Bible Gateway interviewed Paul Kent (@pmuckley84) about his book, The Real Force: A Forty Day Devotional (Worthy Inspired, 2015).
Paul Kent: I’ve worked in Christian publishing for many years, and written a number of devotional readings. The process of applying some biblical lesson to an interesting, non-biblical topic or theme is something I’ve enjoyed for a long time. The first Star Wars film released when I was 11 years old, and I’ve seen them all many times—and often, in watching them, I’d see a character or a scene that reminded me of some Bible verse or teaching. When the buzz over the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, started last summer and fall, it just seemed like some of my interests might be coming together. I tried putting a few thoughts to paper and the book just unfolded.
Why do you think Star Wars and its themes of good and evil resonate with audiences so well?
Paul Kent: “Good and evil” is the world we live in. We see it every day and everyone—most people, at least—hope to see the “good” win. The first six Star Wars movies are really a story of redemption, starting with Anakin Skywalker’s seduction and fall to become Darth Vader, continuing through his restoration at the end of Return of the Jedi. I think that’s what most people want to see—evil defeated and people made good.
How did you find familiarity between those stories about a “galaxy far far away” and the Bible?
Paul Kent: A lot of people these days are talking about the Bible as a story. There is a big “story arc” in Scripture, starting with the Creation and then the fall of humanity, with God’s plan to redeem people through Jesus, taking us all the way to new heavens and a new earth. I think any good story—like Star Wars—will have parallels to God’s big, overall story of life. When I watch the films, I see characters and events and themes that remind me of characters and events and themes in the Bible. There are heroes who do great things, even though they’re not always perfect; very much like many Bible characters. There are villains who do terrible things, even though—like the Bible says—our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers like that “dark side” of the Force. The analogies aren’t always exact, but there are plenty of similarities to draw biblical points from.
How is your 40-day devotional book best used?
Paul Kent: We’ve certainly positioned the book as something a person could read over the course of 40 days—though I’m guessing some people may read it through in one sitting. (I know I tend to race through daily books when I find something I like.) But 40 readings is just about six weeks’ worth. And with six Star Wars films already out there, some readers might want to watch one DVD a week and read an entry each day as they build up to Episode VII.
You compare the lightsaber to the Bible as a weapon. How so?
Paul Kent: Star Wars brought the old swashbuckler movies into the space age—the lightsaber is basically a high-tech sword. In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul called the Bible “the sword of the Spirit,” and Hebrews 4 says God’s Word is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” The lightsaber can fend off an enemy’s saber blade and even blaster shots, or it can be used on offense. The Bible is that way too—it defends us against sin and temptation, and it’s also powerful for the attack; not of people, but of the attitudes and ideas that would bring us down. And there are a couple of other ways the lightsaber parallels Scripture: Obi-Wan Kenobi called the lightsaber “an elegant weapon,” and I suggest the Bible is exactly that—it’s inscribed with the very words of God. And the lightsaber can even help people to see in the dark; Psalm 119:105 says God’s Word is a “lamp for our feet and a light for our path.”
Why do you think there are so many similarities in Star Wars to popular themes and stories in the Bible?
Paul Kent: As I mention in the book, I want to be careful not to imply that the Star Wars movies are “Christian films.” They aren’t coming from a specifically biblical point of view. But, having said that, I believe all great stories will have parallels to the ultimate “story of life” that we see in the Bible. There’s an ongoing battle between good and evil. We have people in need and a great hero to fight for us. There are victories and defeats along the way, but in the end—with both the Bible and the Star Wars series—good wins. Those are the big themes, and individual scenes and characters fall within them.
Explain how The Real Force lays out a well-known quote from a Star Wars film and then compares it with a Bible Scripture.
Paul Kent: There is a quote from one of the films at the beginning of each entry, but the quotes are really more of a bonus or a tease for what’s in the entry, rather than the focus of the reading.
Some entries highlight a particular character or situation in the movies. For example, there’s an entry on the famous “trash compactor” scene of the first film. I make the point that that scene is a good metaphor for life—in a world that’s already pretty scary and dangerous, we’ll sometimes find that we’re in a really tight spot; and it stinks. The biblical parallel is to those three guys many of us learned about in Sunday school—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were in a dangerous place themselves, the “fiery furnace,” but God was with them. And God promises always to be with us, as well—even if, many times, we’ll have to go through the hard situations rather than around them.
