The Gospel According to "Star Wars": Faith, Hope and the Force

The Gospel according to Star Wars, Faith, Hope and the Force will strike its readers differently depending on their contexts, interests and expertise. As a contextual theologian, it strikes me as an adequate attempt to bridge, in a narrow sense, the unwarranted gap between academic Christian theology and the popular Western cultures. And in a broad sense, the book provides helpful insights that can stimulate Western Christians to sensibly and meaningfully interact with the popular cultures of their societies, which undoubtedly incorporate `non-Christian cultures'.

I find the Gospel according to Star Wars to be thoroughly engaging. It is a `strategic' text that can help Western Christian theologians and the laity to rethink their understandings of the "range of God's speaking" and the "partiality" that has greatly informed the ways many Christians have presented Christianity' notions of truth (p.xix). It is impossible for Christians to articulate their beliefs and to examine the import of the beliefs for themselves and for the people of other religious confessions in isolation from the `wider culture' in which the live.
There is no doubt that the greatest task that is confronting contemporary Western Christianity is that of undoing its `discriminatory' attitude towards the people of `other faiths', `other cultures' and other religions'. The corollary of this attitude of some Christians is sadly the remaking of the good news (Gospel) of Christian message into a `bad news' for the people of other religious convictions and cultures. If Western Christians are to remain relevant to their multi-cultural communities, and to intelligently and meaningfully communicate their worldviews or messages in their contexts, they must stop ignoring the non-Christian worldviews that continue to shape their cultures. In The Gospel according to Star Wars, John McDowell, has given an example of how Christians can achieve these great tasks. He has unearthed and examined (from a Christian theological vantage point) some of the rich theological issues that are embedded in the six movies that form the Star Wars series.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I will recommend it for Christians (even those who do not really like science-fiction movies) who are interested in rethinking their confessions amidst their cultural contexts and worldviews. I will also recommend it for non-Christians who are interested in knowing some of the basic teachings of Christianity about God and the import of Jesus Christ and how these teaching relate to the popular cultures of the West.
By Victor I. Ezigbo
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

A Star of a book (2/2 people found this helpful)

There will be many who are suspicious of an attempt to read the Star Wars saga theologically, both those who have no interest in theology and those who have no interest in Star Wars (or at least no positive one). This book has not attempted to seek to make Christian connections where there are none. Instead it has provided a judicious, intelligent and very fair reading of the saga on its own terms while nonetheless asking important questions about its approach to the good life. In that respect it does not at all 'Christianise' the saga, and even on occasions uses the movies to ask critical questions of the understanding of Christianity that many have. Moreover, it makes ample use of comments offered by George Lucas himself in order for these two things to work. This has to be the most eye-opening and insightful approach to Star Wars I've yet come across. A joy to read. Highly recommended for all Star Wars fans, and even for all Christians who have watched these films.

The Gospel According to "Star Wars": Faith, Hope and the Force

John C. McDowell

Reader Reviews:

Re-reading some Christian teachings in the light of Western popular culture (2/2 people found this helpful)

A Star of a book (2/2 people found this helpful)

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