A Lawyer's Voice from Nazi Germany: April to May 1940

This is another installment from the letters of Helmuth James von Moltke as taken from Letters to Freya (Knopf 1990). In these excerpts from April to May 1940, he becomes increasingly concerned about avoiding war in the West. These are some of the most important entries I have read so far.

Berlin 13 April 1940

The process by which Denmark is gradually to be made like Poland begins today. I did what I could to prevent it, but when I first heard about it the people who should have done something had already given their consent. Otherwise the situation is unchanged.

Berlin 14 April 1940

I'd intended to go to the Instiutute today. But I'll stay here. First I went to the Office in the morning to see how things were going. I got into conversation with Burkner on the strategic aspects of this present operation. It took an hour; unfortunately it was more use to him than to me. I started by complaining that we are continually being informed only of the How of operations, while the really interesting Why is withheld from us, so that we are reduced to guess work. I found this to be so time and again. It seems to be a trait of the German character to evade the Whether in important matters and to push the How into the foreground and to rejoice in doing that so well and never to ask whether it should be done at all. The Germans seem to have a pronounced gift for tactics and seem to be hopeless at strategy.

Translated into military terms this flaw means that these men, rejoicing in operations and victories, quite lose sight of the goal of winning the war. Instead of pondering whether a solution will bring the winning of the war nearer, they think only of the best solution for each question. I've seen someone start as from a dream when I asked naively whether he thought his suggestion was calculated to promote the winning of the war. It's really only Schuster and Weichold I haven't found making this mistake.

It's the same with this operation in the North. I've already asked quite a number of people why we occupied Norway. Not one has been able to give a satisfactory answer. But not only did the answer leave me unsatisfied, no, I noticed every time at the end of the conversation that my interlocutor wasn't satisfied by the answer either, or, rather, was no longer satisfied. For the time being I actually have a better solution than the others; only this possible solution doesn't seem to have dawned on anyone; it would demand certain preparations which have not been made.

This is a remarkable entry. It shows a bureaucrat asking difficult questions about his country's actions. His analysis of Why, How and Whether shows a philosophical bent. Of course, he does come off as a bit impressed with himself. Nevertheless, his questioning is almost patriotic in the sense of asking whether strategic decisions are actually in the national interest. At this point in time, Von Moltke still holds hope that reasoned discourse can avert tragedy for Germany. His description of the mindset of the German policymakers aeems eerily similiar to the American mindset in the runup to the Iraq war.

Berlin 18 April 1940

Last night I had an exciting dream. I was sent to Holland on duty and had a weekend there. So I decided to go to London with an American passport, the passport of a friend who did not appear in the dream. I arrived in London Saturday morning and went from Liverpool street to 5 Duke of York Street, where I surprised Michael (Balfour) at his morning toilet. He had to get to the office and I went to the Temple and sat down in John Foster's room, where I did some telephoning and was visited by various acquaintances. Lionel Curtis, unfortunately, was not in London. For some military reason or other I was not able to go to Oxford and he said he'd come up. On Sunday we walked through London, through the parks, which were already very springlike. Curtis had become a bit fatter but was well and chipper--For some inexexplicable reason I missed the night train, which was to have brought me back to my work at the Hague on Monday morning. That was the diagreeable end of an otherwise very nice dream: I felt compelled to choose between two alternatives: being shot as a spy in England or as a traitor in Germany. And so I woke up.

His dream was prescient, since he was eventually hung as a traitor in Germany.

Berlin 22 April 1940

Today was ghastly again because we are now beginning to behave in Norway as in Poland. It is ghastly. The SS have been sent in and you'll soon see the organizational changes in the papers. And the military go along. I am terribly depressed.

Berlin 29 April 1940

I didn't write yesterday because at 6 o'clock I discovered a mistake in a memorandum that was to give the reasons for a decision that had already been formulated as an order, and it undermined the whole thing. I then sat over it till 12. Today all hell has broken loose. I must finish this memorandum before I leave and the order is already wrong.

