 Arguably one of the most popular movies of all time, with three of the series making it into the top 10 highest grossing films in USA Box Office history (  A New Hope released in 1977  Revenge of the Sith released in 2005  Star Wars: Clone Wars to be released later this year (2008).  Has spawned conventions, novels, TV programs, comic books, video games, and toys galore

 Luke Skywalker  Princess Leia  Han Solo  Obi Wan Kenobi  Yoda  Darth Vader  C-3PO  R2-D2

 Set out to re-create myths  “I see Star Wars as taking all the issues that religion represents and trying to distill them down into a more modern and easily accessible construct”  “Religion is basically a container for faith.”  “I put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people--more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system.”  “What that God is or what we know about that God, I'm not sure.”  Imitated Buddhism as his inspiration for The Force  Wants people to think about the “mystery” *

 Pulls from Judeo-Christian and Buddhist thought  Over 300 million Buddhists worldwide  Pantheism – God is all and all is God (New Age movement)  Buddhism and the 4 Noble Truths

 Pantheism* – God is all and all is God  God is one, infinite, impersonal, the universe  The universe is an illusion, a manifestation of God  Human’s true self is God (Brahman in Hinduism)  Destiny is determined by karma  Evil is an illusion, caused by errors of the mind  Ethics are relative, transcending the illusion of good and evil *Unshakeable Foundations, Norman Geisler

 Buddhism and the 4 Noble Truths*  Truth of Suffering (may be mental or physical)  Truth of the Cause of Suffering (desire or craving and ignorance)  The Truth of the End of Suffering ▪ Attainment of Nirvana; removal of desire, craving and ignorance; a supreme happiness, achieving Enlightenment  Truth of the Path Leading to the End of Suffering ▪ Living the “Middle Path” *

 Problems with pantheism  No position on “good” or “evil”  God is not a personal creator  Lives become determined by an arbitrary “fate”  Flawed interpretation of man’s true nature  All over the college campus  Zen Buddhist philosopher D. T. Suzuki: “Zen does not follow the routine of reasoning and does not mind contradicting itself or being inconsistent.”*  If something is logical and illogical, then it has no meaning  And Zen Buddhists use logic to validate their assumptions! The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell pg. 644