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Avatar & The Uniform Code of Military Justice

Avatar & The Uniform Code of Military Justice

I have to put post this because of my military background. As Jake explains upon his arrival on Pandora, the military on Pandora are simply mercenaries defending the corporate entity that is on the planet to mine unobtainium. However, they are also there to defend Humans, whom we can correlate with Americans. They are still defending Americans, if there is an America at this time in the future. Also, the Colonel’s attitude is a carryover from his days of actual military duty. It’s clear that he has merged the two worlds in his mind; he is on Pandora not just because he loves war but because he believes in defending Americans/Humans. His comment to Jake when they square off at the end – “What’s it like to betray your own race?” – shows that he identifies Humans as a particular group to whom you should be loyal. Is this interplanetary racism on his part? Is there such a thing? Continue reading “Avatar & The Uniform Code of Military Justice”

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Avatar – post 6 – Is Idolatry Possible on Pandora?

Is Idolatry Possible on Pandora?

The corporate CEO in charge of the process of mining Pandora makes the most biblical statement about Pandoran religion when the Dr. is trying to tell him about the scientific and sacred nature of the tree system on Pandora. “You throw a stick in the air around here, and it’s gonna land on some sacred fern, for Christ’s sake.” Interesting combination of words in that sentence. And to make sure the modern, 21st century American, who worships science is brought in intellectually (the viewer is already emotionally on the side of the “real” people of Pandora and not the capitalist pigs the humans are shown as) to side with the Pandorans, the Dr. says, “I’m not talking about some kind of pagan voodoo here, I’m talking about something real, something measurable in the biology of the forest. . . . What we think we know is there is some electro-chemical communication between the roots of the trees, like the synapses between neurons. Each tree has 10 to the 4th connections to the trees around it, and there are 10 to the 12th trees on Pandora. . . . It’s more connections than the human brain. Get it? It’s a network, it’s a global network, and the Navi [Pandorans] can access it. They can upload and download data, memories at sites like the one you just destroyed.” The CEO’s response, while laughing: “What the hell have you people been smoking out there? They’re just g__ d____ trees.”

Continue reading “Avatar – post 6 – Is Idolatry Possible on Pandora?”

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Avatar – post 5

Avatar & Deuteronomy 7

Avatar is an interesting combination of The Matrix, Dances with Wolves, and Shrek. The Matrix because it involves a human electronically entering another world to live on a different plane; Dances with Wolves because it involves the conversion from Christianity (or some form of agnosticism) to a native religion of animism; and because it involves morphing into another being entirely and remaining that way. I’d like to focus on the Dances with Wolves aspect in this post.

In Dances with Wolves, the American soldier eats a form of communion with the natives by eating raw blood of a buffalo, he marries into the tribe, and he adopts their religion by learning about their view of the deity and adopting that view of life. The process in Avatar is even more explicit, for Jake begins the Continue reading “Avatar – post 5”

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The Dangers of Hermetically-Sealed, 2-Box, Church-State Jurisdiction

Church vs State Jurisdiction

The Church’s jurisdiction is broader than that of the State. The Church’s jurisdiction is limited as to what forms of punishment it may impose. For example, it is denied the use of “the sword,” which is the God-endorsed tool of the State. However, the Church can discipline any sin and assign the punishment appropriate to that sin. It must have such broad jurisdiction because God’s kingdom has total jurisdiction over all things, all men, all women, the Church, the State, the Family, the grass, the animals, the dust of the earth, the stars of the heavens; God rules over all and has given all authority to His Son, who is the Head of the Church.

Continue reading “The Dangers of Hermetically-Sealed, 2-Box, Church-State Jurisdiction”

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Modern Idolatry – Courts as Kings, as Infallible

Modern Idolatry

Federal courts are constitutional entities authorized by God to determine and apply the law to the lives and businesses of Americans, equally and without partiality. According to Romans 13 and the rest of the bible, such authorities like the federal courts are to protect the righteous and punish the wicked. This is a godly function to be highly revered and obeyed. Your interpretation of the courts’ function can easily become godless. How?

First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; you shall have no other gods before Me.” Second Commandment: Continue reading “Modern Idolatry – Courts as Kings, as Infallible”