This short entry speaks to the lawyer in me. I can empathize with von Moltke because I have faced many five o'clock emergencies in my own practice.

Breslau 19 May 1940

Heaven knows what I am in Berlin for. The main purpose of my work is gone. Well, I must wait and see. But you are my love and that at least is a firm point.

I hope that the question of workers can be setteld so that the awful pressure is relieved.

When von Moltke speaks of "the main purpose of his work" being gone, he is referring to his attempts to prevent the western invasion. Germany attacked neutral Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg on May 10, 1940.

Berlin 20 May 1940

The picture tonight is of a complete collapse of the French front in the North-West resulting from an outright military failure of the French, especially of their leadership. Gamelin has failed his exam. The superiority of the Luftwaffe admittedly played a big part, but a big real mistake was made. Incomprehensible! And it will have enormous consequences. But we will have to wait a few days.

Berlin 21 May 1940

You ask how I am? What do you expect? I am threshing empty straw on a side track, for everything I might have been able to do has been overtaken by events. That is, naturally unpleasant. But what am I to do? I am in the machine now and must wait to see how I get out again. . . .

And yet I have heaps of work. That's the annoying thing. I have a very hard week ahead of me and late evenings will be the rule. When all that is taken into account, I am really quite well. Your husband is well and dissatisfied, nailed to the spot and in need of departure for Kreisau. This is a time that has to be endured.

The entries of 19 May and 21 May are very poignant for me. This principled man has failed in his efforts to prevent the Western invasion. The weapons of bureacratic infighting were no match for the German war machine. It is hard to know whether he even had a chance or merely overestimated his own importance. This series of excerpts ends with him "in the machine" and "well and dissatisfied." He has found the conduct of the occupying German forces "ghastly." I suspect that these entries mark the beginning of his transition from working within the regime to working against it. However, I have a lot more reading to do. It is interesting to me that he is so candid with his wife and apparently unconcerned with his letters being discovered by the authorities.

A Lawyers Voice from Nazi Germany: Feb. to March 1940

I am continuing to read Letters to Freya, the letters of Helmuth James von Moltke to his wife from 1939 to 1945. Von Moltke was a lawyer who served as an adviser to the German high command. His letters from the first part of 1940 reflect his determination to prevent the invasion of the West. They show him using the tools of bureaucratic infighting to affect change in German policy. They show a lawyer working within the system, as opposed to plotting against his government.

Berlin 18 February 1940

I am still very worried. Last month's hopes have vanished, and instead a large number of unfortunate facts have come together. At the same time the stupidity in some high military quarters is so blatant that it is unbelievable. Against these sad spectacles in the public sector, the fact that I am now in a somewhat more useful position is only of minor importance.

Berlin 4 March 1940

The Wells conversations don't seem to have produced much. Yesterday afternoon he talked with Schacht. It's a devilish jam. But I believe less than ever in an attack in the West. Yet how is this paralysis to be overcome?

The Wells conversations refers to a diplomatic mission by U.S. Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles to try to broker a peace treaty. Von Molke's views are shared by the History Channel which stated, "In short, Welles' trip accomplished nothing."

Berlin 8 March 1940

Today I celebrated a great triumph. Yesterday's battle continued today and all the military stars were mobilized. Schuster succeeded finally in getting Keitel onto my line, and Keitel succeeded in getting the Fuhrer onto my line, at at 6.30 came a Fuhrer Order with my conclusion and with my arguments. It is a scandal that such a thing can happen without the whole government falling apart, for it really isn't feasible to have one minister sabotage the collective decision of all the other ministers. but a great disaster has been averted, and despite everything it gives me great satisfaction to think that many non-German women have your husband to thank for the continued existence of theirs. For at bottom this decision is entirely and solely your husband's against all the other ministries, and against my own superiors. Isn't that gratifying?

