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Jesus Weeps: Pastor Mark Driscoll Calls ‘Avatar’ The Most Satanic Film Ever
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The Movie God   |  @   |  

Mark DriscollLet me get thing clear right off the go: I have a significant religious background. For eight years or so, I went to church three times a week or more, was part of a Christian drama group that performed all over the country, and even taught Sunday School to kids ages 6-12 for a couple of years.

With that said: those days have long since past for me now, and I’ve made a long and slow transition from happily optimistic to cautiously agnostic (forgive me, I watched Woody Allen’s Manhattan the other night). Nonetheless, when I see and hear things like this story that you’re about to read, it absolutely infuriates me.

Founder and Pastor of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA, Mark Driscoll has been making quite a name for himself as of late. With his young, hip, and energetic appearance, and his grasp on what’s “cool,” he’s custom built to attract the multitudes of young people who seek guidance and answers in their life, and he and his church have been gaining popularity at an amazing rate. In this, there is absolutely nothing wrong; if these kids seek guidance and he offers them some hope, all power to him.

Continue reading on for a lot more and to watch a video clip.

Instead, as it would appear, Driscoll is after just a little more than to help people…he’s out for pure, unfiltered attention at the most maximum of levels. And what better way to bring in some great attention than to bash the box office destroying juggernaut that is James Cameron‘s Avatar?

During his sermon on Valentine’s Day, Driscoll lashed out at Avatar, calling it “the most demonic, satanic film I’ve ever seen,” and saying that its presentation of false gods and heavens and its portrayal of spiritual connections with the plants and animals of nature are all anti-God. Even worse, he tried to validate his negativity with a few layers about how they just filmed on the Spartacus set and that he and his friends love technology and the arts…just not Satan! This man chose to eviscerate Avatar — out of all the possible movies that you could extract some kind of Satanic implications from…he chose Avatar.

Look, if someone doesn’t like a movie, or doesn’t want to see a movie for whatever reason, fine, that’s everyone’s right. But to dig down so deep and to go so unbelievably out of your way just to bash on a movie this hard; to make it out to be some sort of hidden tool of the Devil to enter the souls of those who watch it — that’s the stuff that makes me sick to my stomach. Other churches and religions that actually care about the messages that they share, whether it be to one person or ten people, are made to look bad by people like this who have an addiction to the spotlight.

These people listen to the words that you speak; don’t preach this manufactured garbage to them and make up lies about someone’s hard work just to bring some kind of undiscovered enemy to your beliefs. There’s not one need for it, it does no one any good at all, and you make a complete fool of yourself to the world. If you hated the movie THAT much, ask nicely for your $10 back, go home, and for all of our sakes, shut the hell up.

What’s even better about it all: on his Twitter account, Driscoll listed off a few of his completely Jesus-friendly favorite bands, such as Interpol, Gaslight Anthem, Thrice, Arcade Fire, Kings of Leon, Jimmy Eat World, Social Distortion, The Forecast, Death Cab for Cutie, Decembrists, 16 Horsepower, and Placebo. And while this is a nice little party of talented bands to us, I think this may be a tad secular for God’s tastes.

One thing people need to realize about religion leaders is that they don’t ALL care as passionately about their beliefs as others; some are part of this incredibly messed up corporate machine that is in the religion business for what I like to call “Jesus Money.” These people make ridiculous amounts of income from their congregations and others who donate their money and purchase various other items that they produce. This is the vibe I get from Mark Driscoll and his Mars Hill Church. Someone who is involved in religion with hopes of finding visual and financial success. I may be wrong, and if I am, I do apologize, but that doesn’t change the fact that a movie was made out to be the ultimate evil for no reason whatsoever.

You can take almost any movie and claim that its characters and messages have religious symbolism and undertones, but unless that movie is The Chronicles of Narnia, your allegorical hunting party’s efforts will remain futile.

If you do support this kind of organization for some reason, well…you can head to Driscoll’s church website to give him your money, or you can head to his blog and buy his book. It even comes with a free t-shirt.

