Anakin Skywalker as "Jesus"

Then they'd become a cult, not a religion......'red

 

not overly sure what sets cult apart from religion...

 

What if, and this is a twisted theory, but what if the Sith is seen as Christianity. think it through a second and it kinda can be made to fit. TPM and AOTC already have many parallels, and the events of ROTS, Anakin is sacrificed by the Jedi perse, and then rises to sit at the Right hand of God (Palpy). If Lucas has a really twisted view of Christianity, it almost works.

 

not bad, not bad at all.

and considering christianity had a really bad rep back then. almost... unnatural.

the outlook of the religion itself, the sith religion, would more point towards satanism, though, with its perspective on enhancing the self rather than transcendence into a greater structure. if that makes any sense.

 

I think there are some parallels, but I can't accept that a character that portrayed Jesus was evil. So I am disregarding this.

 

Hmm...maybe from Anakin's viewpoint, Obi-Wan is a 'Judas' character. Someone he loved who betrayed him. Ah, maybe. But this is a too obvious parallel, I used to believe that Anakin was a sort of psuedo-Jesus character because of the whole 'birth' thing. But now, I don't really see it as blaspheming...I just take it as a new dimension of his overall tragic character...

'He had no father...'

This just emphasises Anakin's sorrow...his loved ones leaving. His mother, father, best friend, wife, fellow Jedi. The only one who remained constant to him was his son. I guess a lot like the disciples 'betrayal' in the garden and then when Jesus appeared to them- their redemption.

....

Hmmm.

 

from http://www.dictionary.com -

"cult ( P ) Pronunciation Key (klt)
n.

A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
The followers of such a religion or sect.
A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.

Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
The object of such devotion.
An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest."



The latter part of this interpretation of the word 'cult' mentions "veneration for a person,principle, or thing"

Palpatine?

and

"A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader."

Again,Palpatine?


Our mainstream religions preach veneration of a deity or God that is not actually human nor is physical in it's existence but rather meta-physical or supernatural in it's abilites/existence and has some form of salvation or redemption offering nature in it's being worshipped or observed.

Course the force allows certain physical beings i.e. humans and alien alike to possess god-like powers and abilities.(Qui-Gon,Yoda,Obi-Wan and Anakin become force spirits or Ghosts which is certainly a supernatural occurance via the force)

Supending belief on this and given that the Star Wars Universe is well outside the realms of our own I guess the Sith(or the Jedi)could be viewed a cult and maybe a religion.

Tarkin referred to what Vader practised as a religion,though he wasn't necessarily real clued up on what exactly Palpatine and Vader did practice or really were.

The Jedi have a prophecy concerning a 'Chosen One' and the then Dark Lord of the Sith(Palps) certainly has some form of belief in it as he sets out to corrupt the one who he perceives to be that Chosen One for the benefit of the his own(Sith)agenda.

Palpatine does of course practice and lead the Sith religion or sect but cannot actually offer any salvation from anything as Anakin learns after he loses Padme.

Anakin confirms for himself in ROTJ that salvation was his to offer to the universe all along and that he was played royally.

Anakin does reflect somewhat a saviour figure but IMO in a way that is not close enough to the Biblical Jesus.

Close parallels:

Jesus(immaculate conception and subsequent life up until carrying out his purpose) - sent to die to pay the ransom of mans' sins and redeem mankind back to an approved relationship with Almighty God.

Anakin(either conceived by the will of the Force or via some Sith manipulating midi-chlorians for the power to create Anakins'life)and then going through his life and trials until he(via his death) brings the universe back into balance with the force.

There are other similiar stories in other religions of saviours and trials for redemption so GL borrows bit and pieces and make his own tale which most of us love to probe into and dissect for entertainment and reflection.

edit - typos

 

thank you for providing that!

the thing is, though, cult only seems to go against the established religions, i'm really not sure how anyone can come up with a patently *false* religion. they are all just mind games, no?

 

You're welcome...

Your point about all religions being some form of mind-games may draw some strong responses.

However,I will say that basing on a agnostic(or purely pragmatic)view that proof is requested of a religion being *true* I cannot think of any way for any religion to claim such 100% without doing the below:

Most mainstream religions claim that they have the true religion and/or way to believe interspersing faith,hope,dogma and certain historical accounts as it's tenets for why their claims are right.

The force being a power in the SW universe that is undeniable would mean that agnostics would only need ask a Sith or a Jedi for some proof of the presence of the force and(if suitably obliged)would be hard pressed to question it

e.g. Captain Piett saw Admiral Ozzel fall under Vaders force power,I doubt he questioned if some higher power was at work there.

From earlier www.dictionary.com description for the word cult:"Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing."

As I see it the sect or cult part of Palpatine in his beliefs as a Sith were where he really believed in his omnipotence as a force-user.

Sith worship themselves and their own power,nothing else.

Reflected in Palpatines' comments like: "Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design" in ROTJ show his ultimate arrogance at being able to so totally influence fate and the galaxy around him.

