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

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
O PENING LINE OF EACH S TAR W ARS FILM

T his books genesis can be traced to a drive-in theater in southern Missouri, nearly thirty years ago. I was only five years old when I took my first steps into the Star Wars galaxy, but I decided then and there that I would someday write about this epic space opera.

The early drafts were not promisingthey consisted primarily of crayon and ink-pen portrayals of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. These sketches appeared on pretty much any piece of paper I could find around the house, including my older sisters junior term paper.

In the years following, I became fluent in more sophisticated forms of communicationnot quite six million, mind you, but I did learn how to pull a few books together. So as the release of Star Wars: Episode IIIRevenge of the Sith approached, my longings to write a book on this subject were revived, along with my penchant for throwing a fit in the aisle of Wal-Mart when Im not allowed to purchase my favorite action figure.

Special thanks to David Webb and the fine folk at Multnomah Publishers for their work on this manuscript. Thanks to my most magnificent friends Deby Nottingham and Laura Franklin for their comments on the early drafts of the bookeach of you is quite clever, for a human being. Thanks also to the members of First Baptist Church of Rolling Hills who graciously granted me a flexible schedule to complete this book and who patiently listened to several of these chapters in the form of Bible studies and sermons.

Finding God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away was written at Panera Bread Company on Forty-first Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and at Mojos Famous Bar-B-Q on Historic Route 66 in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Thanks to the staff at both restaurants for fueling this project with copious quantities of Asiago cheese bagels and barbecued hot links.

Finally, for their tireless patience while I worked on this book, my wife, Rayann, and daughter, Hannah, deserve more thanks than I can possibly express in a single manuscript. Like the sun and moon, the two of you fill my life with light every day and every night. You are the most precious gifts that God has given to me, and I stand in awe of the glory I see in you.

If its been awhile since you watched the Star Wars movies, you may want to read the appendix, A Whirlwind Guide to the Star Wars Saga, before proceeding. Otherwise, begin with and may the Force be with you!

Timothy Paul Jones

Every generation has a legend.
Every saga has a beginning.
Every journey has a first step.
T RAILER FOR S TAR W ARS : E PISODE IT HE P HANTOM M ENACE

We have come from God [so] inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God.
J. R. R. T OLKIEN

A sluggish breeze meanders down the northern footings of the Ozark Mountains, barely rustling the scrubby walnuts and stately pines. The wind whispers through the jagged rows of automobiles gathered in the graveled lot, but the occupants do not hear its voice. They are waiting for the time-between-the-times, for the mystical moment when the last shimmers of sunlight wither from the western sky In that moment, the rhythmic stutter of the film projector behind them will begin, and the white panel before themnow nothing more than a towering wall of cracking wood and peeling white paintwill become their window into a larger world. Many of them already know the words that will herald the genesis of their journey.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

No one has anticipated this moment with more zeal than a certain five-year-old boy seated in the third row of vehicles. Well, perhaps seated isnt quite the right word. The backseat of his parents Ford Pinto gave up on containing the boys ecstasy nearly an hour ago, quietly resigning itself to being prematurely frayed by a perpetually squiggling posterior. The Dr. Pepperclasped in a cup in his handshas not helped.