Vader and Goliath: 21 Reasons Star Wars is Really the Story of King David

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Darth vader
Image via rileyashimself.blogspot.com.

This article was originally written by Riley Lewis for his blog. The following is an excerpt.

The following contains NO SPOILERS for Episode VII.

Hollywood’s worst kept secret is that George Lucas borrowed many aspects of his beloved franchise from sources like Joseph Campbell, Flash Gordon, the Lord of the Rings, Taoism, and Nazi Germany. When it comes to the origin of his most iconic character, however, most people are looking in Alderaan places (OK, no more Star Wars puns).  What you may not realize is that Darth Vader’s character arc (which is, after all, the plot of the first six movies) closely mirrors one of the oldest stories of all time—a story featured in a book arguably more famous than any of those other sources: the Holy Bible itself.

I believe that George Lucas has been holding out one more major piece of the origin story – the origin of not only the most iconic villain of all time, but also the plotline that has kept us all coming back for more for generations. But Anakin’s analog isn’t Lucifer, Judas, Pharaoh, or any of the villains you might expect. No, George Lucas stole the plot of Star Wars from none other than the giant-slayer himself: King David.

But wait… isn’t David one of the good guys? That depends on who (and when) you ask. Let’s look at some facts.

The Slave and the Shepherd

1. David and Darth were both the subjects of prophecy and seen as the source of salvation or balance to their respective peoples.

2. Both were discovered at a young age, one working as a shepherd boy, the other as a slave.

3. As a child, each accomplished remarkable things in spite of others’ skepticism. David killed a lion and a bear defending his father’s flocks. Anakin won the Boonta Eve Podrace and destroyed the Trade Federation’s droid control ship.

4. Both young men are soon embroiled in war. David’s people have been besieged by the dreaded Philistines; Anakin’s Republic is under attack from the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Each enemy force sends forth a seemingly invincible champion. David is selected to defeat the giant Goliath of Gath. Meanwhile, Anakin is left alone to duel the Sith Lord Count Dooku.

5. There are thousands of stories about young men facing insurmountable odds, but here’s where things start to get really fascinating. David immediately takes down his foe with a sling. Anakin (literally) disarms Count Dooku. To finish the fight, both David and Anakin decapitate their foe with his own sword.

The Emperor and the King

6. Both characters develope a close relationship with their sovereign leader: David to King Saul and Anakin to Chancellor Palpatine (AKA Darth Sidious). At first, both Saul and Palpatine seem like trusted allies, but each is soon revealed to be homicidally power hungry.

Read the full article at rileyashimself.blogspot.com

Kylie is a writer at LDS.net and graduate of BYU with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She grew up in a Chicago suburb where she gained a passion for the Chicago Cubs. She enjoys writing and live event video production.