Here’s a video from Mr. Driscoll’s sermon and his hatred of Avatar. My reaction was strong, as you can tell, but you can judge for yourselves here.

Video

[Source: Seattle Pi]

38 Comments »

  1. He confuses satanic and heathen. People tend to confuse the two either because they’re stupid, or because they are manipulative.

    Belief in other things than your beliefs in is not equivalent to belief in the anti-thesis of your beliefs. There’s a term for not realizing that, and it’s called bigotry.

    Incidentally, pagan and heathen isn’t the same either. Pagan is non-abrahamic heathen; the equivalent in non-religious terms are — and I exaggerate a little on purpose — “innocent bystander” (heathen) versus “enemy” (pagan). By calling Avatar pagan rather than heathen, he exposes himself as too biased to be able to judge rationally.

    Comment by unwesen — February 27, 2010 @ 9:07 am

  2. No offense, but I think one of the last people in the world that needs protecting is James Cameron. When Avatar came out some Vatican City movie reviewer bashed it’s worship of trees as well. It’s still doing well, regardless. But personally, if a few less people drop money into James Cameron’s pocket, then so be it. I doubt he’s going to notice.

    Now, as for that list of bands… THAT I could call into question.

    Comment by D — February 27, 2010 @ 9:22 am

  3. I think Narnia was a movie the church really liked. Maybe they were looking for new targets after they buried The golden compass.

    Comment by nick — February 27, 2010 @ 9:22 am

  4. I find having to cater to words like satanism, heathenism, and paganism upsetting. It is all hogwash and offensively silly. Mark Driscoll is just another know-nothing in an endless line of charlatans who understand the inherent value of religion. Trickery.

    Comment by Joseph — February 27, 2010 @ 9:36 am

  5. Come on! Couldn’t you say the same thing about the Star Wars Series with “The Force”? All this man is trying to do is jump on a band wagon and try to make a bigger audience for himself. Besides the dudes wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt couldn’t we accuse him of Idolatry?

    Comment by Mark — February 27, 2010 @ 10:36 am

  6. Anyone else find it eerily funny that he’s wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt in that thumbnail pic?

    Comment by Tom Cheredar — February 27, 2010 @ 10:47 am

  7. Not to be a stickler ,but being a *devout* pagan,I take exception to any pagan religion ,being called heathen,as most of them revere god .

    Religions like palo mayohmbe ,santeria and voodoo ,all,revere god.
    I’m not saying they are all goodie goodie in some cases,but I *dare* say chirstianity has 10000000s of dirty little secrets.
    Most voodoo/santeria practitioners go to church on sundays,they also didn’t slaughter 10000s of american indians europeans and asians in the names of their gods.
    CONVERT `! Our gods will love you if you do ,and so will we ,but if you don’t ….wellll~~~
    And by definition,heathens include buddhists,who are probably the only ones that never went to war with an opposing sect, over religion.No one else ,christians ,jews and islamics,,you know,the non heathens,can say that,now can they .
    And yeehhh,the Japanese threw bunches of christians into boiling hot springs,and crucified 26 that were later beatified,but they did it out of fear of outsiders,and who knows ,if they hadn’t,lots more missionaries might have followed ,killing the locals all in the name of god.

    That being said,this guy is despicable.
    Doesn’t matter what movie he picked.The fact he doesn’t even get its a metaphor for us all to live in harmony with the earth ,is what proves he’s an ass.
    I described avatar to friends as Dances With Wolves meets Ferngully .I guess I missed the inverted crosses and pentagrams , animal sacrifice,blood drinking and orgies.
    But if you look closely at satanists,OK ,Anton Lavey specifically,he did the same thing with his sermons.Warped the truth,and his minions folllowed blindly .He got sex money and power doing it too.Made satan very happy I would assume.
    So this Mark Driscol guy,is,in reality,*just* like the worlds most infamous satanist.
    That’s kind of funny when you think about it.

    And his actual description of the satanic nature of the movie,describes buddhism if I am not mistaken…so I guess buddhists are satanic too.
    Do they know they’re satanic ?

