Hollywood’s ‘Avatar’ a modern religious parable about us

I finally got a chance to see the movie “Avatar.” I heard the film had spectacular cinematic artwork but not much of a storyline. To my surprise this was one of the most religious movies I have seen in years. Though set in the future, it’s a parable on modern life.

It reminded me of what Nathan told David after he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then had her husband, Uriah, killed to hide the pregnancy. To get around David’s defenses, Nathan tells this story.

“There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks but the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children. She shared the little food he had and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom. She was like a daughter to him.

“Now, the rich man received a visitor, but he would not take from his own flocks and herds to prepare a meal for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and made a meal of it for his visitor.

“David grew very angry with that man and said to Nathan: ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die. He shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!'” (2 Sam 12:2-7)

“Avatar” is set in the future but addresses the morality of what is happening today. The people from earth want a commodity that these natives possess. They are willing to trade for something but the indigenous peoples are not interested. In the end, the earth people are willing to go to war to obtain the commodity.

Sounds familiar?

The movie deals with the use and abuse of power, and the moral depravity of exploiting cultures that have a commodity the dominant power wants.

Another theme throughout the movie was the approach to nature. The people of Pandora had a close relationship to nature. They saw nature as an ally, and worked with God’s creation to bring about peace and harmony in their world.

It reminds me what God said in Genesis:

“See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. To every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.”

We are to take care of creation and preserve it for the good of all. We need to improve on our stewardship of creation.

The film also explores our attitude toward people who are different. The earthlings looked down on people of Pandora because they did not have the technical advancements that they had. They viewed the place as a “hell hole.”

When the hero is transformed into the body of natives, he discovers their deep spirituality and their giftedness.

Our history is tied up with a suspicion of anyone different – native Americans, Asians, Africans, Muslims, etc. Maybe we need to “get inside the body” of these “outsiders” to understand their point of view.

Also the fact that a person could go from human body to a native body confirms the existence of the spiritual element of our being. In the end, the hero Jake chooses the values of the people of Pandora. Hopefully, we will also.