Saturday, January 4, 2014
A Preview
It has been a long and busy day, making blogging difficult. Over the next week I will be posting my 50 favorite comic book superheroes with explanations of why I favor them, and an in-depth faith based review of the newest issue of TEEN TITANS.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Christ The Phoenix
I read websites that deride superheroes as idolatrous, which as you can imagine is not an opinion I share. Moreover, I think it is freaking stupid. The truth is that anything can become an idol if you let it. Food can become an idol, that does not make it idolatrous. Humans are idolatrous, not the objects idolized. We are more prone to idolize certain things like sex, but I don't think superheroes are on that list.
In the early church, the Phoenix was a symbol of Christ, right up there with the Ichthus. The reasons why are not hard to grasp for anyone familiar with the myth of the Phoenix, a magical creature of light and fire that dies and is reborn. Christians saw in that myth a symbol or foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.
Myth is not evil, even when it is not overtly Christian. It is the human attempt to reach out to the divine. It is inconceivable that these attempts have nothing to teach us, or get everything wrong. A thoughtful Christian should be able to expose themselves to myth and say "yes" to what is true and critique what is not. I see no difference between the early Christians seeing the Phoenix as a symbol for Christ and my use of Superman as a symbol for the same. Superheroes are the myths of our time. Christians need to rediscover the cultural openness (tempered by a fierce faithfulness to Christ) of former times.
In the early church, the Phoenix was a symbol of Christ, right up there with the Ichthus. The reasons why are not hard to grasp for anyone familiar with the myth of the Phoenix, a magical creature of light and fire that dies and is reborn. Christians saw in that myth a symbol or foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.
Myth is not evil, even when it is not overtly Christian. It is the human attempt to reach out to the divine. It is inconceivable that these attempts have nothing to teach us, or get everything wrong. A thoughtful Christian should be able to expose themselves to myth and say "yes" to what is true and critique what is not. I see no difference between the early Christians seeing the Phoenix as a symbol for Christ and my use of Superman as a symbol for the same. Superheroes are the myths of our time. Christians need to rediscover the cultural openness (tempered by a fierce faithfulness to Christ) of former times.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
The Responsibilities of Example-Setting
Just because what you do doesn't directly hurt anyone else, and just because it doesn't directly hurt you, doesn't mean it is not sinful or wrong. One of the things we fail to realize is the way in which we set examples for others, and how those examples can hurt other people. When a middle-class young person experiments with drugs, they do so with a lesser risk than other people. Those at the socioeconomic 'bottom' are not able to insulate themselves from the consequences of their actions the way the middle class and wealthy are. Someone with resources can afford a good lawyer to soften the legal consequences of their behavior. They can hire doctors and go into rehab if they happen to get hooked. They are usually more highly educated with a huge social structure around them and behind them that can help them stay motivated, counteracting some of the demotivating effects of light night partying and drugs.
The poor have none of these resources, or at least very few of them. By going out and setting an example of behavior, they lead other people into that behavior. While that behavior may be fine for you, it may not be so fine for me. You may not be an addict, but you by your not being an addict entice other people to try what you are doing. They may in fact be prone to addiction, and the very fact that you are not tricks them into thinking they can do what you do. But they find out that they can't.
You are responsible for the example you set. I wonder how many teachers experiment with drugs in high school, only to go on to become teachers and find those same drugs, the same behaviors that cost them little, end up costing others who are not so fortunate very much indeed. I suspect this is a common experience, actually. And then they are stuck hypocritically and indeed with an aristocratic condescension saying to these people, "oh it was fine for me, but for you its killing you...don't you see?" Yet actions speak louder than words. They know who you likely really were, they know about the similar activities that go on among the well-off.
No man is an island, indeed. Think about the culture you are reinforcing when you act. You do not belong to yourself. Who you are is in God's hands and indeed in the hands of your fellow man. I guess in this sense there is some truth to karma.
The poor have none of these resources, or at least very few of them. By going out and setting an example of behavior, they lead other people into that behavior. While that behavior may be fine for you, it may not be so fine for me. You may not be an addict, but you by your not being an addict entice other people to try what you are doing. They may in fact be prone to addiction, and the very fact that you are not tricks them into thinking they can do what you do. But they find out that they can't.
