ODJ: gaia needs God
March 20, 2011
Understand that I alone am God. There is no other God—there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior (vv.10-11).
READ: Isaiah 43:10-13
I had mixed feelings watching the film Avatar. Like most, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Pandora. Like some, I was put off by the film’s political preachiness. The portrayal of the Na’vi people’s perfect harmony with nature and each other seemed naïve. But make no mistake, the movie gripped me from beginning to end.
What really caught my attention in the flick was Eywa—the Great Mother goddess whom the Na’vi worship. Given Avatar’s ecological themes, it isn’t surprising that Eywa is made up of “all living things,” being the “spirit” and “energy” that animates Pandora, its plants and creatures, and the Na’vi themselves.
Eywa is not new. She’s like Gaia reborn. Gaia is the Greek earth goddess with parallels in Native American and other pantheistic cultures—popular today in New Age movements. In Avatar, Gaia shimmers with beauty. Her character and power, however, is a little ambivalent:
• In Avatar, the whole Pandoran forest pulsates as Eywa tries to save a scientist named Grace. But Grace dies. Is there One who has the power to heal and resurrect?
• In Avatar, Eywa is the spirit behind both beautiful flora and Pandora’s wild dogs. Is there One without this dangerous element of evil?
• In Avatar, Eywa is said to not take sides in battles. She can “protect only the balance of life.” Is there One who comes to the aid of the oppressed?
“I, yes I, am the Lord,” our Almighty God says (Isaiah 43:11), in whom “there is no darkness” (1 John 1:5). “Is anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27), asks this God who raises the dead (Acts 2:24). “There is no other God,” says this One who fights for the powerless (Isaiah 41:10-11,17).
Gaia has become popular again—by the name Eywa. But why revere a “god” who desperately needs the one true God? —Sheridan Voysey
Why might environmental enthusiasts be drawn to Eywa/Gaia? How could you respond to their spiritual interest?
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