1394. Could Star Wars actually be about the Early Church?

(It’s guest post Friday! Here’s one from Aaron Summers. You can check out his blog here.  You can also follow him on Twitter @aaronwsummers. If you want to write a guest post for SCL, here’s how!)

Could Star Wars actually be about the Early Church?

I was recently preaching on the 7 churches in Revelation. So many times, the people had a lot of head knowledge, but they didn’t always put that into practice. They were the Jabba the Hut of the church. They were fat and lazy and mean. Though they felt they were doing good, they were actually fueling the evil inside the church.

So I thought, “Could Star Wars actually be about the Early Church?” Could George Lucas really be a Christian trying to reach a certain demographic? If so, this is far better than the Christian movies I have seen over the years. This has reached epic proportions. Here is how I see the cast playing out:

Luke – You want him to be Jesus, but he is not. Luke is fighting for justice and freedom toward a higher good and goal. He is Paul the Apostle setting up rebel bases all over the universe.

Leia – Always talking about serving the people. Though royalty, she is obviously a deaconess like Phoebe or Lydia. She is loved by Luke and serves the cause well!

Han Solo – The brazen one who often acts and speaks before thinking. This is the Apostle Peter. He is conflicted at times between the Jews and Gentiles but settles in to a leader position.

Chewbacca – The strong silent type, Chewbacca was always with Han. Chewbacca is Silas, who traveled with Paul. They found themselves in jail, much like the trash compactor scene in the original.

Darth Vader – You might think this is Satan, but you would be wrong. He is but a minion in the grasp of the Dark Lord. Vader represents those who oppose the Church: Nero, Domitian, the Pharisees, etc.

Obi Won – He is behind the scenes encouraging Luke to “use the force” and “look within.” Here we see Paul’s amanuensis Luke. He is with Paul, while under house arrest, writing the letters and most likely encouraging Paul to “use the force” also.

Dark Lord – Satan reference here. He is controlling the evil through Darth Vader.

C3PO and R2D2 - Serving their “masters,” these two remind me a lot of Aquilla and Priscilla. They are always in the action but not the main people.

Yoda – An encourager and trainer, much like Barnabus was for Paul.

Who knew that Star Wars was actually about the church?  May the force be with you!

For more great writing from Aaron, check out his blog!