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First Skywalker,
Second Skywalker . . .
First Adam, Second Adam
(or Anakin is Us)
3/29/2005
(I write this in March 2005, less than two months until the
May 19 release of the final "Star Wars" movie, "Revenge of the Sith."
It needs major cleaning up and condensing, but I'm putting it out here
anyway since people will be thinking about "Star Wars" now.
Of course, "Star Wars" isn't a Christian
allegory, and it's obvious George Lucas didn't intend it to be—although
God is always taking things that people do and using them for His own good
purposes. For example, "Star Wars" contains elements of pantheism, and Luke
isn't a faultless savior. Even the differences, however, make GREAT discussion
topics with my kids to help them understand the difference between
Christianity and other religions. And Jesus often used parables . .
. )
Good old "Star Wars"—it captured me the moment I saw it,
starting with the very first scene, in
August 1977 when I had just turned 16. I was the only teenage girl I knew
who wanted a light saber, but I didn't care. There was something
about the story that got to me more and more as I learned about
Luke and Anakin Skywalkers' stories as the episodes unfolded. The
music was fantastic, too—even hearing the old themes running subtly
through significant events in the prequels gives me chills now.
(I was a "band kid"—music always gets my attention.) Even then, there was something about the final celebration scenes of
"Return of the Jedi" (ROTJ) that always made me think that it might be something
like the celebration someday when Jesus comes back and conquers evil
for good. Even before I understood much about God and what Jesus
had really done for us and would do for us in the future, the ROTJ
finale seemed to symbolize it. (The original Ewok song at the end
was much better than what George Lucas has put in that scene since!)
When the prequels finally began in
1999,
I was a 37-year-old mom of two young sons. I'd waited a long time for the rest of the story, knowing
since I was a teenager that we were supposed to someday find out what had
turned "the good man who was [Luke's] father" (according to Obi-Wan Kenobi in "The
Empire Strikes Back") into practically the devil himself— Darth Vader.
"The Phantom Menace" (known around my house with two little boys as "The
First Anakin") didn't tell me much and took several viewings to
figure out all the politics driving the story. But I saw a kind, courageous, gifted little boy who loved much . . . and who would
someday tragically fall. How in the world would this happen?
This kid was even supposed to be "The Chosen One" of ancient Jedi
prophecy. In May 2002, I watched for the first
time a theatrical release of a "Star Wars"
movie—"Attack of the Clones"—with my own sons (who were now
8 and 5). I saw a newly-grown-up Anakin (about 19) who annoyed me
with his immaturity and whining but yet was so easy to understand and to
love, especially since I now had sons myself (with hair and eyes like this new Anakin's).
Teenage Anakin
was such a "guy"—and I delight in the company and activities of guys,
including their sense of humor.
Anakin had such potential and such goodness along with that dangerous streak of
wanting to do things his way, blaming others, and being impatient (and
passionate) about
almost everything. (My younger son is the passionate/enthusiastic
daredevil type who has an extremely good heart . . . and who will stand up
for and protect those he loves despite the cost. I've seen fire in
those little eyes more than once.) As
soon as the DVD version of
the original "Star Wars" trilogy came out in fall 2004, I bought
it—yes, in the first few days it was available. I had just about worn out my videos of the original movies (I had the original versions, not the special editions with changes)
with both my kids and I watching them since 1995. I'm hoping for the
original versions on DVD someday, but for now, seeing the old "Star
Wars" trilogy clearly in any form was a thrill for me. I'd
heard that George Lucas had made more changes from the originals (usually
not a good thing), but there was one change I had to see
immediately—seeing the prequels' grown-up Anakin (Hayden Christensen)
standing beside the visions of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda that Luke sees at the very end of
"Return of the Jedi." I watched that movie from the final battle
between Luke and Darth Vader (and the Emperor) through the end.
Seeing the Anakin we now know—the boy who started out good, was immensely
gifted, who loved much, and who fell so terribly—standing there smiling,
redeemed, and restored ("returned")—made me realize so clearly that
Anakin
is us. The redeemed, restored Anakin is
what we will be someday if we belong to God.
I loved his character in "Attack of the Clones,"
because I could see my sons in him and could so easily see myself, too.
In other words, "there, but for the grace of God, go I." It was the
same feeling I had when I participated in prison ministry several years ago. We
all can (and do) fall like this, and for the same basic reason—each of us
making ourselves our own god. Anakin said it in his anguish
over his mother's murder and in his despair at how he reacted to it.
"Why did she have to die? Why couldn't I save her? I know
I could have!" Padme tells him, "Sometimes there are things that no
one can fix. You're not all powerful, Ani." Anakin's
answer is profound: "Well, I should be! Someday I
will be. I will be the most powerful Jedi ever. I promise
you. I will even learn to stop people from
dying! " Of course, Padme looks at him as if he's losing his mind
and asks him, "What's wrong???" With a look
of disbelief on his own face, Anakin tells her what he did to the Sand
People. "I killed them. I killed them all. They're
dead--every single one of them! And not just the men, but the
women--and the children, too." (Now the rage shows on his face.)
