A year ago on the anniversary of the posting of Luther’s 95 Theses I was invited with 8 others from the US and 16 others from the rest of the world, to go to Wittenburg to discuss what the Next Reformations (notice the plural) might look like for us in the 21st century. The title of this blog post was what I talked 
about. I said then, have said it on this site, and have spoken about it at conferences for the last year. Spirituality in the 21st century will be more relational, creational and communitarian. The image you see here was for our year long class called spiritual explorations live.
All that background to say when I arrived a church consult with one of the churches I have been working with for the last 18 months the guy I most closely collaborate with said “we are going to see Avatar today, I think you are going to be surprised.” Well, he was right. Avatar might be the best depiction in movie form of what a spirituality of seeing and awareness might look like in a the postmodern West. Is it technologically spectacular? Yes. Is it the most expensive movie made in history? Yes. Is it a mashup (@dethim for that language application) of stories like Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves? Yes. Is it a great illustration of a spirituality with creational, communitarian and relational sensitivities? Yes! And it is for this last reason I would most press you should see it. This movie is a perfect conversation piece on semiotics…the signs of the times.
Come on gang let’s not bicker about whether or not Cameron’s theology is perfectly biblical or too pantheistic or all the other crazy debates we get into. No one said this was a biblical theological expose’. Let’s acknowledge he has a pulse on the spirituality of our times and is doing it with robust imagination, something that often seems rather domesticated within the church.
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I definetly like that you point out that he recognizes the signs of the time. I know you’ve talked about that before so now i’m going to have to review your semiotics article. Thanks for the post, the movie was absolutely amazing.