I have not been able to locate the specifics of the Fuhrer Order of March 8, 1940. However, since some of the Fuhrer Orders dealt with occupied territories, it is possible that this one had to do with treatment of prisoners in occupied territories.

Berlin 10 March 1940

Yesterday again my head was like a perpetuum mobile. I would not drop the things which are its main official concern. The struggle to prevent needless destruction absorbs me me so completely that I can't think of anything else. All last week stood under two slogans I had coined, which had both hit home. One is: Destruction that wins the war is warfare; destruction that doesn't open a prospect of winning the war barbarism. And the other is this: I want to win the war, you want successes to report; the two are incompatible.--It is a remarkable discovery that even in warfare only ethical principles have any prospect of proving right. Whoever thinks it otherwise has simply not thought it through.

At bottom my attitude to this war is that of an executor who is horrified to see heirs fighting over an inheritance that grows less and less because of the dispute. He sees the heirs putting all their energy into this quarrel and forgetting how to work usefully, and finally not only squandering their inheritance in the litigation but also wasting their own abilities in the battle. One sees all this and is obliged to try every way that may lead out of the quarrel. Every time one hopes there may be some way or other, it turns out not to be a way. And when one has has once more seen that it isn't a way, one thinks perhaps one didn't try everything, didn't search and consider and investigate carefully enough.

This letter reflects an interesting conflict. On the one hand, von Moltke is concerned about finding ethical principles. On the other hand, he is interested in winning the war. However, his definition of winning is bringing the conflict to an end as quickly as possible. His squabbling heirs analogy shows that he did not look favorably on the war effort.

Berlin 12 March 1940

Since Saturday I have been once more involved in a big fight against a certain strategic plan. I really made a terrific effort, but, alas, without any success. Tomorrow I want to take a break, because I simply can't go on anymore. I'm so tired that I have a headache, and there's no point in that.--Today I have thought out a new tactic to get the project taken up again. For that I must first get certain people, among them Burkner, Schuster, and Weichold, to read an old article by Schmitz. That will give me some breathing space and nothing more will happen until next week.

The editor of the book suggests that the "certain strategic plan" that von Moltke referred to was the invasion of Denmark and Norway. It is curious that the path to stemming an invasion of neutral countries is getting officials to read "an old article by Schmitz."

Berlin 17 March 1940

Today is a long and quiet day; or at least so I hope, for it is still morning. Your husband got up slowly, washed a little, had a delicious breakfast, and then listened to the Suite in B minor. I've already got very fond of it. Then I read the Bible a little more, an activity I pursue with more enjoyment now than ever before. It used to be all stories to me, at least the Old Testament; but now it is all contemporary to me. I find it so much more gripping than ever before. I used to be annoyed by the long drawn-out inessentials, but now I have learned that what matters can be expressed in one sentence or not at all. Therefore, when anyone tries to stretch out something essential, it's a sure sign that he can't say it at all.

It is interesting that as he becomes more involved in opposing the war effort, he begins to see the Bible as more than "all stories to me."

This post is already quite lengthy, so I will pick up with April and May 1940 in the next installment.

More on the 3M Half Marathon

After reading this morning's paper, I picked up a few more positive stories from yesterday's race. In a sport dominated by swift-footed Kenyans, this year's race was won by Westly Keating, a 28 year old high school chemistry teacher from Edinburg, Texas. As a high school teacher, I can be sure that he doesn't have the money or the time to train professionally on a full-time basis, so this makes it a true amateur victory. I am sure that his students will be very proud.

Two other results caught my eye. The winner of the women's 75+ category was Vonda Lee Adorno of Austin, who finished in 2:24:38. The winner of the men's 75+ category was Spencer Mann of Spicewood, who finished in 2:38:32. Both of the 75+ winners finished faster than I did (although I was only about a minute behind Spencer). I am impressed by the performance of these local septuagenarians who accomplished something that most 20-somethings wouldn't attempt.

