Religion of the Force
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
In this compact volume co-authored by Norman L. Geisler and J. Yutaka Amano, the authors explore the religious dimensions of Star Wars, using the film to illuminate the key components of Christianity. Religion of the Force engages Star Wars on its own merits to illustrate the similarities between Christianity and the Force of Star Wars.
Product Details
- Title: Religion of the Force
- Author: Norman L. Geisler
- Publisher: Quest Publications
- Publication Date: 1983
- Pages: 63
About Norman L. Geisler
Norman L. Geisler has taught at university and graduate levels for nearly fifty years and has spoken, traveled, or debated in all fifty states and in twenty-six countries. He holds a B. A. and M. A. from Wheaton College, a Th. B. from William Tyndale College and a Ph. D. in Philosophy from Loyola University.
After his studies at Wheaton, he became the graduate assistant in the Bible-Philosophy department at the college. He has since taught Bible, Apologetics and Philosophy at Detroit Bible College, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Dallas Theological Seminary, and was Dean of Liberty Center for Research and Scholarship in Lynchburg, VA. In 1992 he co-founded and served as President of Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, until 2006. Currently, he is professor of Theology and Apologetics at SES.
In addition to the books in this collection, Geisler is also the author of A General Introduction to the Bible and I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, as well as the books in The Norman L. Geisler Apologetics Library and Norman L. Geisler’s Systematic Theology (4 vols.).
Sample Pages from the Print Edition
Top Highlights
“The concept of the Force in Star Wars is clearly not a western theistic concept; it is an eastern pantheistic view.” (Page 28)
“The Christian gospel is one of grace; the gospel of Star Wars is one of works. According to Lucas, man can save himself. According to Luke, ‘The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost’ (Luke 19:10).” (Page 50)
“These three references to the Jedi ‘religion’ by name leave no doubt that the Jedi use of the Force was presented as a religion in the Star Wars series.” (Page 8)
“Agehananda Bharati, an ordained Hindu monk in the Dashanami Sannyasi order, claims that Castaneda’s books are actually made up of concepts taken from eastern religions. Bharati says ‘there is nothing in Castaneda’s mysticism that you cannot also find, sometimes in nearly the same words, in Hindu and Buddhist tantrism [mystical writings] or in the official Patanjali yoga’ (DJP 148).” (Page 33)
“It offers satisfaction for one’s soul without demanding the sacrifice of one’s mind. On the other hand, the religion of the Jedi is not rational but mystical. It is not based on reason but on feeling. The Jedi cannot be successful if they trust their senses or reason (SW 123).” (Pages 46–47)
Reviews
3 ratings
Dominic Best
12/21/2015
Should we as Christians try to find the supposed merits of worldly movies in order to justify our watching them? It's beside the point if the movie has what may seem like vague Christian similiarities. So I won't be reading this or watching the movie
David Leslie Bond
4/21/2014
Ward Walker
1/15/2012
In this 57-page, 8-Chapter, resource you get a two-fer: Geisler's thought and Star Wars. I began reading this as light reading on the Android version of Logos, but felt the need to highlight portions for later reference and switched back to the full version of Logos as I read it C2C. I've seen deeper treatment of "the religion of Star Wars"--this, for example doesn't cover the influence of Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces on Lucas--but it makes for a quick paced reading, and could easily be adapted to a light study for teens to help them discern between culture and scripture.
