May "The Force" Be With You!--The Lighthouse On The Corner Ministries

May "The Force" Be With You!

By Ed Crabtree, Rev. ULC
©2002 The Lighthouse On The Corner Ministries

Recently I discovered an interesting news item in the Internet version of several credible newspapers, detailing a prank perpetrated against the agency that performs the national census in "Australia." It would seem that prior to the beginning of the census someone started an e-mail campaign urging "Star Wars" fans to "legitimize" the fictional faith of the "Force" by specifying it as their creed on census forms. Apparently this phenomenon started in New Zealand and spread to the United Kingdom and Australia. However there is no indication that the Australian bureau of statistics will recognize the legitimacy of a faith based on the metaphysical concept popularized in the Star Wars Movies even though 70,000 listed it as their official creed on the census forms.

If you are familiar with the Star Wars movies you are aware that George Lucas and those who collaborated with him in writing the fictional screen plays, created a religion based on the concept that there is a paranormal power or energy that exists throughout the universe and flows through every living thing as well as inanimate objects. The principal characters in the movie ether had mastered the use of this power or were on a "quest" to learn how to master it's use. The principal belief was that an individual must learn to master their own mind in order to able to use the force for works of good or fall victim to the "Dark Side" and become subservient to the evil side. This duality seems to have a universal appeal to those familiar with the movies, as it seems so plausible. But what makes the "Force" so realistic is the fact that writers, especially those of the science fiction genre, must use concepts that seem plausible for their futuristic creations, otherwise the viewers or readers will not consider the work realistic. What is so amazing is that this so called faith has become so popular that people all over the world have come to consider it as a religion, but is it really so far fetched?

Almost every culture on Earth has a tradition telling of an energy or sprit that flows through everything, living or inanimate. As Christians we know of it as the Holy Ghost or the hand of God, other faiths know of it as The Great Sprit or a dozen other names. And the creators of the Star Wars movies used this known concept to provide a realistic faith that would seem plausible to their audience, a mixture of known philosophies that a worldwide audience could understand and relate too. Apparently the producers and writers of the movies were so convincing with their work that hundreds of thousands of fans around the world revere the concepts of the fictional faith as a realistic belief system. Countless books have been written on the subject and the Internet is full of websites explaining the metaphysical concepts of the fictional movies.

In these movies, the quest of enlightenment requires of the principal character or hero to commit to a path of self discovery, to learn the necessity of self-less action or works, in order to transcend and rise above the lower self ego, faith that following the path of the "force" will overcome all things, and the knowledge that greed, jealously, anger and hate open a door that is difficult to close, a door way that allows the dark side to enter into and consume one's soul. Are not these some of the same concepts that we as Christians recognize as necessary to achieve salvation? That Faith, Works and Knowledge are keys to gaining the blessing of Christ's message?

Far too often in today's real world we see people from all walks of life, that have assumed or rose to a position of leadership, be it in the political world, the world of business, or even in the clergy, people that started upon their journey full of wonderful idealistic goals, only to reach the top of their own mountain and there allow the evil of the "dark one" to enter their psyche through the open doors of overwhelming desires such as unlimited financial gain, lust of power that comes with high political office, or even control over the hearts and minds of the innocents of a community or congregation. We have seen clergy inculcate terrorism, hate, and intolerance, in order to further their own personal goals and objectives which have absolutely nothing to do with the commandments that God gave unto us all, Christian, Jew, and Muslim alike. Over the years we have seen popular evangelists, politicians, and captains of industry led off in shackles after being indicted for fraud and corruption. Most of these people started off on their personal journeys with good intentions, only to succumb to the evil that always lurks in the shadows just waiting to find a small crack in one's personal armor, a crack that at first allows a trickle of the forces of anger, hate, jealously, greed, and lust and enter and then widen that crack from a trickle to a river.

Just this past week I watched as the evening news broadcast the scene of a top executive in handcuffs being forced into a waiting police car, charged with conspiracy to defraud investors of hundreds of millions of dollars. I must admit I had to laugh, as the situation was so overwhelming as it involved so much money. Although it really is not funny I had to cry out "what part of God's commandment, Thou shall not steal," did these men not understand? Highly educated men who thought they could just take millions and millions of other people's money for their own personal use, and no one would notice. To think that dollar amounts of this nature would not be eventually missed is certainly laughable. But then I realized just how dangerous the dark side has become, to cloud so many minds with uncontrollable greed, overcoming the knowledge of right from wrong, and encouraging the once righteous to give in to evil. That epiphany is certainly not humorous at all.

