What was Luke supposed to do again?

There are flaws in your arguments, yes:

* The cave was a failure, not because he chose to destroy "Vader", but because he gave in to hatred. Had he killed the real Vader in the same way, he would´ve tasted the sweetness of revenge and probably never returned to the good side. The Sith ways would live on.

* Seems to me that the reason they didn?t think he was ready was because he wasn?t ?ready for the burden??

Yes, but why wasn´t he ready for the burden?

* If they wanted Luke to kill Vader, if that was their mission, then why don?t they tell him? (Given the ?CPOV? distinction between Vader and Anakin, ?defeating? or ?conquering? or ?destroying? Vader is exactly what they want him to do.)

They didn´t need to tell him that, because he had already set that up as a goal for himself. What they needed to teach him was to kill Vader without being hateful.
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Yoda keeps telling Luke that once you start down the dark path, it will dominate your destiny for ever. He tells him that the dark side will consume you. He uses Vader as an example, to emphazise that he can never turn back from evil.
Why would he say that if Luke was supposed to redeem Anakin?

 

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[i]The cave was a failure, not because he chose to destroy "Vader", but because he gave in to hatred.[/i][hr][/blockquote]It's possible that Luke used hatred to "kill" Vader in the cave, I can concede that that could have been his failure. More to the point however, Yoda told Luke he would not need his weapons. If he was being trained to kill Vader, if the test was to teach Luke to kill without hatred or anger, [i]why[/i] was he told he wouldn't need his weapons?

[blockquote][hr][i]Yes, but why wasn?t he ready for the burden?[/i][hr][/blockquote] Previously you stated, [i]The reason they didn?t think Luke was ready to hear the truth was that if he found out too early, he would view Vader as his father and feel love for him instead of viewing him as a machine that needs to be destroyed.[/i] How is feeling love for your father a burden?

Luke wasn?t ready because he was still vulnerable to temptation to the Dark Side. Whether you believe Luke was meant to kill or redeem his father doesn?t matter. He needed the complete training to avoid the dark path and fulfill his destiny.

[blockquote][hr][i]They didn´t need to tell him that, because he had already set that up as a goal for himself. [/i][hr][/blockquote]Sure, when he raced off to save his friends in TESB. If he had to kill the big bad evil Darth Vader for torturing his friends, so be it. But after he learned the truth about his father, killing him was not his goal anymore. Ben knew it, which is why he didn?t press Luke on the matter when he said, ?I can?t kill my own father.?

[blockquote][hr][i]Yoda keeps telling Luke that once you start down the dark path, it will dominate your destiny for ever. He tells him that the dark side will consume you. He uses Vader as an example, to emphazise that he can never turn back from evil. Why would he say that if Luke was supposed to redeem Anakin? [/i][hr][/blockquote]Good question. It?s a lesson to teach Luke to avoid the Dark Side, and Anakin is a good example. Yoda and Ben need Luke to make the leap that his father?s redemption was possible on his own. His convictions would be stronger than them just telling him that that was his destiny. Luke became strong enough with the Force to sense the good that was still in his father, and that he could be saved. All of Yoda?s and Ben?s lessons led him to that decision.

 

* If he was being trained to kill Vader, if the test was to teach Luke to kill without hatred or anger, why was he told he wouldn't need his weapons?

Because they were a manifestation of his fear. Yoda meant that when Luke was ready, he would go inside the cave without fear of what might be in there.
- What´s in there?
- Only what you take with you.
Had he gone in there fearless, the vision of Vader would not have been there at all.

* How is feeling love for your father a burden?

It is a burden if you also hate him.

Luke wasn?t ready because he was still vulnerable to temptation to the Dark Side. Whether you believe Luke was meant to kill or redeem his father doesn?t matter. He needed the complete training to avoid the dark path and fulfill his destiny.

I agree.

* after he learned the truth about his father, killing him was not his goal anymore. Ben knew it, which is why he didn?t press Luke on the matter when he said, ?I can?t kill my own father.?

