Church fights the Dark Side, holds special Star Wars service
Technically Incorrect: A Protestant church in Germany tries to appeal to younger believers. Younger Star Wars believers, that is.
Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.
Peace be with you. The Force be with you too.
Earthly existence is so temporary and absurd.
It's an achievement, then, that we manage to believe in anything. Consistently, that is.
Some believe in deities. Others commit themselves to musicians, politicians and even fables.
There are few more committed believers than those for whom Star Wars is not a mere adventure, but a foray into something more profound.
So the pastor of a Protestant church in Germany thought he'd tempt the "Star Wars" faithful into communing with those of his church.
As the Associated Press reports, Lucas Ludewig held a Star Wars service on Sunday at his Zion church in Berlin.
They came in their droves, some to bow to heavenly powers and others, perhaps, to confront them. It must have seemed touching -- or even frightening -- for the regular parishioners to see Darth Vader walking down the aisle.
Even Ludewig and fellow pastor Ulrike Garve brandished lightsabers. Could it be that they were merely rejigging the Bible's "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" into "I am the Way, the Truth and the Light"?
They certainly seemed keen to point out the parallels between the Celestial Way and the Skywalker Way.
Ludewig told the AP: "Star Wars picks up religious images, including Christian images and maybe some from other religions. In doing so, it shows that the Bible and the church are part of our culture that keeps being reworked and reinterpreted."
I'm not sure which has suffered from more reinterpretation over time -- the church or Star Wars. However, Ludewig believes that the service was neither too Star Wars or too Christian. The organist played the "Star Wars" theme and segments of the movie were played on a big screen.
But all this was to encourage weak humans to reject the Dark Side, tempting though it often is.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" grossed an estimated $238 million through Saturday night -- that's just in the US and Canada.
I wonder how the collection plates of churches will do this weekend.