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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Is Avatar better than reality?

Fern fiddleheads
A photograph of real fern fiddleheads in Oconee County, South Carolina.

To even ask the question of the title seems absurd. But an article in The New Atlantis indicates that the question has been asked, and, for some people, the answer is "yes!"

Ridiculous. How far have some of us come from experiencing real life? How far have we come from God's good, although admittedly sin-flawed, creation? Quite a ways, it seems.

This passage from the article struck me:
While on planet Earth half of the 6,500 languages spoken by actual people are expected to die out before the end of the century — the last native speaker of Bo, once spoken by tribesmen of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, died just as Avatar was topping the all-time box-office charts — our popular culture triumphs in inventing an artificial language for a people who have never existed.

God's creation is beautiful. The ability to imagine unreal, or partly real, beauty, is part of the image of God in us.

Thanks for reading.

6 comments:

Pilgrim said...

No way is Avatar better than reality.

Martin LaBar said...

Certainly not!

Thanks.

Weekend Fisher said...

I suspect "Avatar is better than reality" for people who don't spend enough time outdoors in natural settings. You can develop a real thirst for the natural.

Take care & God bless
Anne / WF

Martin LaBar said...

That's true, Weekend Fisher.

Thanks.

atlibertytosay said...

I suppose if you have no God and worship trees (new Age) then Avatar does seem better.

My reality is that I see the awesomeness of the mind of a living God in everything. He is a master mathematician, awe inspiring architect, and even a profound philosopher and poet.

Avatar's reality is hyper-reality - a world where we are not set apart from animals or nature - we are one in the same. It's not the hand of God at work - we have become the hand and mind of God in Avatar.

I'm a leader and constantly battle authority, but I love to be led and inspired to lead by a great man or woman!

Martin LaBar said...

I got an e-mail, indicating that AtLibertytoSay had left a fine comment, but it isn't here, for some reason.

Thanks, anyway.