Again, I agree. But they hadn´t planned it that way. If it had gone according to plan, Luke would´ve learned the truth from them when he was fully trained. He wouldn´t feel emotions for his father, but would set off to destroy him.
Maybe I´m wrong. Who knows with the Skywalkers?

* Luke became strong enough with the Force to sense the good that was still in his father, and that he could be saved. All of Yoda?s and Ben?s lessons led him to that decision.

All of this makes the two Masters very smart, but it makes Luke´s decisions less powerful IMO.

 

Don´t give up on me, please. Convince me!

 

>>>>The cave was a failure, not because he chose to destroy "Vader", but because he gave in to hatred. Had he killed the real Vader in the same way, he would´ve tasted the sweetness of revenge and probably never returned to the good side. The Sith ways would live on.

Sure- that's the clear message that comes through- that if he gives into his hate and starts down the Dark Path, he will be consumed by the Dark Side, and follow Vader?s fate.

>>> If it had gone according to plan, Luke would´ve learned the truth from them when he was fully trained. He wouldn´t feel emotions for his father, but would set off to destroy him.

So, you?re saying that Luke is supposed to kill Vader, but not out of hatred, or revenge for his fathers death, or to avenge the Jedi he killed, or because Yoda told him to (because he didn?t)? Which leaves a big question; why would Luke be killing Vader?

Besides, it seems very odd that the caves ?lesson? appears to completely contradict what you?re saying Yoda (and Obi Wan) wanted Luke to do, considering that they don?t tell him to do it, and they call it a failure when he effectively achieves exactly what you?re saying they want him to.

And, possibly more importantly, if Luke does kill Vader, then where does this leave the Emperor (especially in light of the PT prophecy.) Do you think Luke would be powerful enough to face him too?

>>> Had he gone in there fearless, the vision of Vader would not have been there at all.

Maybe he would have seen Anakin instead? Who knows?

>>>>Yes, but why wasn´t he ready for the burden?

Because, at this point, he was still striving to follow in his fathers footsteps, and still angry with Vader for ?killing? him (just look at his face in that scene- "he told me enough" .)

Discovering that his role model was also his most hated enemy wasn't something he was prepared to deal with. He had to move on to the point where he wasn't following in anyones footsteps anymore- least of all his father- before he would be ready. Hence; ?only a fully trained Jedi, with the Force as his ally can conquer Vader and his Emperor.?

>>>>They didn´t need to tell him that, because he had already set that up as a goal for himself. What they needed to teach him was to kill Vader without being hateful.

What I think they needed to teach him was to destroy Vader without either being destroyed himself, or destroying Anakin at the same time.

>>>>Yoda keeps telling Luke that once you start down the dark path, it will dominate your destiny for ever. He tells him that the dark side will consume you. He uses Vader as an example, to emphazise that he can never turn back from evil.
Why would he say that if Luke was supposed to redeem Anakin?

Because, as is clarified in ROTJ, when he was "consumed by the Dark Side", the good man who was Anakin was destroyed.

There is a very clear distinction being made between the Vader and Anakin personas, as well as the clear lesson that exactly the same thing could happen to Luke if he were to start down the Dark path.

Think about it- if you're being told that you would be ?consumed? and become a whole other evil person if you were to go down the Dark Path, then had the lesson hammered home (ie. the cave, immediately after the speech you referred to), wouldn't you wonder what would be left of the real you? Whether you could be brought back?

Then look at Luke in ROTJ; he clearly has taken this idea of Vader and his father being two seperate and distinct people on board by the time he goes to face him;

LUKE
I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father.

VADER
That name no longer has any meaning for me.

LUKE
It is the name of your true self. You've only forgotten.

[...]

VADER
It is too late for me, son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now.

LUKE
Then my father is truly dead.