"They're like animals; and I slaughtered them like animals! I hate
them!" Padme tells Anakin as he collapses, "To be angry is to
be human." But Anakin replies, "I'm a Jedi. I know
I'm better than this!" and begins to cry. The description of Jesus as "the second Adam" in the book of
Hebrews in the New Testament is so well illustrated, for me, in the whole
"Star Wars" story. Hebrews explains simply and clearly how
the first Adam failed "the test" and through him, we all fell to less than
what God designed us to be, and we need to be saved. It's not "fair"
that we all inherit Adam's failed-test defect, but it's true. (It's
not fair that the "Star Wars" galaxy had to suffer so much death because of Anakin's
failure, either.) However, through the Second Adam--Jesus--one Man
passes the same test and saves us all. Through the failure of one
man, we all are lost; through the triumph of one other Man, we are all
saved; it makes logical, "symmetrical" sense, doesn't it?
Anakin is something like "the first Adam," who, as Adam did, began
as an exceedingly gifted and kind-hearted person but who was overwhelmed by his own nature
and desires and by the evil influences in the world—especially master
deceiver Palpatine/Emperor. I've always thought of Adam as kind of a
dumb oaf, but wouldn't he have been just the opposite—more like the Anakin
character, who had the greatest potential of anyone? (I think I've
had the wrong idea about old Adam all along.) Anakin gave his all; he fought well; he
loved passionately; he did wrong things
for the right reasons; and he did good things for the wrong reasons. He
lost control when in emotional pain. He was influenced by the
half-truths/half-lies that Palpatine (future Emperor and personification of
Satan) fed him along with Palpatine's stroking of his ego. (I can't
wait to see just what kind of ego-stroking lies Palpatine will use on Anakin
in "Revenge of the Sith.") When Anakin
was tired (emotionally or physically), he took the "easy, more seductive
way," which was the dark side of the Force, as Yoda constantly tells us in all the
episodes. Years later when Luke asked Yoda if the dark side was stronger, Yoda
said emphatically, "NO! Not stronger!" It was "easier and more seductive,"
Yoda explained, but not
stronger.
Now, tell me—who of us has not done the wrong
thing in situations like these . . . has even done things we thought we could
NEVER do? No one—not one human, ever. Well, not one human who
wasn't also God, that is. The Second Adam—Jesus—was the only
one Who was ever tested and tempted and tortured in every way that we are
and never lost control or took the easy way out. Although "Star
Wars'" Luke is not perfect and is often unsure of himself, he does
illustrate the role of a savior who never turns despite extreme pressure
and what looks like certain death . . . and who saves the first Adam—Anakin/Vader—through sacrificial love.
(In "The Empire Strikes Back," the Emperor/Palpatine even refers to Luke
as "The son of Skywalker" . . . which brings to mind one of the names
Jesus called Himself: "The Son of Man.") In "Return of the Jedi," although
tortured emotionally and physically, being truly afraid, and being told
more half-lies/half-truths by the his own father (Vader) as well as the Emperor, Luke stands firm. Even
when the one Luke loves most is threatened (Leia), and he loses control
momentarily and attacks Vader, he sees how this is quickly leading him to what his father
has become . . . and he stops, making his final decision. Luke then
confidently tells the Emperor as he throws away his light saber—"You have
failed, your highness. I am a Jedi like my father before me."
The Emperor has no
control over him and has lost the battle for his soul. Luke knows
this decision
means death, but he stands. As the Emperor begins torturing and
then killing Luke, he says, "Young fool—only now, at the end, do you
understand." Even though I've heard that line more times than I can
remember, I realized this time that it applied to Vader far more than to
Luke . . . and I think the Anakin that was still left in Vader truly HEARS
it and understands how he's been a fool all these years who was
simply used by the Emperor.
Anakin/Vader is closely watching Luke's
execution, of course. As the Emperor prepares to send out his final,
killing blow of Force lightning, he says to Luke, "Now, young Skywalker,
you will die." You clearly see Vader look at Luke, turn his
head to look at the Emperor (whose face now has a strikingly
sadistic expression), and then look back at Luke again. Vader
finally sees plainly the difference
between the one who has used him for decades and cares nothing about him
. . . and the unconditional love of the son who is willingly dying to save
him although Vader has tried to destroy Luke and all that Luke loves.
And, amazingly, this Luke thinks there is still something good in Vader!
Only a few minutes earlier, Vader has heard the Emperor invite
Luke to kill him to "fulfill your destiny . . . and take your father's place at my side."