    Bah !
    XXOO
    Missy

    Comment by Missy — February 27, 2010 @ 11:49 am

  8. And yeh,the Mickey Mouse shirt is disturbing .

    Xxoo
    Missy

    Comment by Missy — February 27, 2010 @ 11:53 am

  9. The pope didn’t like avatar either for its nature worship, I found avatar to be utter crap for its weak story, I had the 2-d experience so I wasn’t dazzled by 3-d and could see it for the waste it really is.

    Comment by korollocke — February 27, 2010 @ 11:59 am

  10. see the thing is that mark driscoll pastors a christian church, and he actually tends to follow the doctrine set forth in scripture, which is something 80% of churches today lack. If he wasn’t criticizing things of this world such as popular movies he wouldn’t be doing his duty as a pastor. Whether you think people are just coming there for advice, for some kind of guidance or just for emotional security, the reality is that many are there to hear what they believe to be truth and the person telling them that should be someone who can dig through popular culture with a biblical filter. Of course he’s not going to be completely right all the time, but if you compare the story in avatar to scripture its pretty off, obviously james cameron wasn’t trying to create a biblically accurate story but many “Christians” today get swept away too easily by movies like this, thats Mark’s motivation behind what he said.

    and for the record…he listed thrice in his favorite bands, they’re a Christian band. If you don’t think so, go read lyrics to ‘the great exchange’, ‘beggars’, or ‘the arsonist’ just to name a few.

    Comment by oxidized — February 27, 2010 @ 2:47 pm

  11. Does anyone find it ironic that the pastor is wearing a Disney t-shirt? I mean really, Disney imported Nazi scientist Wernher von Braun for their World of Tomorrow program – known for his human experiments. What would Jesus do?

    Besides, Nature worship predates Christianity, just ask any native american. Putz.

    Comment by Devon — February 27, 2010 @ 3:48 pm

  12. driscoll is probably right about the paganism, but i don’t think it’s as big a deal as he’s making it, even for christians. it’s another planet, a different species, and a work of fiction. it’s not real. they’re like 9 feet tall blue beings.

    to me, it’s much more obvious and blatent that the film has a heavy-handed left-wing tone, like cameron wrote it with the help of obama. although i’m neither a republican or a dem, it didn’t bother me that much. just a fun, great-looking, epic movie with a left-wing slant. still fun

    Comment by mike — February 27, 2010 @ 4:04 pm

  13. The word ‘pagan’ means ‘country dweller’ and is roughly equivalent to the word ‘hick’.

    As someone who was raised in that poisonous garbage, but who now asks many questions that the true believers really don’t like to answer, I see these people as self-serving, money grubbing, power-mongering hypocrites who are out to line their own pockets.

    Considering both its teachings and its history, anyone who thinks the bible is a book of good moral doctrine has obviously never read it. :-)

    Comment by Cal — February 27, 2010 @ 4:13 pm

  14. It blows my mind that in the 21st century people like this guy still exist. It blows my mind even further that people listen to him, give him money, and clap.

    Oh yeah, and he seems pretty proud to have been on the set of Spartacus, the most violent show on TV that (and that has soft core porn) where the characters believe in not his God but many Gods. Go figure.

    Perhaps if Spartacus starts to make a lot of money then he’ll shift his attention. Tithes anyones?

    Comment by Darren Albert — February 27, 2010 @ 9:44 pm

  15. Put that pastor out to pasture. Avatar was great. And if I’m going to hell for the deadly sin of lust, than so be it. I’ll take sexy blue cat-people in skimpy loincloths and body paint over petty religious fanaticism any day of the week.

    Comment by Paola — February 27, 2010 @ 10:05 pm

  16. Religions are so fragile that they must attack whenever they feel an encroachment.

    I look forward to the day that civilization progresses and matures to the level that these ancient, barbaric, ridiculous rituals are finally put behind us.

    They’re just goddamn movies, for christ’s sake!