Also, you say that Yoda was saying that Vader could never tu

 

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[i]Had he gone in there fearless, the vision of Vader would not have been there at all. [/i][hr][/blockquote]True. The cave is just yet another lesson in the dangers of the Dark Side. I think we can all agree on that. Scott3eyez and I are making the point that there are [i]no[/i] lessons to teach Luke how to kill without fear or anger. There aren?t even any lessons in how to attack, because as Yoda says, [i]? A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.?[/i] The one light saber exercise we see is in ANH, where Luke is taught to [i]defend[/i] himself. Sending Luke off to kill Vader and the Emperor is an aggressive act, one that we know leads to the Dark Side. So [i]why[/i] is Luke taught only to defend, to avoid the Dark Side, and still confront Vader? Because he is only meant to stand before his father and [i]survive[/i], not to kill. Survive long enough to save his father, to bring him back to the good side.

[blockquote][hr][i]All of this makes the two Masters very smart, but it makes Luke´s decisions less powerful IMO.[/i][hr][/blockquote]Yet Luke still has to make those decisions. It also keeps Ben and Yoda as positive role models; that there is always hope. Hope for a fallen angel like Anakin, whom the saga is all about. Can you imagine Yoda and Ben in Episode III saying to each other ?Well, the only thing left is to let Luke grow up so he can kill his daddy and our friend. Let?s do it!??

 

Luke didn´t effectively achieve what they wanted him to do in the cave. They wanted him to be free of fear, anger and hate and defend the galaxy against the Sith. The Sith needed to be taken out because they were a threat to everything alive.
If Luke destroyed the Sith through hate, he would become just like them and rule the galaxy in their stead.

When Yoda says that a Jedi never uses the Force
for attack, he doesn´t mean that they can never take action for the greater good. If they could never literally attack anything, the battle of Geonosis would never have happened. Sometimes, they must attack to defend.
And yes, I think that they believed Luke would be powerful enough to kill the Emperor.

 

>>>And yes, I think that they believed Luke would be powerful enough to kill the Emperor.

Really?

I simply cannot believe that Yoda thought that Luke could become more powerful than he was with no more than a crash course in the Jedi Arts.

Remember, although we haven't really seen him in full force (groan), this is the guy who taught Dooku, who Vader dared not stand up to ("You don't know the power of the Dark Side- I must obey my master.")

>>>If they could never literally attack anything, the battle of Geonosis would never have happened. Sometimes, they must attack to defend.

I thought the whole point of that battle was that it was the Jedi's offensive action that led directly to their demise. The Attack of the Clones was their greatest mistake.

 

Maybe Yoda thought that Luke was the Chosen One and thus would be able to pull it off?

The point with the attack is that they had no choice.

 

Maybe- I don't see why they would though.

There's always a choice, and I think Yoda has learnt from his by the time of ESB- hence telling Luke that if he honours what his friends fight for, he shouldn't rush in to save them. Just as that was exactly what Vader wanted in ESB, in AOTC it is exactly what Sidious wanted. Seems to me that Yoda knows that he made a mistake of his own.

And did Luke have a choice at the end of ROTJ? Apparently not- and yet he still threw his lightsaber aside and refused to fight.

 

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[i]And yes, I think that they believed Luke would be powerful enough to kill the Emperor.[/i][hr][/blockquote]If that were true, then Yoda and Ben greatly over estimated Luke's abilities. Luke would have died if Anakin hadn?t intervened. I think with Yoda?s 800 years of experience training Jedi, he would have been able to judge who could or couldn?t take down the Emperor. If they thought Luke was powerful enough to kill the Emperor, why not train him sooner, before they were too old to help and support him? Why not have the ?almighty? Luke face Vader and the Emperor with the ?lesser? Jedi?s Obi-Wan and Yoda to help him out?

Also, when Luke runs off to face Vader in TESB, why did Ben tell him, ?If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere.? Doesn?t it make more sense to give Luke the support he needed if they wanted Vader dead? Now, we know that Anakin resents Obi-Wan - [i]?It?s all Obi-Wan?s fault!"[/i] he said in AOTC. If Ben were to help Luke, Vader would have sensed his presence and there would have been no chance of bringing about Anakin?s redemption, which is why Luke needed to face Vader alone.

