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Finding Truth in Avatar

by Pia de Solenni 

As I was being fascinated by the imagination of the new movie Avatar, I couldn’t help but think that some conservatives might be upset at the emphasis on nature and non-Christian religions instead of simply enjoying the movie for what it offers. But that didn’t prepare me for the negative responses from thoughtful people like Ross Douthat (one of my favorite columnists) or Michael Coren, a provocative and effective Canadian television host. (Disclaimer: I’ve been on his show.)

What I saw was a technologically groundbreaking movie that evidences incredible imagination. If nothing else, it’s a movie you should see simply for its definitive contribution to movie making. Spend the extra money to see it in 3D at an IMAX theater. If you let yourself enjoy simply what’s put before you, you might even find it inspiring beyond the immediate demonstration of imagination.

Sure, the story could have been better. But it was doable. Critics find fault with the alleged attack on capitalism. I only found critique of extreme capitalism, not unlike the extreme economic policies that created the current recession, and not unlike that decried by John Paul II in his encyclical Centesimus Annus. Further, the concept of having a right to one’s own land and community and the right to defend requires no religious belief at all.

The emphasis on nature and protecting nature I find completely palatable and consistent with Christian beliefs, as promoted by Pope Benedict XVI in his New Year address and message for the 43rd Day of World Peace.

Most of us would be better off if we spent a little less time with technology and took the time to know God in his creatures, including all of creation, which brings me to my main point. That we can see God in nature and even in religions that we don’t believe hold the fullness of truth in no way lessens their significance or reduces our religious beliefs. If anything, they point to the fact that religious belief is natural. It’s something that all people experience in some way or another, some ways less perfect than others. (Jonah Goldberg touches on this in his column on Avatar.)

Sure, Avatar presents an earthy religion in which the deity is a mother and all the people share in the divinity by a sort of communing. It’s not clear from the movie that Ey’wa, the mother god, is nature. While intricately involved in their concept of nature, she has a different role from nature. She is appealed to, while nature is protected.

The imagery of the Na’vi connecting and sharing as a unity in Ey’wa is not completely unchristian. After all, Christians believe that they are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and that they make up the body of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14). 
If anything, I would argue that the public response to movies like Avatar, and even the pantheism that Douthat maintains is evident, reveals a natural human desire to believe in something bigger than the self. There are numerous starting points in pagan beliefs and pantheism that could in fact be used to reach many people. We miss these opportunities all too often by condemning something we don’t fully understand, not realizing that there may be some truth to the situation – some truth that has the potential to lead to the fullness of truth. It’s called conversion, and it has to start somewhere. Our job as Christians is to facilitate that process and to enjoy truth wherever we see it.  

Pia de Solenni writes from Seattle, Wash. She can be reached via Facebook and Twitter. (Her website is getting a prolonged makeover and is currently offline.)

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(The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Headline Bistro or the Knights of Columbus.)