know what's really demonic? Murderers, rapists, theieves, bombers, terrorists, pedophiles (both in and out of the church), all those people out there who seek to destroy life.

You are right. This is what is truly demonic.

YOU WOULD THINK that churches would be trying to stop that, or at least prevent some of it, but nooooo they want to attack a film thats more about saving the environment and fighting for what u believe in.

Ack, i dislike those idiots.

It depends upon the church. There are many churches that try to help to lesson these terrible things. I know of very few who are like this "minister". There are few religious people who would actually believe that Avatar is demonic. This person is thankfully a minority.

[Fkeu'itan]

A question to all those who are disgusted by religion;

Do you mean all forms thereof or just 'organised' religion?

I mean I don't really have a problem with religions where you build your own beliefs on experience and where worship is not to one particular 'god' per-se, it's when people start blindly and fanatically following the word of a single book and believe only what they are bluntly told to I start getting a little edgy.

I don't think that organised religion necessarily disgusts me, nor the people who follow it, but when they start sacrificing their vision and dismissing what effect they have on the world and the people around them over the word of a (albeit contextually powerful) book, THAT'S when it disgusts me.

[Migg3006]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

I don't think that organised religion necessarily disgusts me, nor the people who follow it, but when they start sacrificing their vision and dismissing what effect they have on the world and the people around them over the word of a (albeit contextually powerful) book, THAT'S when it disgusts me.

Agree, and people who start sacrificing their vision and dismissing don't necessary see it at bad way, and that's the prob, if they get brain wash, that's turn bad and my opinion it's there have to much religion who try to brain wash their believers, to have control on them.

[Woodsprite]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

A question to all those who are disgusted by religion;

Do you mean all forms thereof or just 'organised' religion?

I mean I don't really have a problem with religions where you build your own beliefs on experience and where worship is not to one particular 'god' per-se, it's when people start blindly and fanatically following the word of a single book and believe only what they are bluntly told to I start getting a little edgy.

I don't think that organised religion necessarily disgusts me, nor the people who follow it, but when they start sacrificing their vision and dismissing what effect they have on the world and the people around them over the word of a (albeit contextually powerful) book, THAT'S when it disgusts me.

I think you've gotten the terminology confused between "blindly following" and "religiously following". Following "a book", in my case the Bible (which I believe is far more than just "a book"), isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think many here have the wrong idea; you can completely follow something and still have an open mind to things. It just depends how you interpret certain things. (Now I might get a little preachy in the next few paragraphs, so if you don't want to read, don't read.)

For example, you can march around claiming all children should be stoned to death for disobeying their parents.

...Ok, now take this line to its fullest meaning with all context surrounding the history of this "law"; what do you get? A select group of people who lived when purity of the nation was one of the highest goals. With the added "New Covenant" given by Jesus, such punishments are no longer valid. Unfortunately, some Christians (like the one mentioned in the OP) have not learned this facet of Christianity. Sure, they may think such extreme "laws" for the Jews of ancient days are inappropriate (like the one given above), but they refuse to acknowledge other aspects of the world, like, in his case, other-worldly beliefs like the one depicted in "Avatar".

You take this far enough and you can start declaring other evils like the "Care Bears" being occult. Sure, there may be some subtleties presented, but a far, far cry from being the main point. Put anything you want into anything and you've got anything you'd want to believe in it. You can believe "Harry Potter" has a Christian message like I've seen some say, even though Rowling has blatantly denied it. You can "see" things like WWII presented in the "Lord of the Rings" series, even though Tolkien denied that. You can see allegory in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", even though Lewis has denied he ever intended it as allegory.

Consider the fact that not everything means what you think it means. First off, this preacher has not learned to do this, or try to see any other meaning behind "Avatar" other than what he wanted to see. That's where some Christians are grossly misinterpreting the film.


EDIT: My 800th post! Yay!

[neytirifanboy]

Organised religion, like religion itself, is neither intrinsically good or evil. Organised religion provide the impetus to do good things and make scientific advances. It can inspire hope and love. But unfortunatley, it can also inspire hate and fear.

[Alyara]

Originally Posted by Fkeu'itan

A question to all those who are disgusted by religion;

Do you mean all forms thereof or just 'organised' religion?

For me, it is organized religion. My personal belief that is a higher power for everyone is not necessarily "God" or belonging in a church. (Ex, Hindu, Shinto, Buddhism, Pagan, etc etc). Sometimes a higher power to you may be nameless, others may not understand it, but you feel it and appreciate that there is something larger going on in the universe than just you. Appreciation of all things whether you see them with your own eyes or not is what religion means to me.

(Idk if that made any sense but I gave it a go)

[Advent]

I personally find that guys email (chap 1) bloody hilarious! I GO to a Christian school.

However, the funniest thing ever with this thread, is that some (pardon my language) ********, says Avatar is demonic...

And THEN, the priest near my school comes for our Mass, and says "How many of you have seen Avatar?"
I almost laughed out loud.

However, he started saying, the scenes of 'all these people unified with nature' and 'all praying in unison' were beautiful.
I'd be happy to kick that Pastor's head in.

[Woodsprite]

Originally Posted by Advent

And THEN, the priest near my school comes for our Mass, and says "How many of you have seen Avatar?"
I almost laughed out loud.

...Why would he ask you this? That's... kind of a clear sign that your church is actually fearful of a film. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

[rapunzel77]

Originally Posted by Ciscoloco86

This is the stuff I like to hear. This proves to those who are left with a bad taste in their mouth because of a run in with a "Christian" like the pastor in question that not all followers of Christianity are like him. As I stated before, this guy is doing more harm to his religion than "protecting" it. Be that as it may, others should also be mature enough to know that fanatics like that don't make up the entire Christian populace...hope that made sense, lol.

Thank you Ciscoloco . I have tried several times to help others to understand that Christians are a very diverse group of people and that not all of us are like that silly minister. Many of us are open minded while believing strongly in our faith. I am one of them. I admit I am a bit of a rarity: a devout, traditional Catholic who loves Avatar, sci-fi, fantasy, mythology, etc. I keep an open mind on a lot of things. Yet, I am a very devoted christian. I know there are others like me as well. I don't see irreconcilable dichotomies between religion, faith, and open mindedness. I think that the reason why there are folks like this minister is that they are reacting to a trend in society that they feel threatens their faith. This is because, often than not, they are not as secure in their faith like they want to believe.

I think it is an over generalization to say that all "organized" religion is disgusting, etc. It doesn't take into account the many differences. In a sense, saying that about religion is no different than what this silly minister says about Avatar. I see it as a reaction to what some people in "organized" religion do and say. Basically, everyone is reacting, sometimes extremely, to each other and neither is talking to the other.

Thankfully, here on TOS, that isn't the case . We can talk respectfully and fruitfully about each other's beliefs (or lack of them) with little or no problem.

[joeylovesgaia]

Originally Posted by madman

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.

Only because monotheistic religions are mostly hierarchical, and so they actively suppress mystical experience. The idea is strict separation of God from Creation, and Creation from Man. If anyone could become one with the divine universe, no priests would be needed. And this guy's a priest, right?

Oh, and Eywa is pretty much code for Gaia. And there certainly are ways of communing with Her, and the plants and animals. We've just forgotten. Shamanism