Comparing these two, Vader sees a stark
difference, and his choice is finally easy. He picks up the Emperor, knowing
he'll now take the brunt of the deadly Force lightning, and throws him
into the abyss that leads to the power generator of the Death
Star. (Hmmm . . . throwing him into an abyss—same place Satan will
be someday; a nice parallel.) As Luke is struggling to get his
much-larger father out of the soon-to-explode Death Star (thanks to the
work of Han, Leia, and the rest of the good guys), Vader tells Luke to
stop and take his mask off so he can see Luke: "Just for once, let
me look at you with my own eyes." Luke does this after Vader
tells him he'll die soon anyway even with the mask on. The way
Anakin's now gentle eyes smile at Luke, I can imagine him thinking, "I see
my Padme in him" as well as the love for a son who turned out so
well. Anakin then tells Luke to go and leave him there.
Luke says he won't leave him; "I've got to save you!" Anakin
answers, "You already have, Luke." During the last minutes of his
life, Anakin has indeed been saved in the most lasting way—while the
Emperor has been forever destroyed. Seeing Jesus
horribly dying for us, although we've fought against him; seeing Jesus
telling us that the "good man" we were made to be can be restored with His help; and seeing what we've done to ourselves and how Satan has used us and lied to
us—is what changes our minds. When we see that stubborn,
massive, unconditional love for us, and clearly see the difference between what
Jesus offers and what Satan offers, it is easy to give ourselves to Jesus.
We can then willingly give Him our lives (spiritually and sometimes literally) no matter what the "cost." And then He gives us
our lives back again! "Hmmm . . . let's see. Do I
pick the person who's done nothing but lie to me, used me, given me
things I thought I wanted but that are dangerous to me, who delights in my
pain, and who casually throws me away when I'm of no use to him
anymore--or do I pick the person who loves and values me so much that he's
gone through torture and been willing to die to save me even though I've
fought against him and insulted him? Uh, I think that's a
no-brainer." Without Luke's help, Anakin
would have never been able to make the choice and be free from the
Emperor . . . as without God's help (in the form of the Holy Spirit),
we'd never be able to choose Him, either. I remember gasping as I saw
Anakin explain to Padme in "Attack of the Clones" how he had
wiped out the
Sand People who had killed his mother . . . how he had been so full of hatred
for them that he killed all of them—the men, the women, and even all the
children. Hayden
Christensen's Anakin made me completely believe the intense pain and
hatred Anakin had felt. I saw the pain, the hate, and the reason for
what he'd done. I realized that most of us, if we had the power to
easily slaughter the ones who had tortured and murdered the person we most
loved, and we were there immediately after they had done it, we
would mow them down just as Anakin did. (I am sure--and afraid--that
I would react exactly this way if someone killed either of my sons.
I know where my younger son inherited the fire in his eyes.) I cried for the boy who was
in the no-win situation and was beyond his ability to control himself.
Without help, we will all eventually be pushed past the breaking point. Jesus
Himself emphasized how strong the dark powers (Satan's powers) are and how
we simply don't have the strength or weapons to beat them on our
own--period. But He has more
than enough power to snuff them out in an instant and to keep us in the fight . . . and on the winning side.
"In the world you will have
trouble. But take heart—I have overcome the world," Jesus
said. He's
defeated death, too . . . something Anakin desperately wanted to be able
to do so that he could save the people he loved. We are so easily
enslaved by fear, and especially by the fear of death.
"Since the children have flesh and
blood, (Jesus) too shared in their humanity so that by His death He
might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and
free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of
death." (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Even those who want to do good and who have great
talents as well as good hearts can fall terribly
(something that is vividly emphasized in "The Lord of the Rings" as well).
"For I have
the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out."
—the Apostle Paul (Romans 7:18)
"...for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
—the Apostle Paul (Romans 3:23-24)
Of course, the sooner we choose God, the better our lives
(and everyone's around ours) will be. Every time I hear the "Star
Wars" soundtrack music from when Anakin finally sees Luke without his mask
on, and then dies, it's really pretty heartwrenching thinking of the life
Anakin could have had compared to what he did have. A wife who
adored him, children he would have loved raising, freedom, and the ability
to do so much good were traded for loneliness, hate, destruction, and a
life of true slavery to the Emperor. ("Throwing away happiness with
both hands," as Rhett said to Scarlett in "Gone With the Wind.")
2007 update: This may sound silly that I'm making
such a big deal out of all this, but I've lived long enough now to see
countless examples of people doing the same thing. I'm watching
someone now who is at the end of a really good life who never appreciated
all he was given and how few bad times he experienced . . . and he's still
fighting God, complaining, and feeling sorry for himself. I've known
this person my entire life. Jesus has been his answer all along:
"I have come that
they may have life, and have it to the full."
