Believe me when I say that I am not one who sees a conspiracy behind every bleeding liberal. And, believe me when I say that I am not trying to ruin the good time you have had or will have when you see the newest movie sensation, Avatar. But, after seeing this blockbuster in 3D AND IMAX, let me assure you that it is well worth seeing for the technical genius of the film. The special effects are "from another world," Pandora to be exact. The sheer brilliance of James Cameron in this latest of his liberal propaganda films makes it a must see.

Now, let's move on to the "however" of this blog (you knew there had to be one). This film is unapologetically filled with New Age eastern mysticism. Additionally, to the uniformed this film may appear to be centered in such innocuous themes as good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, old American Indian legends, Greek mythology, ecological stewardship, personal spiritual balance, the true meaning of love, fighting injustice, protecting home, the beauty of nature, adventure, manhood, womanhood, love, faith, and community.

But, there is so much more in this movie that does not meet the average eye. The Na'vi, are the blue inhabitants of Pandora. They are the gentle ten foot giants who move gracefully in performing feats of athletic prowess, spiritual and emotional acts of reincarnation, and combat with great ferocity. Both males and females are beautifully sensual, strong, and androgynous. While the Na'vi are perfect, corporate greed is the source of evil and the military is the embodiment of evil. Mother Earth is real. Back to nature is the holy ethos of the true believer. Pre-emptive strikes are a bad thing. Nature is good. Technology is ugly and bad - strange for a film with so much technology shaping its success.

In Hinduism, Avatar refers to the appearance in physical form, having descended from heaven to earth, of a deity. It is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," though more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation." The various manifestations of Devi, the Divine Mother principle in Hinduism, are also described as avatars. This is a film loaded with the message and the not so subtle tenets of ancient Gnosticism. Modern Gnosticism extends back at least a century to the great Occult Revival of the late 19th century. However, it was the discovery of a cache of ancient Gnostic scriptures at Nag Hammadi in the Egyptian desert in 1945 that really set off the modern phase of the Gnostic revival. Although their translation into English was not complete until the late 1970s, early access to some of the writings inspired the great psychologist Carl Jung to draw parallels between the ancient Gnostics and modern depth psychology. The publication in 1977 of the Nag Hammadi Library translations, followed in 1978 by religious scholar Elaine Pagels' best-selling exposition, The Gnostic Gospels, guaranteed that Gnosticism would not go away anytime soon.

It was not long ago that Dan Brown produced the controversial movie, The Davinci Code. As I wrote on this blog back then, that movie was steeped in ancient Gnosticism and the above mentioned pseudo-scriptures. In similar fashion, James Cameron's world-view is unfettered Gnosticism and this film is the stage for of his theology. The Davinci Code rattled the cages of evangelical thought due to the fact that it was a frontal assault against the teachings of the Bible. Avatar isn't as much a frontal assault on Christianity as it is a side-door assault, but, nonetheless, an assault. Avatar is not a glorified cartoon. Nor is it a modern remake of Alice in Wonderland. It is nothing less than a sermon wrapped up in high tech genius delivered by one the high priests of modern day Gnosticism, James Cameron. Ancient Gnosticism is in the midst of a modern day revival with the goal of supplanting the Christian faith. How? Well, to answer that question we must ask another - What is Gnosticism?

Next Blog: "The tenets of ancient Gnosticism"

In His Grip,
Dr. Chuck Betters

MARKINC Ministries, its staff, or volunteers accepts no liability for the content of this blog, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided, unless that information is subsequently confirmed in writing. Any views or opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of MARKINC Ministries.

Book Review by Dr. Chuck Betters

William Young has accomplished in the reader what I fear the most with such books, that is, young impressionable Christians, who cannot see the bigger picture of what he is saying about the character and nature of God and about Christianity in particular, are caught up in the sensationalism. We love it when Christian authors are successful and rightly so. We then refer our friends to the "new book that has changed my life." Let me be specific. A few years ago many raided the Christian book stores to buy "This Present Darkness," a fictional story of demonism. The problem was that many believers then developed their demonology out of what Peritti wrote rather than what the scriptures teach on this critical subject. We did the same thing with the "Prayer of Jabez" phenomenon by developing a theology of prayer out of a terrible misinterpretation of one verse of scripture - and, what about the "Left Behind" series of books and movies that are rooted in false eschatology? And do you remember the book written by a Mormon woman who claimed to have an out of the body experience and visited heaven? I could go on and on.

In the writing of The Shack, William Young writes his own foreword (a place where credibility is usually established) to introduce and give credibility to the main character of his story, going so far as to explain why he himself is part of the story. This is a clever tactic to engage the reader into what they think is a real story about real people, a sort of historical novel with fictional (but not really) characters. This is why this book is having such a deep spiritual impact on its readers and why Michael W. Smith says in the puffs that "The Shack is the most wonderful absorbing work of fiction I've read in many years. My wife and I laughed, cried, and repented of our own lack of faith along the way. The Shack will leave you craving for more of the presence of God." But I say, "Does this God who Young novelizes square with the revelation of God given in the Word? I insist it does not. And novel doctrines should never be threatened or offended when questioned by the truth.

Click here to read the complete Book Review.