Mythology, Spirituality and Star Wars
Tuesday, May 17th, 2005An article I’m publishing this month reviewing David Tacey’s appearance at a recent conference, and anticipating the release of Star Wars III tomorrow. I’d be interested in your comments. Ask me if you’d like references for the George Lucas interview or David Tacey material.
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Ask me about myths and I’d probably be thinking of Greek or Roman mythology. Perhaps some of the myths of the Maori and Aboriginal cultures. Perhaps some of the creation stories from ethnic groups around the world. On another level I might be thinking about some of the myths surrounding AIDS. And then there’d Myth busters - a Discovery Channel television program dedicated to testing urban legends.
So when David Tacey, writer on Australian spirituality, says that we need to move towards a non-mythological faith, I’m wondering what he’s talking about.
David Tacey explains.
“The central myths and stories of the Christian religion, the Virgin Birth, the physical resurrection, the second coming, the idea of God as loving father, will have to be treated not as external objects and literal events, but as internal events in our own souls. The emphasis has to shift from, Did they happen, to the new question, What do they mean?
Tacey warns Christians that they face two dangers at opposite ends of a spectrum. From the conservative end, we face the danger of reactionary fundamentalism, which is obsessed with literal truth. From the liberal end of the spectrum we face the danger of incomplete enlightenment in which empty or cynical reason slips into virtual atheism.
Tacey is an advocate for what he calls symbolic or mystical faith that focuses on an internal experience, equipping each of us to embark on our spiritual journey. Faith for Tacey means connection with God, no matter how unknowable God appears to our minds. He says we need a new understanding of transcendence, one that is not couched in mythological language, or dependent on archaic supernatural ideas.
As I sit with this approach, I’m excited, and disturbed.
I’m excited about a spirituality that deepens our engagement with God and our environment. It is time to explore alternatives to a propositional approach to faith that ties up heaven-bound salvation with assent to a set of doctrines and events. Yes we need experiences of faith marked by humility, quiet hope, calm and compassion. We do need fresh language that expresses something of our grounded, earthy God-connected spirituality.
At the same time, I am disturbed by a call to strip our faith clean from mythology. I am not keen to pass on a sterile scientific form of spirituality that leaves us in poverty, hungering for the provisions of tradition, imagery, poetry and shared practice.
In my research on generational change I’ve noticed that many movements started by Baby Boomers have focused on pragmatism. Does it work? There’s been a reaction against symbolic ritual. But movements initiated by Xers and Millennials have thrived on the power of story and image. Is it wonderful.
George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars series, is probably the one most responsible for the rediscovery of imagination in the post-Boomer generations. In an interview in 1999, published in TIME, George said:
“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. I wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the mystery. Not having enough interest in the mysteries of life to ask the question, Is there a God or is there not a God? - that is for me the worst thing that can happen. I think you should have an opinion about that. Or you should be saying, “I’m looking. I’m very curious about this, and I am going to continue to look until I can find an answer, and if I can’t find an answer, then I’ll die trying.” I think it’s important to have a belief system and to have faith.”
George Lucas carefully crafted the stories of Anakin/Darth Vader, Luke and Leia, to provide us with a common language to explore corruption and redemption. The third episode of Star Wars, in the cinemas at the moment, helps us face the staggering impact of evil choices. The fourth to sixth episodes call us to the journey of overcoming evil with the choice to love, trusting in the mystical power that is beyond us.
The popularity of science fiction and fantasy has led people to become less focused on the ”Could that happen” question, and more interested in ”What might it mean for me and for my word”.
The other change I’ve seen in emerging generations is the move away from individualist introspection toward a shared spirituality. Fewer people are even thinking about heaven or hell, let alone whether they are going there when they die. Younger people are now wondering about how they relate to their family, their tribe or peer group, to their environment. In that context spiritual journey starts to take on meaning.
We do need alternatives to rigid ‘must believe this’ conservatism and cynical ‘cannot believe this’ progressivism. But as we work out those alternatives, let’s remember the power of myth to spark the imagination, to give us stories to share and insights into the way we live together.
Tags: Culture, David Tacey, Movies, Spirituality, Star Wars