Back of the Pack: My Half Marathon

I am not a jock. However, for the last four years I have pushed myself to complete the 3M Half Marathon (that's 13.1 miles). If you are going to attempt a half marathon, this is a good one to do because the weather in January is nice and cool and the course is generally downhill.

If I were a jock, I would train for this year-round (and would probably lose about 35 more pounds). As it is, I usually start getting ready for the race in November when soccer season ends. I have a nice window of 2 1/2 months when I don't have to take kids to soccer practice and don't have to referee games, so it leaves more time to train. This year I got the flu in November, so I didn't start training until Thanksgiving weekend. However, I was able to get six good weeks of running in. My routine was to do a two mile segment of the course and back every Saturday, a longer run in the gym on Sunday and 30 minutes before work on Tuesday and Thursday. When I started, I was huffing and puffing just to do 30 minutes. However, after a while I could feel my running legs coming back, not quite enough as it turns out later.

I also tried a new type of running shoes. There is a movement in running toward shoes which are more flexible and allow your feet to move more naturally. I picked up a pair of Nike Free's for Christmas and found that they were pretty easy to get used to--almost, more on that later.

The two Thursdays before the race, my trainer Brandon, gave my legs a tune-up using muscle activation technique. This is a system which identifies muscles that are not working properly and turns them on by palpating the muscle endings (which in some cases means mashing the muscle endings, but usually does not involve great pain).

The day before race day, I managed to avoid last year's mistake of refereeing games in a soccer tournament. I did two middle school games, but still had plenty of time to rest and drink water the day before. We have developed a pre-race ritual. Every year we go and eat pasta and then spend the night at the Embassy Suites in North Austin. From there, I can walk out the door of the hotel and be at the start of the race. My crew, Valeska and Stephanie, then check out of the hotel and meet me at the finish line.

The race was scheduled to start Sunday morning at 6:45. I got onto the elevator, which was filled with runners, and made my way down to the lobby, which was filled with hundreds of runners. It seems like a lot of other people had the idea to spend the night.

When I left the hotel, it was dark and windy, so windy in fact, that the barriers which kept cars away from the runners kept blowing away. The start of the race was delayed for nearly an hour until the City of Austin said it was okay to begin. By that time, the sun was up and the crowd was restless.

As I passed the starting line, my iPod played "Do Your Feet Hurt" by MxPx. It was great running music because it had a great beat. However, it was a portent of things to come. The first few miles felt very comfortable, even though there was a lot of uphill. The race course starts on Stonelake Parkway south of the Gateway Shopping Center, winds its way up to Braker Lane, crosses under Research and then follows the acess road south. From there it goes down Jollyville Road to Mesa and then to Spicewood Springs.

One thing I noticed right away was that there were a lot of people of size at the back of the pack with me. Some of them made me look svelte in comparison. I felt inspired that so many non-traditional runners like myself were taking up the challenge. There was one woman in black sweatpants who I encountered throughout the day who was, how should I say it, wide. She turned out to be my inspiration since I spent a lot of the day looking at her from behind.

Having run this race several times, there are several constants that I have noticed. There are always cute young kids along Mesa who hold out their hands to you to tag as you run by. There are always jugglers at the corner of Mesa and Spicewood Springs. There is always a bagpiper at Spicewood Springs and MoPac. This is very reassuring.

After passing Anderson High on Mesa and then onto Spicewood Springs, the course had its first nice downhill stretch. I was feeling pretty good. However, around mile 4, I could feel some discomfort in the instep of my right foot. I paced myself to go take the MoPac overpass (which is a big arch) without burning myself out. Just before mile 6, my iPod chose to play "Is Anyone Thirsty" by Undercover as I approached a water stop. This day I would take advantage of every water stop.

I was still feeling good and ahead of my goal pace of 12 minutes per mile as I passed the halfway point. When I turned onto Burnet Road, my iPod was playing Weird Al's "Dare to Be Stupid." Somehow that was appropriate for spending Sunday morning running across town.

