Comments on: Avatar: What’s the Big Deal?

By: Hollypop

Hollypop — Sat, 22 May 2010 07:08:09 +0000

Having found this blog whilst looking for reviews of ‘Avatar’ I feel I ought to put my twopennyworth in to the debate.
I am a Christian (please don’t skip to the next post!) and it’s very real to me and has been for 40 years if it is a fantasy as some people believe then it’s a fantasy that like ‘Avatar’ helps me to put life into perspective.
I have to say that I think that the Christian church is dying and it’s sad as all death has an element of sadness in it, yet it’s exiting in a way … Jesus himself said that unless a seed dies it can not produce fruit.
Although Christianity if likened to a plant has now become deformed and unlovely one cannot deny that at times during it’s history it has borne beautiful fruit that has changed many lives and laws and whole nations for the good. So why is it dying ? because it has become old and decrepid and out of touch with the changes in our cultures . It has lost it’s sharpness in being able to speak wisdom and the reasoning of the Holy Spirit to the inhabitants of this world who are desperately looking for real answers to both political and spiritual questions.
How will it be reborn ? God only knows but I hope I’ll be around to see it.
This is what I hope for the Christian church in the future….
When a plant dies all the rotting folage falls away and only the seeds that contain it’s ‘essence’ of life remain.
These seeds carry the truth and wisdom and spiritual hope of Christ’s teachings… these teachings will live on in a new form that will again bring hope to mankind in a truly loving way devoid of racism, religion, bigotry and the desire to control and have power over others.
It will be a movement of the Holy Spirit that will transcend all our expectations.
A careful reading of the Old & New Testament prophesies seems to indicate this….the story is not over yet…in fact it’s probably just beginning.

By: James

James — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:29:50 +0000

Wow, am I ever glad I found this blog… I know I’m a little late, but I had to add my impressions. I find it hard to label my spirituality – I’d call it Shamanism modeled on the belief system of the Native Americans. For someone coming from this perspective, Avatar pretty much aligns with what I believe almost perfectly. This to me transcends religion; it is about a direct link to our Creator – our God – without the need for dogma or intercession or intermediaries. Why should I not be able to speak directly to my Creator? Why should I not be allowed to discover the truths of the universe for myself? Why should I not see all of nature, our whole Mother Earth, as God’s great cathedral? God, the Great Spirit of the Native Americans who existed in all things, did not create cars or cities or pollution or wage wars or foster hatred; these are all human inventions and talents. God created nature, the animals, the plants, the rocks and streams – these do not know hatred, only the true ways that the Great Spirit gave to them. They are pure, and we are the ones who have lost our way. While the goals of organized religions such as Christianity are noble, the methods have become clouded by ritual and dogma, to the point where most followers are no longer able to communicate directly with the reason we are here in the first place. THAT is the spiritual message in Avatar. It’s really not hard to see, at least for me – it just confuses me why so many others have missed this message.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:36:14 +0000

I saw it and must say it was one of the most poorly written movies I’ve ever seen. superficial and tedious. The 3-D effects were amazing, but the story was quite tiresome. It might be alright for a child or as a cartoon but too simplistic for thinking adults.

By: The Spectacle and the Spirit (Another blog on Avatar) « Relief: A Christian Literary Expression

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:02:36 +0000

[...] has been no end of press about this film, of course, including some reflections on this site by Travis Griffith (with whose comments I will respectfully disagree, for reasons to be described below), but what got [...]

By: Worshiping Nature, Exorcisms, and a Retort… of sorts. « Relief: A Christian Literary Expression

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:08:22 +0000

[...] Clare Gajkowski-Zajicek responds to Travis Griffith’s post “Avatar: What’s the Big Deal?“ [...]