    Comment by Bob — February 28, 2010 @ 12:45 am

  17. Pretty spot on really, Mark Driscoll that is.
    We are so in love with our entertainment – from Lady Gaga to Avatar – that sadly it isn’t “just movies” or “just music” – it’s a worldview and a way of life.
    Sadly I think everyone missed his main point: the world’s system (ie; sin) is consume more, abuse others, everyone for themselves.
    To challenge that – as the message of the Gospel does – is offensive to those who don’t accept it (2 Cor 2), so no surprises at some comments here.
    Avatar may have stunning visuals and a “positive” message, but on the whole it was more Hollywood mind-numbing entertainment, and it’s feel-good nature-worshipping script offers nothing of real value what-so-ever. And lines James Cameron’s pockets some more.

    Comment by Magnus — February 28, 2010 @ 6:47 am

  18. And I think the Spartacus reference was regarding his church Easter production…just if anyone missed that??
    Sorry that you spent 8 years in Churches and missed God dude, just be reassured that not all pastors are after fame or “Jesus Money”.

    Comment by Magnus — February 28, 2010 @ 6:53 am

  19. I used to go this church. It’s a creepy cult-y type deal. He seems to have gotten even more wealthy as of late. I hate this guy.

    Comment by Nerdista — February 28, 2010 @ 3:53 pm

  20. Magnus-

    Wouldn’t you agree that film as a medium exists to depict different perspectives, and that the Christian view isn’t the ‘correct’ view? The world does not run on strict law, and we can only do the best we can. Some people don’t agree that the gospels have much value. Especially the rape, torture, and meaningless killing parts of the gospels.

    Comment by Joseph — March 1, 2010 @ 9:50 am

  21. Joseph, i know you meant that for Magnus but, the stories about rape, torture and killing you’re talking about aren’t found in the gospels, they are in the old testament. Most of those events that seem like meaningless killing are described as being punishment from God to a group of people. The other thing that biblical Christians ‘assume’ is that God is good and doesn’t allow anything to go on outside of His plan or purpose, though it may seem bad to us.

    I think one thing we can all agree on is that people are generally not ‘good’, we lie, cheat, steal, and yeah many of us are kind or nice but were definitely nowhere near 100% good people. Film as a medium exists to depict whatever perspective the director/producer meant it to, but everyone who views it views from their own perspective. Hence why Mark Driscoll was using his Christian perspective, thats only normal. If you’re a conservative, liberal, buddhist, etc any and each movie is going to have a different meaning to you and pass through a different filter, and we tend to htink our own view is correct. You can argue who’s right and wrong all you want but people tend to think that truth is relative, I believe there is one truth but many accept whatever comes at them. Mark believes in one truth also, and threw his opinion out there.

