Finding God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: A Spiritual Exploration of the Star Wars Saga

I have not honestly ever considered how Star Wars and my own spiritual path could ever be related. But in this novel, Jones helps me realize how the Star Wars saga helped to foster my spirituality at a young age and helped me gain a better appreciation of my own faith. This novel was a wonderful, serious, and interesting read. I highly recommend it to those who seek something more out of their Star Wars movie experience and would like to deepen their faith.

In Finding God in a Galaxy Far Far Away, Timothy Paul Jones writes with the heart of a poet and the mind of a theologian. His exploration into the universe of Star Wars actually led me to a deeper understanding of the awe of God that runs through all of life. When Timothy wrote "I was made with a longing for awe..." I got shivers. The great fun of this book is the way the author highlights the nostalgia we all feel for the Star Wars movies and then uses those warm feelings to introduce us to deep, intimate truths about God. Since you can "look inside this book" on your own, I won't bother repeating the table of contents to you. But I will say this is one I can easily recommend.

In Finding God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, Timothy Paul Jones--a long time, avid fan of Star Wars--displays amazing insight into the world of the Star Wars characters and a deep admiration for this extremely influential saga. However, he does so without losing his personal Christian worldview. He is able to blend the two by comparing, matching, and sometimes contrasting specific quotations from the movies with direct quotes from numerous Christian apologists and scholars throughout the ages. Among others, he takes lines from G. K. Chesterton, author of Orthodoxy, from C.S. Lewis, author of Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia, from J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, and from John Chrysostom, a fourth century Christian theologian. Jones points out that the same awe that is a fundamental element of the Star Wars films can also be found in the miraculous elements of the Christian faith. Like the initial Star Wars trilogy, Jones divides his book into three sections. He begins by examining the introspective awe of life, the universe, of the variations in creation, and of the constant struggle of good versus evil as depicted in Star Wars and in Christianity. He expands this eventually to include the awe of probing, reflecting on, and trying to define the great unknown, both metaphorically as "space" and religiously as "God." Secondly, he provides plot summaries and an appendix of references for anyone who has not seen all of the Star Wars movies or who may have forgotten key aspects of each movie--since the films were released as episodes 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, and 3, out of sequence. Thirdly, he includes a study guide so fans of the movies or groups of Christians can use the book in a discussion group. Most likely, this book will appeal to young people or to science fiction fans in general. To that end, however, it could be a clever witnessing tool for reaching a generation that never tires of talking about the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Han Solo. -- Mike Hentz, Christian Book Previews.com