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Avatar theology

A lot has been written about James Cameron’s epic new Avatar … about its stunning 3D visuals, huge budget, etc., but I haven’t seen much written about the theology or mythology behind it. There seems to be a subtle, perhaps even sophisticated, theology behind the story.

I noticed a few things and wanted to jot down some ideas:

o How does Pandora represent a prelapsary world (before the Fall) in which Nature and Grace have not yet been divorced? How does the god Eywa represent the unbreakable link between Nature and Grace? (And the Holy Spirit?)

o Are the two sacred trees, the tree of voices (or souls) and the tree of the house, an allusion to the two trees in the garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life? ?

o Is the name of Sigourney Weaver’s character, Dr. Grace Augustine, an allusion to St. Augustine’s Doctrine of Grace?

o What does the second birth of the Na’vi race say about baptism?

The seventh day of Creation, Saturday, serves as a sign of the covenant, of marriage, between nature and grace. In the beginning, God’s creation was perfect: “God saw how good it was” (Gen 1:12). Saturday was a day to admire the goodness of creation; all of our days were meant to be Saturdays. However, humanity did not keep its covenant. Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the original grace of nature was spoiled by the will of man.

In the movie Avatar, however, a day on Pandora is not a Saturday. There is no time to admire the beauty of Pandora with all the massive and angry animals lurking. Corporal Jake Sully takes a moment to admire the beautiful flora of Pandora, the collapsing “Helicoradian” at the beginning of the film, and ends up running for his life and jumping off the edge of a cliff to escape a “thanator. “.

But, the Na’vi people live in harmonious harmony with nature in two related ways:

o First, the Na’vi are able to establish a neurological connection with animals through the “tail”. The Na’vi can link their wills with those of animals by physically connecting their neural networks (by mutual acceptance).

o Second, Dr. Grace Augustine discovers that the biobotanical connection between all living organisms on Pandora is far more extensive than anything known on Earth. The Tree of Voices finally reveals the extent of this.

It is as if humanity has stumbled upon a second Garden of Eden, only to fall again. Only our sin is not so “original” this time. The Corporation, which extracts the rich natural resources of Pandora, acts as a representative of humanity in the same way that Adam did. The Corporation desires, above all things, the fruit of the sacred tree of the Na’vi, the rich deposit of “unobtainium” beneath the Hometree, which is also said to be the only thing that can prevent Earth from dying.

However, due to original sin, humanity cannot freely eat from the tree of life in Eden. “Lest he reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life”, man is excluded from the garden (Gen 3:22). The road is closed and guarded. Due to our fallen wills and tainted motivations, there is no easy and painless way to bring life. We must suffer to give life, as with childbirth or the paralyzed Jake Sully or the suffering Servant, who dies on the cross.

An ore like the one that can be found looting Pandora can only delay the inevitable. It is a temptation that destroys the relationship between humans and the Na’vi, who harbor the truest hope of a post-Earth humanity. Did you notice the names of the trucks that collect that rich mineral, “unobtainium”? Did you notice the name of the human colony on Pandora? Trucks from hell. The gate of hell. The question arises: on which side of the door is hell really located?

Also, did you notice the mineral’s name: UNOBTAINium? And so it is unattainable, like the fruit that Tantalus spends an eternity searching for. It is the illusion, the false search, that will take your life while impoverishing you. It is the road to hell.

The Na’vi’s union with nature shows that their natures do not fall in the same way that humanity does. The story of Avatar is a story of the reunion of grace and nature. [THESIS]

The story presents this contrast between man and the Na’vi in ​​three ways the characters interact with the world around them:

1. Greater Union of Grace and Nature: The Na’vi Communion, in which the Na’vi connect with nature and souls directly through the “tail” (ie through a biobotanical neural network) ;

2. Union of transition: The Avatar, the greatest union that man can achieve with his own power and strength, a union that only the Tree of Souls can complete;

3. Dis-Union, or Hollow Union: The AMP (Amplified Mobility Platform) suits of the army, which only mimic the union of animals and humans found among the Na’vi.

Dr. Grace Augustine

So what’s in a name? There must be something going on with the name of Dr. Grace Augustine. The combination of the words “grace” and “Augustine” is an unlikely coincidence. With his Doctrine of Grace, Augustine, Doctor of the Church, has ensured that his name will always be associated with grace, the fall of man and free will.

But what does it mean that Sigourney Weaver’s character is named Grace Augustine? Dr. Grace is portrayed as a distinctly brilliant woman, with many natural gifts and talents (not unlike Weaver’s character in Gorillas in the Mist, Dr. Dian Fossey). As a xenobiologist, who studies extraterrestrial life, she dominates her field. She has gone deeper into Na’vi culture than any living human being. Objective! Ultimately, she cannot be brought to the Tree of Souls and dies before her soul can be incorporated into Eywa. It is Eywa’s free gift, it is grace, which enables the incorporation (that is, redemption) of a soul. You cannot win; You cannot win no matter how far we can go.

The second birth and baptism

The Na’vi enter society when they are born again: their “second birth.” This is the Christian sacrament of baptism. In baptism, we are sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit; our fallen natures are again perfectly united with grace; we are born again. That is why baptism is the basis of the entire Christian life (CCC 1213).

Christians, like the Na’vi and their “tail”, also have a direct link with the life of this world: the Holy Spirit, “the Lord, the Giver of life” (Dominum et vivificantem, from the Nicene Creed) . Eywa represents the Holy Spirit, by whose power Jake Sully can pass completely into his avatar and the animal life of Pandora is summoned against the forces of Colonel Quaritch.

Natural miracles

For me, this biological representation of the Holy Spirit is the most powerful part of the Avatar story and its greatest contribution to science fiction. This part of the story, more than any other, sparks my imagination. I guess I’m always looking for a biological basis for God’s miracles. I do not mean to rule out miracles with physical explanations; I hope to see the entire physical world as a miracle. As Einstein said,

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

Biology and all science is the work of God and His laws. In the case of miracles, God does not violate his own laws, his own essence; It shows the full potential of His Creation. Isn’t it great that we can ask how?

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