This takes us back to the concept of rationality in religion that Kaimi and I were discussing previously.

I really can get behind the “nature awe” that is being espoused and often feel it myself. If this helps a James Cameron make it through life and creates spiritual feelings for him, this is not in any way a bad thing.

Of course it’s irrational, by which I mean (in this case) it’s provably false and at odds with reality. Going back to nature is not something any of us (least of all James Cameron) would really like to do. Cameron is only in favor of nature in so far as he doesn’t have to go back to it himself. In truth the Na’vi have escaped nature more fully than we have.

On the other hand, why over analyze a movie like Avatar? If you take it as a parable of life, it teaches little. But if you take it at face value, it teaches much more.

If there really was a planet out there where the trees formed a sentient network and the people could live forever as organic software, thus escaping the throes of nature through her fictional loving embrace, I’d take that life over mortal life any day!

And so a company that wanted to cut down the trees really would be inherently evil and should be destroyed. Perhaps it’s best to read no more into the plot than what it actually presents.

But that’s no serious obstacle to pantheism, and nature worship need not be naive. Humans have often succumbed to the temptation to worship demons; and their journey to the dark side is soon complete.