This type of exercise is fun in a way, but it also serves a purpose. Competing ideas about God are everywhere, and when a mythology such as what Star Wars has built becomes so ingrained in our cultural consciousness, it can create confusion. Particularly if you are a parent of a Star-Wars-crazy kid (like I am), these distinctions might be some talking points to cover when you enjoy these adventures together.
And since everyone loves lists on the Internet, here are Ten Ways God is Different from the Force:
1. God is a Person... not a Force
The Bible reveals God to be intensely personal. He has emotion, a personal will, and he loves deeply. He is revealed as the God who has compassion on Adam, lonely in the Garden, who is personally grieved by the sin of the people of Noah's time, who chose Abraham and became his Friend, who was the personal Help and Rock for David, and who was ultimately revealed in Christ Jesus, God-Become-Flesh.
The supernatural view propagated in the Star Wars is "pantheistic," meaning that there is no personal "God/gods" but instead the highest spiritual reality is something that flows through all the universe. This is the supernatural view of Buddhism and New Age philosophies.
Ben Kenobi introduces the Force this way in Star Wars: "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."
The Force is an "it," an energy field. God is a "He," a Person.
2. God is Creator... the Force is Created
You'll notice in that first quote from Ben Kenobi that this "energy field" is "created by all living things." So rather than the Force being the Creator of life, it is instead created by life. Yoda says in The Empire Strikes Back, "Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we... not this crude matter." So now it is we (or at least Star Wars creatures) that have created "God," not the other way around.
While the Bible gives humanity great dignity as beings created in the image of God, it is obvious that we are created beings. That places us in a fundamentally different relationship with God from what people in Star Wars have with the Force.
3. We are God's Servants... the Force is the Jedi's Servant
From Luke's initial training session in Star Wars:
Ben Kenobi: "Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him."
Luke Skywalker: "You mean it controls your actions?"
Ben Kenobi: "Partially. But it also obeys your commands."
The whole goal of being a Jedi (or a Sith on the "dark side") is to control the Force for your own purposes. There is some talk in the movies of "the will of the Force" and the Force guiding someone to his or her "destiny," but for the most part, it's about learning to harness and wield the power the Force gives. For example, when Luke wants to leave training to go help his friends in The Empire Strikes Back, he argues that he's ready, because he can "feel" the Force. "But you cannot control it," Ben Kenobi (in "ghost form") warns him. The Force is there to be controlled.
The Bible reveals God to be uncontrollable. He is our loving Father, who loves to provide our needs, but these are provided as we seek His kingdom first (Matthew 6:31-34). And the Holy Spirit gives great power, but He acts in us as we submit to the headship of Christ (Ephesians 1:18-23).
4. God is Good All the Time... the Force Has a Dark Side
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." - 1 John 1:5
Because the Force is created by life, it stands to reason that there would be a "dark side," since there is a dark side to human character. Star Wars presents a dualistic view of the supernatural, which is the idea that good and evil exist either as competing equal forces or are two sides to the same coin, so to speak. The Bible reveals Satan to be a powerful force, but he is no true rival to God. He is a created being with limited power who will be defeated.
5. God's Word is Truth... the Force is Amoral
Because the Force contains both "light" and "darkness," there is no morality in the Star Wars universe, only what attitudes and actions are useful for manipulating the Force. The Jedi have a particular moral code, but it is not dictated by the Force, which will become the "ally" of both the noble Jedi and the evil Sith.
It all comes down to perspective, as the arguments surrounding Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith demonstrate. As Palpatine attempts to seduce Anakin to the dark side, he says, "Good is a point of view, Anakin. And the Jedi point of view is not the only valid one. The Dark Lords of the Sith believe in security and justice also, yet they are considered by the Jedi to be [evil]... from a Jedi's point of view. The Sith and the Jedi are similar in almost every way, including their quest for greater power. The difference between the two is the Sith are not afraid of the dark side of the Force. That is why they are more powerful."
The Bible reveals God to be the Source of all truth. Jesus, in fact, says "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." It is a claim of exclusive, absolute truth.
In contrast, Obi-Wan Kenobi declares in Revenge of the Sith, "Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes."
