Category: culture

Obi-Wan, Henri Nouwen, & the Authority of Compassion

ByDrew June 23, 2022 0 Comments
Image courtesy Lucasfilm via CNet. I guess I am on a Star Wars theology kick right now. In episode 5 of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a focal point of the narrative involves regular flashbacks to a lightsaber sparring session between Obi-Wan and Anakin, set during the Star Wars prequel era. It's a treat to finally get to see Christianson as Anakin for an extended period, but these scenes are more than...

Yoda & Augustine: On Becoming Luminous Beings

ByDrew June 10, 2022 0 Comments
St. Augustine & Master Yoda. Images courtesy Wikimedia Commons. In what is inarguably the greatest film of the Star Wars franchise (Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), Luke travels to a backwater system to train with the aged Jedi Master, Yoda. In teaching Luke about the Force, he describes it thus: y ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy...

Necessary (D)evil

ByDrew June 15, 2021 0 Comments
In modern mass movements, the devil is a necessary evil. Voltaire famously observed that if the devil did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. The post-Christian West has replaced religious piety with ideological devotion, making it necessary to reinvent the devil for each successive movement. In his classic study of mass movements and the personalities drawn to them, Eric Hoffer...