    Comment by oxidized — March 1, 2010 @ 3:30 pm

  22. Lemme put it this way: Like it or not, Jesus IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH, & THE LIFE! NO ONE comes to the Father except by Him(Meaning HE IS the only way into Heaven, period! And I wasn’t the one who originally said that: He said so Himself! Got a problem with that?!)! To put it another way, YOU WILL stand before Him & give an account for EVERY SINGLE THING you’ve done in this life on Judgement Day(Whether you like it or not!)! He IS coming back VERY SOON (Though only The Father knows when) in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who were given the chance to repent for their sins & turn to Him for forgiveness, but refused His offer through what He did for them on the cross. So you say you hate Christians like Mark Driscoll & myself? Jesus warned us Christians not to be surprised of this because, to quote Him, “The world hated Me first!”. And let me warn you JUST HOW HORRIBLE Hell really is: It’s dark down there: So dark, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face! And all the while you’re lit on fire from head to foot, being eaten by worms from the inside out, & tormented & tortured by demons who just won’t leave you alone! The worst part is that, all the while, you keep on living, unable to die or end the torment, no matter how bad you want to! How do I know? ‘Cause I listened to a woman who actually went there with Jesus some 34 years ago in 1976 for 30 nights in a row, 3 hours each night; her name is Mary K. Baxter & the book/message she wrote & preaches is called “A Divine Revelation Of Hell”. I invite you to Google her name &, on the Website that comes up, actually give a listen to the mp3 of the book/her testimony, ’cause some of you are actually headed there right now (Those that don’t know Jesus/Aren’t born-again!)! Why must you be born again in order to get to Heaven, you say? Because, in John 3:3, Jesus told Nicodemus that, “Unless a person is born again of water & of the Spirit, they shall never enter the Kingdom Of God.”. And, even then, even though Salvation is based primarily on Faith & not works, according to Mary K. Baxter & another guy who actually spent 23 minutes in Hell, Bill Weisse, you still need to be careful how you live your life as a born-again Believer, follow Jesus at all times, share your faith, & generally do your best to stay away from sin at all times as well. Yes, if make a mistake & sin, Jesus is always faithful to forgive, but that IN NO WAY gives you a license to deliberately go out & sin all you want! Constantly doing so over & over again has the most dire consequences of all: That being ending you up in Hell with all of the unsaved people & other Christians who failed to obey their calling. Jesus told me that anyone who believes otherwise(i.e. “Once saved, always saved.”) needs to go back & read in Revelations where He says, “And I’ll not blot out that person’s name in The Lamb’s Book of Life.”(Revelation 3:5)(Meaning that Jesus actually has an eraser on the other end of his pencil, & if you don’t fulfill your duties as a Christian, share your faith constantly, live righteously as a Christian doing what you’re ‘sposed to & obeying God, you can expect nothing less than Eternity in Hell with all those I listed above. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Isn’t God ‘sposed to be a Loving God?” Yes, He is! But He’s also a God of Justice & Wrath, unable to stand sin in any form! You have every right to fear Him, because He alone has the power to cast your soul into Hell at the point of death! Why? Because He, Jesus, holds to keys to Hell & the grave! So if you’re a Christian who’s involved in idolatry, fornication, adultery, gossiping, etc., I urge you, run, yes, RUN(!!!) away from these sins as fast as you can! Ask God to deliver you from all of this &, like I said, being the always faithful God that He is, He will. If you’re involved in online pornography, seek help from Christ FIRST, Christian counseling second, & thirdly, get the SafeEyes filtering software/service from http://www.xxxchurch.com(For those of you who’re not familiar with this Website, it’s a Christian Website which is actually Anti-Porn, &, along with the Lord Himself, helps people to get out of/overcome their sexual/pornographic addiction(s). Yes, God DID create sex, but He created it as a beautiful thing to be shared by one man & one woman within the Holy bonds of matrimony. THAT, my friends, was His original plan for it! Not homosexuality or any other type of illicit sexual behavior spoken out against in His Holy Word, The Bible. Got that?!). I guess you could say that, when society’s main message is “Anything goes”, it’s us born-again believers (i.e. Christ’s Ambassadors) who’re there to draw a line in the sand, stand in the way & say, “NO YOU DON’T!!!”. It’s like Mark Driscoll says, “We love people & things like technology (Nothing wrong with that!), but we hate Satan & his demons as well as every evil thing that him & his followers–both humans & demons alike–do that our Holy God refers to in his Word as being evil.” That’s why both He & the rest of the world want to get ridda both Jesus (Heck! He already TRIED that one at the cross & failed miserably when Jesus not only showed up on his doorstep, but wrestled the keys to death & Hell away from Him & then arose from the grave 3 days later!) & us: ‘Cause we stand in his/their/evil’s way! So, in closing, to those of you out there in the world who hate Jesus & those of us born-again believers who follow Him, I fully understand your hatred! Heck! I used to be one of you! But thankfully, I now love Jesus with all my heart, want to serve Him as best I can, tell others about Him/get people saved, & look forward to spending Eternity in Heaven with Him, with the promise of living & reigning with Him in His Glorious Kingdom to come that He’s going to set up when he comes back! Bottom line: The devil stinks & JESUS IS AWESOME!!! AMEN!!! ‘Nuff said! Laters!