The subsequent events proving his Sith beliefs were predicated on a falsehood.

The Jedi too wielded their force-powers to influence galactic affairs.

Though generally more circumspect in that use and how future events would play out,being more willing to submit to the will of the force.

Ironically,Palpatine talks about embracing a broader view of the force than the(so-called)narrow-minded and dogmatic view the Jedi took yet it was ultimately his narrowmindedness leading to his inability to recognise the force dictating how matters would play out.

The Jedi recognised the higher "authority" of the force to control life and the universe,thus IMO making it more like a mainstream religion of our world.

The Sith being diametrically opposed to this and honoring only themselves and attributing all powers the force offers to their own glory and benefit more making them obsessive and extremist like a cult.

my apologies for drifting off-topic here

 

i hear ya. not worried about a backlash of the religious.

at any rate, let's get to the religion things you pointed out.

the force exists. we take that as a given. both sides, sith and jedi revere the force as the mother of all life etc. fair enough. wouldn't that mean that they are both legitimate?

because who gets to decide which the proper way for reverence si? wouldn't the force get the last say and see to it?

and can we perhaps assume that through the elimination (heresy here) of both sith and jedi it does just that?

i agree on palps becoming arrogant. totally. but that doesn't have much to do with his religion, does it? the jedi are just as arrogant when it comes to their way of getting everything right.

see, i'm not sure how you deduce that just because the jedi always blabber on about how great they are and how much the force means, the sith don't *feel* the same about it.

maybe that's a leap, i don't know, but i'm not sure how everyone makes out the sith are the ones exploiting when the force tolerates them just as well.

personally i think the force has a problem with being split in two.

 

I can see some parallels in the life of Anakin, and Jesus. GL took a lot of his ideas from myths, legends, other movie ECT. I think it is very probable that he got some inspiration from the bible. I don?t think Anakin is meant to literally depict Jesus, but could be loosely based on him. I do like the thought in the start post about him going to hell for 3 days before he resurrected(hence ANH, ESB, ROTJ three days three movies). I have picked up on the Jesus thing before with the Virgin birth. Other Parallels I have heard before are the 12 apostles and the 12 members of the Jedi Council. The Apostles were often skeptical of Jesus, (Doubting Thomas, and the Apostles abandon him at the time of death.) I could see Obi-Wan being either a Peter figure or John. Peter was the head of the Church and First Pope, and John was the only Apostle who didn?t abandon Jesus and his death. Palpitine could also be seen as a Devil/Satin Type Figure. Jesus destroys evil so does Anakin (Palpitine) before his redemption.

Like I said I don?t think the Saga is a sci-fi version of the story of Jesus but I can see some parallels and some aspects could be loosely based off of the Bible and Jesus Story. O and plus an interesting fact I once saw Pernilla August(Shmi Skywalker) play in a TV movie called Mary of Mother of Jesus and Yes she did play Mary. What are the chances someone gets to play the role of two different virgin mothers. I thought is was interesting and related to the topic.

 

I'm actually very shocked that there are apparently folks in this topic that didn't hear the firestorm about the very (what most thought to be) obvious connection between Anakin's "creation" and the story of Jesus.

This was a huge crapstorm when Episode I came out, with groups of people on different sides of the issue. There were:

1. The religious hardcores that were offended by the reference.
2. The so-called "film hardcores" that were offended by the reference.
3. Those that liked the idea and thought it was a fitting reference.
4. Those that really didn't care and just wanted to watch the movies for the movies sake (which would have been my daughter, who was 5 at that time).

I fell into the third group - I have never been able to understand why some people think that a virgin birth is alone the property of the bible. It's certainly another example of a borrowed concept that was incorporated into the Christian faith from other religions - to name a few that far predate the bible - Pharaoh Amenkept (a real person - about 2,000 years prior to the birth of Christianity), Horus, Hercules, Dionysos, Jove, Wealth, and Krishna (to name mythological characters). With the then-indication that Anakin was simply born "a child of the Force" - I found it to be pretty fitting and interesting.

The real question is that now, as it has been lain before us to make our own decisions (as it stands now) as to whether or not accept that Anakin was created by Sith manipulations of the Force. If so, does it really nullify the immaculate conception theory? Surely, there was no physical intercourse - but is it "cheating" to call his birth divine (for lack of a better word)?

 

As was mentioned in the above post, the divine conception was used by humans as a mythological motif long before Jesus the Christ was born.

The problem lies in the fact that many people don't understand that Star Wars is not really sci-fi but is a mythological piece or fairy tale, so you have all this misunderstanding of the divine conception being used in what many people perceive as a sci-fi movie.

Anakin was born of divine will. So when Anakin fell to the dark side wouldn't that too be divine will, since another mythological motif is divine will being conveyed through dreams and visions.

And of course one of my favorite mythological motifs is that the hero or savior has to suffer for his people. Anakin's turn to Darth Vader is the suffering he must endure for his people, so the society that has fallen into the darkness will come back to the light.