And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24

These folks could have enjoyed what was rightfully theirs, and still lived in a degree of luxury unimaginable to many of the investors whose money they allegedly stole.

Just remember that many of these people we have watched fall from grace in their high places, were seen in public just a few years ago professing to be "Born Again Christians," or professing their personal recommitment to other faiths. What happened? Just as our hero in the fictional movie was instructed, for one to give into the temptations of the dark side brings about personal destruction, condemnation and failure. These people have gave into the greed of amassing unimaginable personal fortunes, as well as lust for power and control over the innocent.

In past sermons I have wrote on the importance of Faith, Works, and Knowledge, to gain salvation. From the truth of Christ's message, to the practice of mankind, Knowledge of all things, will bring about the understanding necessary to open one's mind to the comprehensive inclusiveness of our Lord's teaching, that of universal brotherly love.

During the past year many things have happened in this world that have left many of us in a state of fear and division. From the spectre of terrorism to the uncertainty of our financial instutions, we have been inundated with works of man that have disrupted our peace and goodwill. That which we do not have an understanding of, we tend to fear just by human nature. And ignorance leads to the opposite of salvation, destruction of the soul.

Fear always springs from ignorance.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar, 1837.

That which we fear, we tend to hate and hate breeds intolerance and anger, all of which are contrary to the message of Christ's teachings. Therefore we should learn to rise above fear, let go of our hate towards that which we don't understand and open our hearts to the power of God's will, the warmth and love of the Holy Sprit and not that of the evil side, the forces that seek to divide, control, and conquer our society. If we don't recognize the existence of our common foe, see him for what he is, and realize that all the temptations he uses to "widen the cracks in our armor," then we are opening our hearts to failure and destruction. Every time the dark side, the serpent of Genesis, slyly presents himself we must recognize the false façade, the propaganda, the false doctrine that he hides behind and uses to enter into our souls hardening our hearts to God's truth.

We must also study history, both Biblical as well as the annuals of time as recorded by man, for if we don't know where we have been, how do we know where we are going. A study of history will give us the tools to recognize those who would lead us into destruction. A knowledge of history will reveal that all far too often we have ignored the lessons of the past and allowed the few to harden the hearts of the many to the truth of God and in his name make horrendous mistakes by following the false doctrines, agendas, and propaganda spread by those who would invoke God's name in order to misinform and mislead. From knowledge of history we must learn not to make the same mistakes of our ancestors.

Those of us who regularly use the Internet, receive e-mails daily that purport some message that on the outside seems rational and makes sense, the compelling nature of the message being strong enough to forward a copy to every one on our list of e-mail acquaintances. I have received several lately that after taking just a few moments to do some routine investigation with a search engine, I found the messages to be based on hoax or urban legend. Several such messages have circulated the Internet for years, even since the inception of the medium. To accept some of these as fact and forward them on only serves to promote the agenda of the dark side, the evil force, The Anti Christ himself as the end result of the messages is to breed hate, intolerance, fear, and distrust of others thereby further driving a wedge in the midst of our society and hardening our hearts and souls. We must realize that knowledge of all faiths, sciences, and practices, along with rational examination of their validity, the cause and effect, will only enhance our own understanding, our own knowledge of the truth of Christ's message. We don't have to adopt these any of these causes as our own, just understand them and rise above fear, hate and anger.

Once again I stress that Faith, Works, and Knowledge are necessary for salvation. Faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Sprit, Works by leading or witnessing with precept and example to those who seek knowledge, and Knowledge of all things, be it the truth and beauty of Christ's teachings or that of others that have chose to truly serve God in their own way, and knowledge that the dark side, the Anti Christ is all around us and ready to steal our hearts and minds as a thief in the night if we let our guard down for a moment's notice. Like the fictional Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies, we must arm our selves in the spiritual sense and battle with the "Dark Side" and through prayer, mediation, and understanding, through our own good works, pave the way for our Lord's triumphant return, never letting the dark one enter into our hearts or minds least we end up like so many of our leaders and teachers that have fallen victim to the forces of evil.

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