May the Force be with you! Here's why

The Secret Sun, "The year of thinking magically...the Force"; edited by Wisdom Quarterly

...It's no wonder Christian fundamentalists are anti-Hollywood (as this actual handout shows). It's not the sex and violence that really bothers them and gets unbearably under their skin; it's the competition.

In the Middle Ages, church was where one went to escape. There one heard fascinating music and legends and saw great, luminous depictions of super -heroes and -heroines from pre-Christian [Sumerian, Egyptian, Jewish, Persian (Zoroastrian/Mithraic), Indian (Vedic/Buddhist), and Nordic] mythology.

Motion pictures dealt such a blow to the Church's exclusive franchise on the popular imagination that they would leave Charles Darwin envious. Each cinematic innovation -- sound, color, 3D, CGI, and evolving special effects -- were other nails in the franchise's coffin.

David Icke explains connecting with "spirituality" (spiritus)

But it was a two-edged sword: If one is greedy or hateful, the Dark Side rises up and slowly corrupts one. That may have struck a bit too close to home with the film's critics. If one is giving and compassionate, the Light Side does not immediately resolve all one's problems or deficiencies.

Nevertheless, the Force is elegant in its simplicity. And it is extremely plausible. One need not buy into an onscreen sci-fi reality to understand it. Was it the Force that sold Star Wars to the world? Whatever it was, the sale was a one-two punch -- dazzling visuals and action supported by an intuitive philosophy of powerful practical magic. More

Real secrets deleted from the first version of the movie "The Secret"