Countering the Hollywood-promoted Pantheism

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor 10:5

One of the most pervasive thought patterns in history is pantheism (God = nature) and spiritism, which gets popular expression in Star Wars (the Force), Disney films like "Pocahontas," the new movie "Avatar," and a surprising amount of pro-environment literature.

I really appreciated this NY Times column pointing out the Hollywood-ization of pantheism and the problems it creates:

"Traditional theism has to wrestle with the problem of evil: if God is good, why does he allow suffering and death? But Nature is suffering and death. Its harmonies require violence. Its “circle of life” is really a cycle of mortality. And the human societies that hew closest to the natural order aren’t the shining Edens of James Cameron’s fond imaginings. They’re places where existence tends to be nasty, brutish and short. Religion exists, in part, precisely because humans aren’t at home amid these cruel rhythms. We stand half inside the natural world and half outside it. We’re beasts with self-consciousness, predators with ethics, mortal creatures who yearn for immortality."

Help your students think through these issues.