Avatar Theology

Arts Entertainments

Much has been written about James Cameron’s new epic 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 a few ideas:

o How does Pandora represent a prelapsarian world (before the Fall) in which Nature and Grace have not yet divorced each other? How does the god Eywa represent the uninterrupted 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 Mother, 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 alliance, of marriage, between nature and grace. In the beginning, God’s creation was perfect: “God saw how good he was” (Gen 1:12). Saturday was a day to admire the goodness of creation; all our days were meant to be saturdays. Humanity, however, did not keep their pact. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the will of man spoiled the original grace of nature.

In the Avatar movie, 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 around. Corporal Jake Sully takes a moment to admire the beautiful flora of Pandora, the “helicoradian” that collapses 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 graceful 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 actually join their wills with those of the 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 is exploiting Pandora’s rich natural resources, serves as a proxy for humanity in the same way that Adam did. The Corporation desires, above all things, the fruit of the Na’vi’s sacred tree, the rich deposit of “unobtainium” beneath the Hometree, which also, it is said, turns out to be the only thing that can keep the Earth from dying. . .

However, due to Original Sin, humanity cannot freely eat from the Tree of Life in Eden. “lest he stretch out his hand and take also 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 polluted motivations, there is no easy and painless way to generate life. We must suffer to give life, like childbirth or paralyzed Jake Sully or the Suffering Servant, who dies on the cross.

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

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

The Na’vi’s union with nature proves that their nature is not fallen in the same way as humanity’s. The story of Avatar is a story of the meeting 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. The greatest union of grace and nature: The Na’vi Communion, in which the Na’vi connect with nature and souls directly through the “tail” (i.e. through a neural network biobotany);

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

3. Disunion or Hollow Union: The Army’s AMP (Amplified Mobility Platform) suits, which only mimic the union of animal and human found among the Na’vi.

Dr. Grace Augustin

So what’s in a name? There must be something 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 her 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 delved deeper into Na’vi culture than any human being alive. Goal! Ultimately, she fails to be taken to the Tree of Souls and dies before her soul can be incorporated into Eywa. She is the free gift of Eywa, she is the grace, which allows the incorporation (that is, the redemption) of a soul. She can’t be won; she can’t be won no matter how far we can go.

The second birth and baptism

The Na’vi are initiated into society by being 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 fully transition into his avatar and Pandora’s animal life is summoned against Colonel Quaritch’s forces.

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 don’t mean to rule out miracles for 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; He demonstrates all the potential of the Creation of him. Isn’t it great that we can ask how?

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