    Sincerely,

    Van Alexander

    Birmingham, Alabama

    Comment by cyberman — March 4, 2010 @ 9:01 pm

  23. Avatar is very “non-abrahamic” and that infuriates some people. In our abrahamic tradition, we want God to be on our side, to scatter our enemies around. From the Eastern / mystical / pagan point of view, a desire to “scatter our enemies around” is something opposite to a truly religious sentiment. From the Eastern point of view, the world is one. So Mr. Driscoll’s reaction is just snother manifestation of collision of Eastern and Western points of view on what God is.

    Comment by Zazh — March 10, 2010 @ 2:19 pm

  24. WOW! this guy is just all kinds of crazy. If you go to a movie and see what he sees then I suggest you don’t see any more movies, don’t read anymore books or watch anymore tv. If you look at things like avatar as something more than just a story then you have issues that need addressing. Because that is all it is, a story. Nothing else. You are in control of your own lives, you choose what you want to believe in, if you have even half a brain then you won’t let a story made up by some guy change that. If you allow a story to do that then you obviosly have fairly shallow beliefs to begin with.

    Comment by Ttandc — March 16, 2010 @ 10:08 am

  25. Everything is just a story. Bible is just a story, some say. Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is just a story (as it turned out). Your beliefs being influenced by them has nothing to do with your intelligence, but mostly with your basic psychology. Each time you hear a “story” like that your perception does change, although the change may be small. Those making these stories up are perfectly aware of that.

    Avatar is just a story, but a great one, in my opinion.

    Comment by Zazh — March 16, 2010 @ 11:21 am

  26. Avatar is a “good” story… like the world is “good”. We make up and immerse ourselves in these “good” things to take our minds off of how much things really suck. I’ve seen Avatar and I was astounded at the visual appeal and its creativeness. The spiritual stuff was somewhat unnerving and reading/watching this blog and comments I now understand why.

    Ultimately, the reason why Mark hates Avatar is because he hates the devil and the devil’s deception in our lives, specifically now, through that movie. He says, “Satan wants you to emotionally connect with the lie.” Which is true. It’s how the devil works and that why you, The Movie God, reacted so strongly (angrily) to his sermon. It challenges you because you connected emotionally with Avatar. You can’t deny that because you are angry and you can’t and never will be agnostic because you believe in a god… yourself.

    We are all sinners and destined for a life of eternal damnation. God sent Jesus Christ to forgive us for our sin and have the chance to live in eternal life. For those of you who are searching for truth, who want to live, don’t look for it in the world… you have to look for it in someOne that exists outside humanity’s limited ability to problem solve. Jesus Christ. He is our hope and the answer. I pray, Mr. The Movie God, that one day you will return to your faith. You WILL be forgiven if you repent.

    Peace, friends.

    Comment by Mo — March 21, 2010 @ 6:17 pm

  27. Err…………………………

    Gotta pick your Team…. and there are consequences either way.

    Team A(Jesus Team): Avatar not so kewl….
    Team B(Satans Team): Avatar so kewl….

    See Easy!!!

    As for those who think they are on Team A and missed spiritual issues by focusing on the awesome(and it was incredible) production… your probably on Team B….

    Comment by Sunjeev — March 24, 2010 @ 12:35 am

  28. I’m pagan and this guy has no idea whatsoever what paganism is. Yes there ARE pagan themes in Avatar and I thouroughly appreciate that. If you don’t like it don’t watch it. But how dare he use them term “witch”! That is a term that the fucking church made up to persecute and MURDER millions of pagans simply to gain power. Besides, he leads a god-damn cult so who’s he to be critizing people. What a fucking piece of shit.

    Comment by Charissa — April 12, 2010 @ 2:19 pm

  29. Driscoll is spot on.

    Satan doesn’t have horns and pitch fork, who only cameos in Blair Witch movies.

    Thats absurd, he’s a deceiver and shows up in ways you least expect. Most people commenting i see have already taken the bait.