There is a nice mostly downhill stretch on Burnet covering miles 7 and 8. However, the turn onto North Loop marked the hardest part of the course. By this point, I was pretty tired. North Loop consists of a small hill, a longer hill, a drop and then a nice climb as it turns into 53rd street. As I turned onto North Loop, I felt good. The wind was at my back. One thing I noticed about the Nike Frees is that they are really good for climbing hills. The shoe's flexibility allows you to push up with the ball of your foot.

However, the good feelings were not to last. I was still ahead of pace at mile 9. However, my guts began to churn and I started to feel fatigued. As I passed by Lamar and Guadalupe, I knew that I needed to get to a bathroom. I had meant to take some Pepto-Bismal before the race to slow my intestinal tract down, but forgot. The Epoch Coffee Shop is located on North Loop right before the start of the last hill. I ran in and felt much relieved. After turning from 53rd to Duval, I passed mile 10. At this point, I was exactly even on my goal pace. I was starting the major downhill portion of the course. I had just run this section last Saturday.

Everything looked good except for one thing. At two hours in, I completely ran out of gas. By the time I got to the easiest part of the course, it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other. I could see UT in the distance and knew that the finish line was not far beyond that. However, it was all I could do to trudge on. I felt like a character in Stephen King's the Long Walk. I kept expecting someone to shoot me if I dropped below 4 miles per hour. I limped along down Duval. The woman in the black sweat pants passed me with her slow but steady pace. I passed mile 11 on Duval. I crossed into UT and passed mile 12. At this point I was just 1.1 miles from the end. I was counting down the blocks. However, my legs were on fire and I was doing all that I could to just keep moving.

At some point after I cleared UT, my trudge turned into a slow jog. I could see the finish line. My legs burned. My feet were blistered. It was all I could do to push myself to the end. I crossed the finish line exhausted. Val and Stephanie were waiting for me. I felt relief that it was over. I ran into Stu Phillips, a lawyer I know from the Attorney General's Office. She seemed very relaxed, as if she had been out for a light morning stroll. However, I was soon to encounter the final blow: no Rudy's breakfast tacos. I had to satisfy myself with a banana and an orange as I limped toward the car.

My time was 2 hours 39 minutes 52 seconds. In my age group (men 45-49), I finished at 216 out of 225. Overall, I was 3515 out of 3939 who finished. My time was better than last year's meltdown, but 5 minutes slower than my personal best. Still, not a bad day. Next year I will really get my self together.

Not a Good Week for Reasoned Discourse

This was not a good week for reasoned discourse. Here are three whoppers from the recent week:

1. After the Haiti earthquake, Pat Robertson suggested that the earthquake was payback for a deal with the devil made to secure Haiti's freedom from France. He said:

"And they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' True story. And so the Devil said, 'Okay, it's a deal.' . . . But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another."

2. Also remarking about the Haiti earthquake, Rush Limbaugh said:

"This will play right into Obama's hands -- humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community, in both the light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It's made to order for him."

When asked about the White House relief effort, he replied with cynicism:

"Would you trust that the money is going to go Haiti? But would you trust that your name's gonna end up on a mailing list for the Obama people to start asking you for campaign donations for him and other causes?"

Finally, he quipped:

"Besides, we've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax."

3. At a rally in Austin on Saturday, State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said:

"This usurper in the office of the President of the United States has been shredding our Constitution. Washington is dominated by socialists. . . . Socialists do not believe in god. Their god is the state."

These statements speak for themselves. However, let's dig into them a little bit deeper.

Pat Robertson's Pact With the Devil

Pat Robertson is disturbing on many levels and so are his recent comments. First, he asserts as historical fact that the people of Haiti made a pact with the devil to gain their independence. This is an example of spinning a historical fact into something unrecognizable. In August 1791, a Jamaican-born priest and an African-born priestess performed a pagan freedom ceremony in which a pig was slaughtered and exhorted their listeners to take revenge against the French opressors and "cast aside the image of the God of the whites." This is viewed as the catalyst of the slave rebellion against the French, which led to the independence of Haiti in 1803.