— Jesus (John 10:10)
Anakin and Luke . . . first Skywalker/Adam, second
Skywalker/Adam. It's kind of interesting to me that my kids nicknamed the first "Star Wars" prequel "The First
Anakin" . . . By the way—I have my own
light saber now and two sons with light sabers to battle with!. Not to mention great times battling with and against
them on "Star Wars Battlefront" and "Battlefront II" video games.
Watching my younger son, now 10, doing the cha-cha as a wookie riding a
taun-taun on Hoth is MOST entertaining.
And then there's "The Lord of the Rings"—not a
Christian allegory, either, as its author, J.R.R. Tolkien, often said . .
. but, oh, what a story full of "types" of Christ! Just as the Bible
tells the stories of Old Testament people who foreshadowed Jesus (David,
Joseph, Isaac, Melchizedek, etc.) and who displayed parts of his character
(both in His Lamb of God and His future conquering-Messiah roles), "The
Lord of the Rings" gives us Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and Gandalf vividly
displaying major characteristics and roles of Christ. Sauron and the
One Ring are striking examples of the seductive power of evil (and of a
Satan character--Sauron was once a good angel-type being, although when
reading the
books you realize he was second in command to a true Lucifer-type being
named Melkor, later renamed Morgoth). But I won't discuss my other
favorite book/movie/story here—that will be the next topic to write on.
(And thank you, Ryan Clemons, one of my 121 wonderful seventh grade
students in fall 2004, for motivating me to read the LOTR books and see
the movies after I had planned to for years! You've affected and
blessed me and my family for years to come.)
Finally, as we find out how George Lucas wraps up the whole "Star Wars"
epic when "Revenge of the Sith" is released in May 2005, I'll be quite
interested to see if he continues the distinct parallels to Hitler and
Nazi Germany. The allusion to Hitler's Storm Troopers is literal and
obvious, but if you look at Senator Palpatine's rise in the
Republic (exactly what Germany was called before The Third Reich), you'll
see him taking the same steps, giving the same "innocent" explanations to
the masses for his power grabs, and even using some of the same titles
Hitler did during his rise to power. Hitler did some great things
for the Germans before World War II and won the praise and loyalty of his
people that way (sounds like Palpatine), although he had been documenting
his truly evil (and strange) ideas even before that; just read a little of
his Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), which was published in 1925--yes,
more than 10 years before Hitler started World War II.
Hitler also pretended to support Christianity but in private
ridiculed it. One of Hitler's favorite composers was Wagner;
it's quite appropriate that John Williams says he used a Wagnerian style
for much of his "Star Wars" music, especially the "bad-guy" themes such as
the classic Empire/Vader theme. And finally, if you have
access to a Hebrew/English dictionary, you may notice that there is a
Hebrew word that is pronounced (and spelled in English) remarkably like
"Jedi"--it is "Jehdai"/"Yehday" which means, believe it or not,
"Israelite" or "Judaistic." And any fan of "Star Wars" knows what is
going to happen to almost every living Jedi in "Revenge of the Sith,"
since Obi-Wan Kenobi mentions it in the "Luke" episodes and because by
then, of course, there are only three Jedi left--Obi-Wan, Yoda, and
Anakin/Vader. We just have to wait until May 19, 2005, to see what
kind of lies and manipulation Palpatine/Emperor (Satan/Hitler) uses to
talk Anakin into doing it and how closely it follows how Hitler convinced
people that exterminating the Jews was a good thing.
If Lucas continues the parallels of "Star Wars" to Hitler,
and since Hitler was quite the "type" or foreshadowing of the antichrist,
having the "Star Wars" story ingrained in our culture will not be a bad
thing if we are anywhere near the times in which the antichrist will try
to fool us . . . and when the real, one-and-only, Son of God comes back
and fixes things for good. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if God had
a hand in the "Star Wars" story and the fact that it's the one movie/story
that has spanned this many years being told and was given to us visually,
verbally, and musically in a way in which many people will see it and
remember it on many levels. What a way to help people recognize
a cool liar and a powerful deceiver masquerading as "good" (and how he
contrasts with what is truly good). There's one more reason I
wonder if God has had a hand in "Star Wars"--do a little research on how
"impossible" it was for the first "Star Wars" movie to be made technically
and then to find someone to finance it, and you'll see how that was
a miracle story itself. (The fourth, bonus DVD in the
recently-released original trilogy explains this.) People younger
than 40 will likely have no idea how unheard-of the breathtaking special
effects of "Star Wars" were in 1977. Spaceships just did not
FLY on film and actually look like they were flying! Explosions of
ships and stars were nothing impressive before "Star Wars," either.
And light-sabers? Absolutely mind-boggling! You also won't
realize that there had not been any "great story" movies made in a LONG
time by 1977, and we were hungry for it. ("The Lord of the Rings"
movie fans owe everything to "Star Wars.") |