 

"If that were true, than Yoda and Ben greatly overestimated Luke's abilities. Luke would have died if Anakin hadn't intervened. I think with Yoda's 800 years of experience training Jedi, he would have been able to judge who could or couldn't take down the Emperor. If they thought Luke was powerful enough to kill the Emperor, why not train him sooner, before they were too old to help and support him?"

Because they were in a vunerable position during the time when their fellow Jedi are being destroyed by the Sith and their evil forces. If they started training Luke right away, they risked triggering a disturbance in the force which will alert the Sith of their existence causing them to send their troops to kill Yoda, Obi-wan, and Luke. They had to wait until the time is right to start training Luke and that time came when the Rebels came along to challenge the Empire.

Also, Yoda and Obi-wan did not overestimate Luke's abilities because they knew that he had the strength to defeat the Emperor and so did the Emperor himself when he told Vader, "He could destroy us."

"Also, when Luke runs off to face Vader in ESB, why did Ben tell him, "If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere." Doesn't it make more sense to give Luke the support he needed if they wanted Vader dead?"

Ben said that quote because he's DEAD.

A ghost can't do anything to help Luke even if he wanted to and Yoda is terminally ill so he's no help either which is why Luke is forced to fight Vader alone.

 

Good point about Obi-Wan being dead, PMT. However, he could still have helped Luke the way he helped him at the battle of Yavin.
And when Palpatine said "He could destroy us", he might have meant that Luke could ruin their bond and turn them against eachother. Vader sees this as an opportunity to use Luke´s help to destroy his Master, but he doesn´t realize that it will destroy him too, no matter what he does to prevent it.

Actually, I´m leaning towards the redeeming-plan on Obi´s and Yoda´s part now, but there is one thing that still contradicts this:
- I can´t kill my own father.
- Then the Emperor has already won.
You guys have argued that Luke must be ready to kill his father in order to redeem him. That makes no sense to me. If he´s not supposed to kill him, if it´s not even possible for him to kill Vader without using the dark side, why should he be ready to do it?
If Obi-Wan, as you say, have realized that Luke is already set to redeem his father, why doesn´t he encourage it?
If the lines were:
- I can´t kill my own father.
- Then you are ready.
I would be all for your idea, but now I can´t be.

 

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[i]If they started training Luke right away, they risked triggering a disturbance in the force which will alert the Sith of their existence causing them to send their troops to kill Yoda, Obi-wan, and Luke.[/i][hr][/blockquote]Okay, I?ll buy that. It actually works for either argument, and I hadn?t considered it. Bad me, since the Emperor felt the disturbance as soon as Luke began his training with Yoda.

[blockquote][hr][i]Also, Yoda and Obi-wan did not overestimate Luke's abilities because they knew that he had the strength to defeat the Emperor and so did the Emperor himself when he told Vader, "He could destroy us."[/i][hr][/blockquote]What is he [i]really[/i] saying here? [i]?He could destroy us. The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker [u]must not become a Jedi[/u].?[/i] The Emperor is using fear, fear of destruction to keep Vader in line. He knows that if Luke becomes a Jedi, he would be able to turn Anakin back to the good side, upon which he himself would be destroyed. Vader suggests turning Luke [i]before[/i] he becomes a Jedi, upon which the Emperor eagerly agrees.

[blockquote][hr][i]Good point about Obi-Wan being dead, PMT. However, he could still have helped Luke the way he helped him at the battle of Yavin. [/i][hr][/blockquote]Thanks Lars_Muul, that?s exactly what I was thinking. Which is why I wrote ?...Vader would have [i]sensed[/i] his presence...?. However, I guess it can be argued that Ben?s presence would prevent Luke from fulfilling his destiny in either case. Vader?s hatred for Obi-Wan would feed his Dark Side power, making him stronger. He then couldn?t be turned or defeated, and Luke would end up either dead or on the Dark Side.

