Avatar, Pocahontas, and Pantheism: How does God interact with His creation according to the bible?

So, did you see Avatar? How about Pocahontas? I'm sure you have seen one of them! These are both really entertaining movies. Avatar reached a new height in digital and visual creativity, and Pocahontas is a classic for young children, but what type of worldview do these movies present? Is it possible that there are camouflaged lies in the midst of the great graphics and compelling stories? Often, we just view movies without even noticing, or paying attention to the truth claims presented, but for people that are young in faith, or not believers, these movies could influence them more than they know.

In avatar, right from the beginning, we see the idea of living in harmony with nature, and worship of a mother goddess called Eywa. This is the whole basis of the films plot - there is a collective conscious that is within their home tree, where they can communicate with all the ancestors through Eywa, and the humans are trying to cut down this "source" for resources. This tree is called the “Hometree”, “The Tree of Souls”, “The Tree of Voices”.

At the end of the movie, with the aid of the Tree, they try to resurrect one of the characters, Grace, into her Avatar body, and when they fail she exclaims, “I am with Eywa now”

Now is this a big deal? Could this just be another name for God? What is the difference between the God of the bible and the god of Avatar? The fundamental difference is how God interacts with His creation.

According to Avatar, there is a goddess, who exists within Creation as a collective conscious that unites all beings, plants, and animals together into one giant collective “god.” Therefore, according to Avatar, god exists inside creation, and god exists as creation and as everything in it.

Now, in Pocahontas we have the same thing. Recently I heard the theme song from the movie, "Colors of the Wind" where Pocahontas sings, "You think you own whatever land you land on, The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim, But I know every rock and tree and creature, Has a life, has a spirit, has a name" You think this is bad? It gets even worse; she sings,"The rainstorm and the river are my brothers...And we are all connected to each other, In a circle, in a hoop that never ends." Here we see that all beings, plants, and animals are together in one giant collective "god" and it exists within creation. Even rocks have this collective Spirit according to Pocahontas.

What are these worldviews? And what does the bible teach about God's interaction with His creation? Here are some basic views[1]:

1.                                                                        MATERIALISM 

**IN THIS VIEW THE UNIVERSE IS ALL THERE IS, AND THERE IS NOTHING METAPHYSICAL, AND NOTHING SPIRITUAL



2.                                                                         PANTHEISM  

**IN THIS VIEW GOD IS THE UNIVERSE, EVERYTHING IS A PART OF GOD, AND IT DOES NOT EXIST OUTSIDE OF NATURE, OR THE UNIVERSE.


3.                                                                             DEISM

  **IN THIS VIEW GOD IS SEEN AS A DIVINE CLOCK MAKER WHO WOUND THE CLOCK AND LET IT RUN; SO GOD IS NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN HIS CREATION.

4.                                                             CHRISTIAN CREATIONISM

** IN THE BIBLICAL VIEW, CREATION IS DISTINCT FROM GOD YET ALWAYS DEPENDENT ON GOD, AND GOD IS PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN HIS CREATION

As seen above, the biblical view is that God is distinct from Creation, not one with it, as Avatar or Pocahontas claims. This view that God is in Creation is Pantheism, as shown above, and it is a view that destroys a true view of God. Is God everywhere? Yes He is everywhere (Psalm 139:7-10), and we can seek him anywhere (John 4:24), but this does not mean that He is restricted to exist within creation.

 Science also clearly teaches that the universe had a beginning and will have an ending, and so does the bible (2 Peter 3:10). Sorry Pocahontas, the universe is not a "hoop that never ends." Science proves it, and the bible proves it. Now, if the universe has a beginning, than logically there must be a Creator - how could matter come from nothing? This destroys the materialistic view.

This does not mean, however, that the material universe is evil, as Dualism teaches, but that it was created good (Genesis 1:31) and it will be restored and renewed in a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:2). So it is true that the universe will  last forever after it is renewed.

What great news! So much better than Pantheism, Deism, or Materialism, because we can have a personal relationship with God, who has power over creation, and is not restricted by it; so much so that He will renew the world with no evil, no death, no hurt... He will win! This is beautiful news about our Creator (Isaiah 11:5-9).

 [1] Summerized from Wayne Grudham's Sytematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: InterVarsity Press, 2000)