Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Superheroes and Christ the Victorious Hero

In the last decade several movies have been made (some with many sequels) based on the old superheroes of comic books and TV cartoons.  Some of us were kids when we got hooked on watching Batman and Robin beat up the bad guys or Spiderman help little old ladies from getting mugged.  There seemed to be a moral quality about these superheroes from the comics that reflected a boundary about goodness and evil and the need for justice.   Yet today with the sophistication of computer generated “virtual reality” and the postmodern quest for complexity of character, the Superheroes now have a dark side.  Complexity is not a bad thing or unchristian.  We know the nature of the human heart and that even among believers we do not deal with cardboard characters.   The Bible gives us the prayers of King David as well as his private lusts and public scandals.   Paul does not hide his physical weakness or his discouragement in ministry (1 Cor. 2:3).   Whitewashing heroes to make them something unreal or comical is not what biblical truth is about.  Our heroes in faith are not people with unblemished records or superhuman powers, but showed remarkable complexity of personalities.  They were very much ordinary men and women who in the midst of testing did something rather extraordinary; they believed in God (Heb.11) and they trusted in the One who save them, a righteous Redeemer. 
They were counted righteous by faith in the One who is victorious over all evil and sin.  Our redeemer, Jesus Christ is not a hero like the comic book variety, he is true and righteous.   The human longing for heroes, finds true fulfillment in the grace of Christ our Lord.  

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