[blockquote][hr][i]Actually, I?m leaning towards the redeeming-plan on Obi?s and Yoda?s part now, but there is one thing that still contradicts this:
- I can´t kill my own father.
- Then the Emperor has already won.[/i][hr][/blockquote]This is the toughest part of my argument, and the one I?m surmising the most from. Ben couldn?t respond with [i]?Then you are ready?[/i], because Luke wasn?t. He hadn?t yet accepted that his destiny was to face Vader again. By saying, [i]?I can?t kill my own father?[/i] he means [i]?I?d just as soon run away to the far end of the galaxy then face him again.?[/i] Luke also says, [i]?Yoda spoke of another?[/i], meaning [i]?I don?t want to face Vader. There?s somebody else who can do it.?[/i] Ben recognized that Luke didn?t want to face Vader again, which is why he answered with [i]?Then the Emperor has already won.?[/i] He was trying to drive home the point that Luke shouldn't run away, that he had to face Vader again.

 

"What is he really saying here? "He could destroy us. The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi." The Emperor is using fear, fear of destruction to keep Vader in line. He knows that if Luke becomes a Jedi, he would be able to turn Anakin back to the good side, upon which he himself will be destroyed."

If that's true, why would he tell Luke, "Your father can NEVER be turned from the Dark Side, so will it be with you"? If the Emperor believed that to be true and that his hold over Anakin/Vader is that strong, then he wouldn't be concerned about the idea that Luke is able to revert Anakin back to the Light Side.

In fact, he'd find the idea laughable and absurd.

 

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[i]If that's true, why would he tell Luke, "Your father can NEVER be turned from the Dark Side, so will it be with you"? If the Emperor believed that to be true and that his hold over Anakin/Vader is that strong, then he wouldn't be concerned about the idea that Luke is able to revert Anakin back to the Light Side.[/i][hr][/blockquote]Well, the [i]Jedi[/i] don't even tell the "truth" to Luke, what makes you think the Emperor would? The Emperor is attempting to instill fear in Luke. He does a pretty good job of it, considering he gets Luke to grab and ignite his light saber. Besides, Luke wasn't a Jedi yet. Luke became a Jedi when he renounced the Dark Side and proclaimed [i]"I am a Jedi."[/i] The Emperor then tried to kill Luke before he had the chance to turn his father. His arrogance was his undoing. Luke didn't turn his father, Anakin turned to save his son.

 

Needa: You´re good

I´ve been thinking a lot about this the last 24 hours and my answer to the question in this thread´s title is: Noone really knows until we have seen EpIII. Maybe not even then.
It all depends on whether or not Obi-Wan and Yoda believe that Anakin is the Chosen one. If they do, the answer is obvious: They´re trying to bring Anakin back and are training Luke to help them, using some sort of reversed psychology, because they know that late-learners such as Dooku, Anakin and Luke are less willing to accept what they´re told and more of independent idealists than the average Jedi.
If they have lost faith in Anakin, they are training Luke to simply bring down the Sith.

Either view works perfectly well with the arguments that we have.
It wouldn´t be possible for Luke to kill Vader and Sidious since that is Anakin´s destiny, but that doesn´t mean that Yoda and even Sidious himself don´t believe that he could. After all:
- He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him to the dark side of the Force.

Or maybe it´s a mix of both views! First, they wanted Luke trained so that he could help them, either by destroying the Sith or by bringing Anakin back. Then, when Luke had resolved to bring him back, they went with that.
Because it is possible that they weren´t sure about who the Chosen one was. Maybe they weren´t sure until the very end of ROTJ!

 

>>>>- I can´t kill my own father.
- Then the Emperor has already won.

You guys have argued that Luke must be ready to kill his father in order to redeem him. That makes no sense to me. If he´s not supposed to kill him, if it´s not even possible for him to kill Vader without using the dark side, why should he be ready to do it?