While it is accurate that a pagan ritual was held and that slaves were urged to cast aside the the God of the whites, it is exaggerated to say that the people as a whole made a pact to serve the devil. That is just pure spin.

Furthermore, to assert that God sent an earthquake to Haiti some 219 years later in retribution thoroughly negates the Christian message of unconditional love and forgiveness of sins. Robertson's pact with the devil mythology is particularly disturbing since 80% of Haiti's population is Roman Catholic and another 16% is Protestant. Thus, Robertson's statement suggests that God punishes Christians today for the actions of their pagan ancestors many years before.

What was Pat thinking?

Limbaugh's Petty Diatribe

U.S. Sen. Al Franken wrote a book entitled "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." Once again Limbaugh proves that it is true. Consider Limbaugh's three connected comments. The first is that the Haitian earthquake "will play right into Obama's hands." Well, if the President handles the American response to the crisis well, it should play into his hands. So???? Second, he expressed cynicism that the White House would actually use contributions for Haiti relief. Third, he snarkily commented that America's taxes already went to pay for Haitian relief. The problem with his second and third comments is that he used his distrust of the current President and the government in general to discourage charitable donations for emergency relief. While he later backpedaled and said that he encouraged donations to private relief efforts but not the White House version, the fact remains that he forgot to mention the private donation part. Here, Limbaugh engages in the fallacy of believing that anything that is good for his enemy is bad for him.

Was Rush thinking?

Usurping Anti-Christian Socialists

Rep. Berman described President Obama as a "usurper in the office of president." According to the Merrian-Webster Dictionary, the word usurp comes from the Latin usurpare, meaning to take possession of without legal claim. As I recall, there was an election and President Obama won. He may be a lot of things, but he is not a usurper.

Berman's second statement says that most people in Washington are socialists, that socialists do not believe in God and that therefore, people in Washington do not believe in God. This statement is based on several fallacies. (I wish that I had more time to correctly label them). The initial statement is an over-generalization. While there may be many people in Washington who believe in big government, that does not make them socialists. Further, socialism is an economic system, not a religion. It is Marxists who do not believe in God. On the other hand, Jesus and the early church could easily be described as socialists, so that socialists are not necessarily anti-God. (See Luke 18:22--sell all that you have and give to the poor; Acts 4:32b-- no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common). Thus, the premise that people in Washington do not believe in God is built on a series of faulty premises. Berman could have more accurately stated that many people in Washington believe in big government. However, that would not have made for a good soundbite.

Was Rep. Berman paying attention in English class?

If you would like to support relief effort in Haiti, you can go to:

www.redcross.org

www.catholicrelief.org

www.lwr.org

Two options for sending support through your mobile phone are to:

text the word "Haiti" to 90999 and $10 will be added to your cell phone bill for the Red Cross

text "LWR" to 40579, $10 will be added to your bill for Lutheran World Relief.

A Lawyer's Voice from Nazi Germany: October 1939

When usually civilized countries do uncivilized things, it raises the question of why the responsible persons in society didn't speak up. Germany was steeped in culture and learning, yet unleashed the horrors of World War II and the Final Solution upon the world. Many German Catholics and Lutherans went along with the regime while still attending church without acknowledging the contradiction.

It is heartening to read the story of one German Christian who did not go along. Helmuth James Von Moltke was a young lawyer on the staff of the German high command. He worked behind the scenes to blunt the Nazi plans and to prepare for a postwar Germany. I am reading Letters to Freya, which is composed of letters that Von Moltke wrote to his wife during the war. I am up to October 1939. I am struck by two passages which I read which describe his use of bureacratic infighting to try to thwart bad laws.