    Comment by joel — April 19, 2010 @ 3:09 am

  30. Driscoll is the Christian equivolent of Islam’s bin Laden. He is utter, pure evil to the core. His citizenship should removed and he should imprisioned for threatening women, children, and promoting hatred and violence to anyone with the brains to disagree with him.
    How can this country allow such people to promote such complete backwards, savage, doctrine?
    Glad I have an intellect (which Christians hate) and live in the 21st century (something else Christians hate)

    Comment by Leah — April 22, 2010 @ 8:40 pm

  31. What bothers me as a Christian is why Driscoll gets so excited about the pagan aspects of Avatar and misses the message the Bible says he is supposed to bring.

    The whole way through the movie I was reminded of the situation in West Papua, where western interests focus on the world’s largest gold and copper mines, paying the corrupt Indonesian military to defend the mines against the “savages” around them. The indigenous Papuans object to the mines because they are pushed off their land without any say, their rivers are poisoned and their lives are ruined. Roughly 100,000 West Papuans have been killed by the Indonesian military since the mid 1960’s, and both the Australian and US governments tidy up the details to protect their mining interests. Indonesia has been working to have the West Papuans and their spears declared as terrorists so that it becomes our moral duty to wipe them out.

    I long for the day that people like Mark Driscoll get their heads enough into the Bible to see that God says repeatedly throughout it how he “hates” us doing church if there is injustice, if the weak are victimised and that the land “mourns to him” when no one takes it to heart.

    Avatar is a bold attempt to expose the way we are able to make evil look good when we worship money and comfort. The fact that the story was presented with a “pagan” edge to it is because the people like Driscoll who should have been carrying out their duty to tell the story have turned their backs on their prophetic role. What is evil and satanic is the fact that Avatar is not too far off target with its warnings about injustice and environmental cruelty, and that too much of the western church is too caught up in the materialism to see it.

    Comment by phil — April 29, 2010 @ 11:25 pm

  32. Sorry you don’t get it…

    Comment by Lani — August 16, 2010 @ 12:27 pm

  33. To Van Alexander:

    Remember – paragraphs are our friends.

    Comment by Paul — September 3, 2010 @ 4:11 pm

  34. -The Movie God-

    I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that as this article was authored, it was not really from an objective view. To call it pagan is a big statement, but you cant deny that there are extremely potent Hindu undertones in the film.
    The ethos of the entire film is about nature, and humankind’s interconnectivity with it.

    I also don’t think that opening with ‘I’ve taught Sunday school’ qualify’s you to open an attack upon theology, as if you have any empathy with Driscoll. Above all, I simply think you loved the film, and his opinion on it has hit a raw nerve.

    ultimately in light of saying that if he didn’t like it, simply return it rather than make comments… surely you could have listened to his sermon and thought “what tripe, I’m not going to give any time to this”, but instead you really doing the same with a counter argument?

    Comment by Julian — October 5, 2010 @ 11:23 am

  35. My brain hurts just reading some of these comments. Most of you make absurd statements / assumptions about Mark Driscoll, while trying to make your own point about him doing that with Avatar.

    In my own opinion, I think most of the people who have commented on this video, clearly have not listend to anything from Mark Driscoll except for this 4 minute video excerpt (anyone who has listened to Mark, knows that he doesn’t just talk for 4 minutes – try finding what this clip is an excerpt from – chances are, it is part of a much larger sermon, and this was only a single point). Having listened to several of Mark’s sermons (and discussed with others who have as well), while comparing his teaching with what is found in scripture, I see Mark Driscoll as a passionate man, who is concerned about others.

    Love of money…I think not. The proceeds from his book sales don’t even go to him, they go to his church.

    ” His citizenship should removed and he should imprisioned for threatening women, children, and promoting hatred and violence to anyone with the brains to disagree with him.” – Wow, that is quite a statement…Have you even listened to Mark’s sermon on “Marriage and Men”

    I have my own personal convictions in regards to Mark’s style of teaching and Mars Hill church in general, that would keep me from attending his church with my family, but overall, I see Mark as a man who is doing his best to serve the one true God.