6. God Will Judge... there is No Accountability with the Force
Because the Force is impersonal, amoral, and possesses both positive and "dark" qualities, there are no absolutes and no way for creatures to be held accountable to the Force for their actions. Those with no knowledge of the Force simply cannot wield it for their advantage.
On the other hand, the Bible reveals God to be the Righteous Judge. This truth is good news for those who love justice and who have believed that earnestly seeking the Lord brings reward (see Hebrews 11:6 and 2 Timothy 4:8). It's also a warning to those who would defy Him. Everyone will give an account of himself to God (see Romans 14:12 and Hebrews 4:13).
7. God is for All People... the Force is for the Elite
This war between the Jedi and Sith is a war of elite, "force-sensitive" individuals. If "the Force is strong with" a person, they can be trained as a Jedi or recruited to the dark side (and, as Phantom Menace reveals, this is something in the person's blood that can't be taught). Others are left to be caught in the middle, the "weak-minded" to be influenced against their will by those with the Force as their ally.
The Gospel is "good news for all people." God sent His Son to die, because He so loved all the world (John 3:16). No one is small in His sight. He loves each of us as His special creation, and He shows no favoritism.
8. God Engages our Hearts and Minds... the Force is Known Only through Feelings
It's a common theme in the films that the Force can only be known through "feelings." Ben Kenobi warns young Luke, "Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them." When Luke is trying to hit his target in the climactic scene in the original movie, he's told, "Trust your feelings."
Yoda's instructions are "Don't think... feel... be as one with the Force" (Attack of the Clones) and "You will know. When you are calm, at peace. Passive. ... Clear your mind of questions" (Empire Strikes Back).
As Christians, there are emotional aspects to our spiritual experience and times when we "feel" the Spirit working in us. But God commands us to love Him with "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." He engages with every part of us, and invites us to love Him with all that He created us to be, including thoughts and feelings, our spirits and our bodies.
God is not afraid of our questions (the Bible is full of faithful people directing their questions to God, especially as people interacted with Jesus), and our faith is a reasonable faith. "Come, let us reason together" is God's invitation.
9. God is Love... the Force is Passionless
The ironic thing about the Star Wars worldview is that, for all this talk of feelings, passion is seen as a negative, a path to the dark side. Yoda chides the young boy Anakin for his fear of losing his mother in Phantom Menace, and when Anakin confides that he fears to lose his wife (he doesn't reveal who it is, because marriage is forbidden for Jedi) in Revenge of the Sith, Yoda tells him "Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."
You can't love unless you are attached to someone. Yoda argues that it's jealousy and greed that causes us to want to hold on to a loved one. But the Bible teaches that life is found in attaching oneself to others and to God. Marriage is lifted up as a picture of the divine union of God and His people through Christ and the church. We are told to love one another deeply, from the heart.
And God himself is revealed to be a passionate lover. He is jealous for the love of His people. He goes to extraordinary and extravagant lengths to save us, not because he feared losing us to our sin and rebellion, but because His great love for us would not accept the loss.
10. God Gives Hope of Eternal Relationship... in the Force, You are Lost.
Yoda tells Anakin this about death in Revenge of the Sith: "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not." Those who die are said to become "one with the Force," losing their individual existence. In a deleted scene from the same movie, it is revealed that the greatest Jedi masters will learn to keep their consciousness after death, but it is achieved through loss of self: "The ability to defy oblivion can be achieved, but only for oneself. ...You will learn to let go of everything. No attachment, no thought of self."
How much greater is the hope we have in Jesus Christ! God has lavished His love on us not because He wants us to be absorbed and cease to exist as individuals, but precisely because He loves each one of us. Our hope is in a bodily resurrection, like Jesus' resurrection on Easter morning, where we will live eternally in the place Jesus has prepared especially for us. We will be united in perfect relationship to God through Christ Jesus, and He will dwell with us forever, having wiped every tear from our eyes.
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The greatest difference, of course, between the Force and the Lord is that the Force is a creation of the imagination of George Lucas. The Force is fiction, but God is real. He has revealed Himself in history through His written Word, through His people, and through the person Jesus Christ.
Star Wars is fun, and I hope the new movie will be good. But we need to guard our minds against being confused by the muddled spirituality this fictional universe presents.
Above all, I hope you know the realness of God in your life. If not, I hope you will entrust yourself to Jesus. He will show you the way, because He Himself is the Way.
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