Many of the readings in the book pull together details from throughout the six films. One entry called “In the Background” highlights several minor characters. We all know Luke and Han and Leia and Yoda, but there are dozens of other people who only get brief moments on screen. Yet these background characters fill out the storyline and really make the films all they need to be. It’s the same way in the Bible and in today’s Christian world. I mention the story of Peter in Acts 2: he preaches a sermon and 3,000 people accept Christ. We know Peter’s story, but almost nothing about those 3,000 people who responded to his message. They’re the “backgrounders,” like many of us. But it’s okay if we’re not the “stars”—we all have our own role in this production of life. God just wants us to be faithful wherever he’s put us.
In “Frozen in Carbonite,” you quote Yoda, who says, “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose,” and then you show examples of David and Jonah turning to God in hard times. How is this a good example of Philippians 4:6?
Paul Kent: That Yoda quote leads into the story of Han Solo, who’s just about to lose everything.
Han Solo is that perfect movie character: women want to be with him and men want to be him. But even a classic movie hunk can find that his luck runs out—he has a price on his head thanks to Jabba the Hutt; Jabba has enlisted the notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett to track Han down; Boba’s actually working in league with Darth Vader, who wants to use Han Solo to get at Luke Skywalker. Darth Vader, of course, is serving the evil emperor, whose desire for Luke is going to catch Han Solo in the crossfire. It seems like all the powers of the galaxy have converged on Han Solo and he ends up frozen into a block of metal called carbonite. He’s trapped—stuck in a tight spot and paralyzed by his circumstances—which is the way many of us feel sometimes, and probably the way several Bible characters felt.
David, at one point, is running for his life from King Saul who wants to kill him, and while David is away from his camp, raiders come in and kidnap his family, along with the wives and children of his fellow soldiers. If that isn’t bad enough, the soldiers are so upset they start talking about killing David themselves! That’s all in 1 Samuel 30.
Also in 1 Samuel, you have a character like Hannah. She’s a childless woman in a culture that really expects women to have children. She’s one of two wives of a man named Elkanah, and the other wife is very fertile…and very happy to remind Hannah of that. Hannah is so upset over the whole situation that she can’t even eat.
And, of course, most people know Jonah. God wants him to prophesy to Nineveh, in the violent Assyrian empire, and Jonah doesn’t want to. It would be like telling a pastor today to march into the middle of an ISIS camp to tell them they’re wrong. Jonah tries to run away, but he ends up going overboard from his ship, and landing in the belly of a giant fish.
What’s the way out of that kind of carbonite? What’s the lesson for us today? Well, David and Hannah and Jonah all prayed. When things were really hard, when the circumstances looked their worst, the Bible says all of them cried out to God. Their answers weren’t necessarily immediate—and ours may not be, either—but God always hears our prayers and has an answer for us; even if it’s not in this world. (I will note that Han Solo wasn’t un-frozen until the next movie!)
With Star Wars such a phenomenon, do you hope to inspire some fans who may not be as familiar with the Bible?
Paul Kent: Definitely. One of my goals in writing is to spur people’s interest in the Bible. And I think when we start with something that people already know and love—like the Star Wars films—and then bring up some interesting biblical parallels, it may cause people to say, “Hey, I’d like to know more about what’s in the Bible.” That’s certainly my hope.
Bio: Paul Kent has coauthored, contributed to, or authored many books, including Know Your Bible, Bible Curiosities: An Illustrated Guide to the Mysterious, Odd & Shocking Stories of Scripture, and The Complete People and Places of the Bible: A Concise Guide to Every Named Person and Location in Scripture. His goal is to spur interest in the Bible for readers of all ages and backgrounds. Paul has loved the Star Wars saga since he saw the original movie poster at age 11…though his parents didn’t let him see the film until a year later! Paul and his wife, Laurie, also a Star Wars fan, have adopted three children and live near Grand Rapids, Michigan.