I think that the point is that Luke has to be open to the Force, and not acting out of his own personal interests, whether they are right or wrong.

Bear in mind that as events transpired, Obi Wan was proved right; if Luke hadn't been willing to fight (and beat) Vader, then the Emperor would never have revealed his intention for Luke to take his place, which is what led to Vader turning on the Emperor. Had Luke continued to refuse to fight Vader, then that wouldn't have happened, and he would probably have just been killed.

>>>Good point about Obi-Wan being dead, PMT. However, he could still have helped Luke the way he helped him at the battle of Yavin.

Here's a thought- although I don't know how much stock to put into it...

Obi Wan's spirit is, effectively, the Force speaking to Luke (as it's Obi Wan, after becoming one with the Force, but having retained his identity.)

What if Vader were skilful enough with his Force-skills to manipulate the apparition?

 

I think Obi-Wan and Yoda had plan A - which was to get Luke to confront Anakin and get him to turn and kill the Emperor - and plan B, which was for Luke to kill Vader and attempt to kill the Emperor.

Obi-Wan knew in ROTJ that Luke was psychologically prepared for Plan A - he knew Vader was once his father, and believed there was good in him. He did not need to be told these things. However, Luke needed to be prepared for Plan B, and had to be psychologically ready to kill Vader if Vader did not revert. This is why Obi-Wan tells Luke "Then the emperor has already won [if you can't kill your own father]" - meaning: if the fact that Vader was once your father means you are unable to kill him, even if he stays evil, then we're screwed.

Luke gets the point precisely. Because when Vader tells him "it's too late for me my son..." Luke replies "then my father is truly dead." I.E. if you don't revert from the dark side, you aren't my father, and I have no psychological problem with killing you.

 

Thanks Lars_Muul. You've proved to be quite the challenge. But you're right, we won't know until Episode III. That's why it's fun to speculate!

I'm not too crazy about the mixed or two plan view. It seems too wishy-washy for the Jedi - "do, or do not". Either they became misguided in their plan for Luke to kill his father, or they felt Luke could turn him. Luke would either succeed in their plan - whichever it happened to be - or he failed.

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[i]Here's a thought- although I don't know how much stock to put into it...

What if Vader were skilful enough with his Force-skills to manipulate the apparition? [/i][hr][/blockquote]Ben didn't seem to think so, otherwise he wouldn't have told Vader [i]"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."[/i] I'm pretty sure he was safe from Vader after becoming a spirit.

 

"Well, the Jedi don't tell the "truth" to Luke, what makes you think the Emperor would?"

Every word that comes out of a Sith lord's mouth has always turned out to be true.

Vader didn't lie when he told Luke that he was his father, the Emperor didn't lie when he said that everything that happened in the the Star Wars series was his doing, and Dooku/Tyranus didn't lie when he told Obi-wan that the Republic is being controlled by Darth Sidious so there is no reason for the Emperor to lie to Luke about there being NO TURNING BACK FROM THE DARK SIDE because Yoda and Obi-wan believed this as well.

They've also never seen a Jedi turn back from the Dark Side before and they don't expect to so there is no reason for them to believe that Anakin/Vader would be any different.

 

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[i]Every word that comes out of a Sith lord's mouth has always turned out to be true.[/i][hr][/blockquote]One of the last things the Emperor tells Luke is [i]"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side."[/i] That was true; Luke was overmatched. The Emperor could not be killed by Luke, he knew it, and he stated so.

[i]"Your father can never be turned from the dark side."[/i] Let's assume you're right, that the Emperor believes this to be true. If he thinks that Anakin can't be turned, where is the truth when he previously told Vader [i]"He could destroy us."[/i]? How can Luke destroy them if he can't turn Vader, and can't kill the Emperor?

 

Luke wasn't trained in the Jedi arts just to revert Anakin/Vader back to the Light Side because neither Yoda nor Obi-wan believes that it can be done. As for your question, Luke CAN destroy both Sith Lords because he has the power to do so and both Vader and the Emperor believed this from the quotes they've made:

"The Force is strong with him. The Son of Skywalker must NOT become a Jedi."-The Emperor.

