Last night David was browsing the Internet, and he (don’t ask me how) ended up on a YouTube video about the best Sith Lords. Don’t bother watching it though, because it’s just a few pictures of Dark Nihilus and Dark Revan set to four minutes of music, asking you to comment with your favorite Siths. (And we’re talking Star Wars here, just to be clear.)

David was fascinated. He started reading the comments and quoting them to me. Example:

Nihilus hands down. Revan had powerful control of the Force but he also had a massive military at his side for his conquests. Vader is a pawn of the Emperor and has no real control but is still strong. The rest have real strengths and positive features but Nihilus has absolute power of the force so much that he doesn’t need a large army for defense. Also he can kill all life on a planet without any real effort, something I’ve never seen another Sith Lord do. Death Star doesn’t count.

He couldn’t believe how people devote themselves to a world that isn’t real, in his opinion “throwing their lives away.” He went on and on about how ridiculous it is. My response?

It makes me want to watch Star Wars again.

David stared at me open-mouthed. Finally he ran his hands through his hair and said, “I don’t know how we ended up married.”

Of course he was kidding about that last comment, but the point is that we are very different in many ways, and this is one of them. David has no tolerance for fantasy and science fiction, and I consider them two of my favorite genres. He doesn’t understand that just because I enjoy losing myself in another world it doesn’t mean that I’m dissatisfied with my own real life. I love my life.

But fantasy gets me dreaming. It gets me longing for something more. I believe in God, in heaven, and in everything that comes with that, and I think C.S. Lewis described it best in my favorite sermon of all time when he said “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Additionally, so many themes in fantasy and sci-fi echo the ultimate struggle between good and evil, and look forward to the day when everything will be made right.

My pastor and I recently got into a discussion about the Twilight series, which I am proud to say I let him borrow my copies of, and he gave me his take on why the books are so popular. He said that usually when he reads anything having to do with romance, he naturally relates to the man, being himself a man. But in this case, he found himself relating to Bella, the awkward and flawed girl. (Hopefully he’s okay with me writing this, and if not…eh.) Edward is supernatural, he is powerful, beautiful, almost too good to be true, he is fiercely protective and loves unconditionally. He is not meant to be a symbol of God, and some would vehemently argue against this, but I think the reason the books are so popular (because come on, they’re not that well-written) is because we humans were created first and foremost to be loved by God, and Edward displays many of the characteristics that we long for.

You won’t find me at any Star Wars conventions in the near future (because I, too, believe there is a line that probably shouldn’t be crossed), but you will certainly see me at a showing of New Moon. And now you know why.