Berlin, 30 October 1939

The calm day I expected became a stormy one. At 10 in the morning the draft of a new law landed on my desk and had to be dealt with today. I found myself in total disagreement. I had to obstruct it massively, and the result so far is a meeting tomorrow of all the ministries concerned, at which your husband must play the leading role. I wonder how it will end. . . .

Berlin, 31 October 1939

. . . I spent the major part of the morning doing battle in various ministries. I was horrified by the irresponsibility and sloppiness with which laws are being made these days. It is really shattering. It doesn't matter much, because nobody ever calls an official to account. . . .

While the end of the story is sad (Von Moltke was hanged by the Nazis), I have to smile at the young lawyer "doing battle in various ministries" and working to "obstruct it massively." This is a voice of idealism in a state gone mad. This was a decent man who did what he could to stand up for his beliefs, including both Christianity and the rule of law. I will be posting more excerpts from this book as I continue to read.

Can Christians Enjoy Sci-Fi?

At the start, I have to admit that I love sci-fi. I grew up on Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I really enjoyed the movie Avatar. However, a discussion on Facebook has got me thinking. A Christian friend posted that he loved Avatar. However, another Christian friend responded with some snarky comments about everyone being pantheistic in the future. It got me wondering: can you be Christian and love science fiction?

When it comes to Christianity, I think you can divide science fiction into the following categories:

Category 1: Stories which are expressly Christian. This is a small category. As a matter of fact, the only examples I can think of are C.S. Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet and the Chronicles of Narnia. Christianity does not translate well into science fiction. The Christian story is one which takes place on earth in a very specific historical context. Did Jesus die on the cross in Jerusalem only or was this repeated on a million other worlds? Similarly, do other planets have an analogue to Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt? How do you translate these events to other cultures?

Category 2: Stories which do not take a stand on religion. J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is beloved by many Christians and non-Christians alike. However, it is basically a good vs. evil narrative without a divine element. Star Trek is much the same. Actually, Star Trek is about an idealized United Federation of Plants (a/k/a the United States) which goes about civilizing the galaxy.

Category 3: Stories which have a non-Christian backdrop but do not proselytize. The Force in Star Wars is a very pantheistic concept. However, I don't think anyone would argue that Star Wars was intended to lead viewers from Christianity to Buddhism. It was simply a plot device to help the story along.

Category 4: Stories which seek to negate Christianity. I can't think of any at the moment, but I am sure that there are sci-fi stories out there which mock the idea of religion or a supreme being. Let's face it: part of the appeal of sci-fi is the triumph of reason and technology over superstition. As a result, sci-fi could easily be used for anti-Christian and anti-religious proselytizing.

So, where does Avatar fit on this scale? I think that Avatar falls in category 3. The pantheism is part of the backdrop of the story, but the story is focused on other themes which Christians can identify with.

One theme in Avatar is an outnumbered and outgunned force taking a stand to protect their homeland against alien invaders. There are thematic similarities here to Braveheart and Independence Day. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, there are similarities to the Maccabees and Armageddon.

Another theme in Avatar is a person coming to understand an alien culture and identify with an unlikely neighbor. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the story of the Good Samaritan, the Sermon on the Mount and the command to love your enemies come close to embracing this theme. I would suggest that this is the spiritual core of the movie.

Certainly there is nature worship in Avatar. As Sigourney Weaver's character is dying, she says, "I have seen Eywa, she is real," referring to the Na'vi's nature deity. When the animals of the forest join in the attack against the warlike humans, the Na'vi attribute this to Eywa. However, pantheism is not the central theme. The humans in the movie are bad because they are greedy and selfish, not because they are Christian. Indeed, the humans do not display any religion other than selfishness. Since Christianity is about the negation of narcissism and selfishness, the movie's repudiation of selfish, narcissistic humans cannot be seen as an anti-Christian message. To my mind,the important thing is to look for the big themes and not worry about the background.