"You can destroy the Emperor! he has forseen this."- Darth Vader.

"He has grown strong. Only TOGETHER can we turn him to the Dark Side of the Force."-The Emperor.

"Indeed, you are powerful as the Emperor has forseen"-Darth Vader.

What the Emperor did to Luke after he defeated Vader doesn't make him the most powerful because Luke threw away his lightsaber just to prove that he wasn't gonna turn to the Dark Side.

He didn't even attempt to do battle with the Emperor.

 

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[i]What the Emperor did to Luke after he defeated Vader doesn't make him the most powerful because Luke threw away his lightsaber just to prove that he wasn't gonna turn to the Dark Side.[/i][hr][/blockquote]Yet Luke couldn't defend himself anyway. Yoda could, he did against Dooku. If Luke was more powerful than Yoda, powerful enough to kill the Emperor, why couldn't he deflect or absorb the force lightning?

[blockquote][hr][i]"The Force is strong with him. The Son of Skywalker must NOT become a Jedi."-The Emperor.[/i][hr][/blockquote]I've already pointed out that the Emperor is afraid of Luke's power. Afraid of his ability to redeem his father once he's a Jedi.

[blockquote][hr][i]"You can destroy the Emperor! He has forseen this."- Darth Vader.[/i][hr][/blockquote]And why does Vader say this? Because the Emperor [i]told[/i] him, and I've already made my case that the Emperor didn't believe that. If the Emperor believed that Luke could kill him, he would [i]never[/i] had said to Luke, [i]"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side!"[/i]

[blockquote][hr][i]"He has grown strong. Only [b]TOGETHER[/b] can we turn him to the Dark Side of the Force."-The Emperor.[/i][hr][/blockquote]Being strong enough to renounce the Dark Side does not make him powerful enough to destroy the Emperor. Obi-Wan couldn't be turned, yet he didn't have the power to kill the Emperor.

[blockquote][hr][i]"Indeed, you are powerful as the Emperor has forseen"-Darth Vader.[/i][hr][/blockquote]Vader said this in reference to Luke's ability to contruct a lightsaber. All Jedi did that, so it doesn't prove that Luke was more powerful than the average Jedi.

So if Luke couldn't defend himself from the force lightning, he wasn't more powerful than Yoda. He couldn't be turned, but neither could Obi-Wan, so he wasnt necessarily more powerful than Obi-Wan. He contructed a lightsaber, which didn't make him more powerful than any other Jedi. So what made Luke so special? He was Anakin's son, and other than Leia, the only one who had a chance to redeem Anakin.

 

"If Luke was more powerful than Yoda, powerful to kill the Emperor, why couldn't he deflect or absorb the force lightning?"

Because Luke didn't know anything about the Force Lightning nor that the Emperor can wield such power. Luke also never expected what was going to happen once he resisted the Dark Side which is why he wasn't able to defend himself when it happened.

"I've already pointed out that the Emperor is afraid of Luke's power. Afraid of his ability to redeem his father once he's a Jedi."

But how does the Emperor know that a Jedi can be reverted back from the Dark Side? Like Obi-wan and Yoda, he's never seen it happen before nor does he believe that it's even possible which is why he's so confident that Vader can never be turned from the Dark Side.

"If the Emperor believed that Luke could kill him, he would never had said to Luke, "Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side!""

If Luke wasn't a real threat to the Emperor, he'd have died already once he first laid eyes on his majesty. There was no reason for the Emperor to keep him alive for so long if Luke was nothing more than an insect to him.

"Being strong enough to renounce the Dark Side does not make him powerful enough to destroy the Emperor."

We'll never know about that, will we?

"Vader said that in reference to Luke's ability to contruct a lightsaber."

He was referencing Luke's entire Jedi training, "Your skills are complete."