    Comment by Christian — December 7, 2010 @ 12:04 pm

  36. “This is the vibe I get from Mark Driscoll and his Mars Hill Church. Someone who is involved in religion with hopes of finding visual and financial success. I may be wrong, and if I am, I do apologize…”

    Mark isn’t in it for the money, he’s talked time and again about how profits from his book sales go directly to Mars Hill’s funds (funding which takes care of simple needs like utilities and paying the salaries of staff members who need to feed their families), and not to his own pockets.
    Also, all the content on the church’s website is absolutely free. Driscoll has said many times that this is because you can’t put a price tag on the Gospel.

    As to the heart of this article, I would agree that there are many movies that you could say are more satanic and demonic than Avatar (if one can measure these things), but I would raise to points. First, Mark was most likely engaging in hyperbole to drive a point home; I’m willing to bet that he’d be the first to say that there are movies that could be classified as being more intensely demonic. Secondly, all hyperbole and exaggeration aside, he is making a valid point in stating that Avatar preaches elements of pantheism and new age paganism which are both antithetical to what God has preached about the difference between Himself and what He has created. This view of God as an impotent force that is one-and-the-same with and inseparable from all of creation is demonic in origin. So, whether or not Mark overstated his evaluation of the demonic message in Avatar compared to other films, the point still stands that the spiritual concepts in Avatar are in opposition to biblical truth about who God is.

    Comment by Nathaniel White — February 6, 2011 @ 5:36 am

  37. So, he gives money to Mars Hill, to staff and utilities? He has a church congregation of 7600, if most tithe 10 percent, that is a significant sum. And he’s donating the revenue from his books too? And why is it we need any other book besides the bible? I think if God, Christ and the Holy Spirit thought something needed to be added, explained or embellished, they would have done so. How much does he give away to the poor or feeding the hungry? All of it? His sermons are inflammatory and sensational, and he is profiting off Christ. That is not what Christ asked his disciples to do. He asked them to go in twos and tell the good news. He told them not to take any possessions with them.

    Comment by Discernment — April 27, 2011 @ 10:31 pm

  38. Notice upfront: Very few people who claim to be Christian have a clue, a microscopic concept, of who is the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to make this known upfront. Study the New Testament and learn the nature, actions, inactions and directives of Jesus Christ, and then know this: All actual Christians (a term I no longer even use: I use the term Christ-centric instead) are almost exactly like the Lord Jesus Christ, period. They/we, live like Him, think like Him and navigate this life, just like Him: That defines discipleship. We live a simple life; we are Amish in that sense. Anyone can ID self as anything, and yet, all with wisdom understands that truth is based upon empirical evidence, and nothing more. With very rare exception, all “Capitalist Christians” are cults and mammon servants, and because they believe they are already saved, they are the doomed among the lost.

    This is a movie; it is fiction. The message is very Godly. We have further attenuated (as a species) into Godless war-mongers and militants who believe that violence is the answer to everything. We look upon Gods planet as a commodity that we have the right to rape and plunder, control and exploit. This movie and others, point to the madness – the insanity – which scripture actually predicts. It also predicts that billions will claim to be Christians, but they are frauds and hypocrites. That too, has happened. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” is yet another fictional example along this thinking. Without a radical internal transformation, humans are doomed, and no amount of religion will alter that outcome. However, God will!

    Professional Religionists are Godless-Loveless-Faithless: I call them the GLF’s. They, like multitudes before them, use fear, religion, tradition and ritual to suck mammon resources from the simpleton masses. These people are as emotionally retarded, ego damaged and acceptance-dependent, as any other non-transformed person. They just do weekend church for a tithe and speak Christianeze. Otherwise they are as Godless as any dedicated atheist. If a person does not have the intellectual capacity to enjoy a fictional story, no matter the similarities to any other religion, they expose their faithlessness. They feel challenged, as if any and all fiction must not include anything that violates their narrow-minded and ethnocentric view of the world.

    Comment by PaulAndrewAnderson — May 16, 2011 @ 12:09 am

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