You are responsible for the example you set. I wonder how many teachers experiment with drugs in high school, only to go on to become teachers and find those same drugs, the same behaviors that cost them little, end up costing others who are not so fortunate very much indeed. I suspect this is a common experience, actually. And then they are stuck hypocritically and indeed with an aristocratic condescension saying to these people, "oh it was fine for me, but for you its killing you...don't you see?" Yet actions speak louder than words. They know who you likely really were, they know about the similar activities that go on among the well-off.
No man is an island, indeed. Think about the culture you are reinforcing when you act. You do not belong to yourself. Who you are is in God's hands and indeed in the hands of your fellow man. I guess in this sense there is some truth to karma.
A Writer's Resolutions
New Year's resolutions have worked well for me in the past. I resolved to quit smoking cigarettes one year, and that worked out well. I resolved to self-publish my book and I did that as well (available, by the way, on Amazon under the title CONVERSATIONAL THEOLOGY: A DIALECTICAL APPROACH TO BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION). Last year I resolved to blog daily and to put out one video homily a week. I did the blogging thing the whole year and the video sermoning half a year. The sermoning ended primarily because it got very little response.
I have found that my musings on pop culture have been very popular indeed and so I am going to expand them. This blog will feature more in-depth reviews of comic books. I shall continue with my quicker reviews and try to do a detailed review of one comic book a week. I enjoy this part of my life and I try each year to explore the depths and shallows of my joys in life. Theology will still be the main purpose of this blog, and I am going to try to write reviews that have a decidedly theological bent to them.
Additionally, I am going to be working on comic book scripts for a new project. I am going to try to write and refine a script every two weeks. I don't want to say too much too early on a public forum, but I am going to say I am going to try to create a superhero or superhero-like character that draws heavily on Biblical imagery. One of the problems with the Christian superhero offerings that exist today is that they are too didactic. They set you down and tell you what they are all about. I want to create a character that could appeal to Christians but that doesn't get too didactic. This is hard to do. But I think it can be done.
This blog, however, will remain the focus of my writing for some time to come. I have enjoyed doing the work I do here, and I hope you enjoy it as well. Thank you to all my readers for helping me keep this resolution last year. If I did not get the response I did, I might not have been able to continue. Without feedback from other people, projects like this are hard to continue.
I have found that my musings on pop culture have been very popular indeed and so I am going to expand them. This blog will feature more in-depth reviews of comic books. I shall continue with my quicker reviews and try to do a detailed review of one comic book a week. I enjoy this part of my life and I try each year to explore the depths and shallows of my joys in life. Theology will still be the main purpose of this blog, and I am going to try to write reviews that have a decidedly theological bent to them.
Additionally, I am going to be working on comic book scripts for a new project. I am going to try to write and refine a script every two weeks. I don't want to say too much too early on a public forum, but I am going to say I am going to try to create a superhero or superhero-like character that draws heavily on Biblical imagery. One of the problems with the Christian superhero offerings that exist today is that they are too didactic. They set you down and tell you what they are all about. I want to create a character that could appeal to Christians but that doesn't get too didactic. This is hard to do. But I think it can be done.
This blog, however, will remain the focus of my writing for some time to come. I have enjoyed doing the work I do here, and I hope you enjoy it as well. Thank you to all my readers for helping me keep this resolution last year. If I did not get the response I did, I might not have been able to continue. Without feedback from other people, projects like this are hard to continue.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Quotable
"With a word, I become the world's mightiest mortal. With a whisper, the thunder calls my name. I am Captain Marvel... All words are magic. That is the beginning of wisdom. Fear of the WORD." - Captain Marvel in Alex Ross's JUSTICE
A New Year & An Anniversary
A new year comes to pass. It all goes so quickly. 2013 was, thankfully, better than the year before, as all my years have been since I first made the decision, with God's help, to quit the horror that is substance abuse. And even factoring in my darkest years, the total thrust of my life has been towards happiness. My childhood was no idyllic Eden. My adulthood more or less has been.
But the real turning point, the crux of the matter, was meeting the woman who would become my wife. "I was not fully born again until I met (her)." Nine years ago today we met on a blind date and it has all been a journey heavenward since. She supercharged God's presence in my life. To God and to her I am eternally grateful. Happy New Year everyone. As I move forward into 2014 I do so knowing that it will not always be all so easy, but it will always be as the person God and good people have formed into today. And such a person is, basically, happy. We cannot meet life better.
But the real turning point, the crux of the matter, was meeting the woman who would become my wife. "I was not fully born again until I met (her)." Nine years ago today we met on a blind date and it has all been a journey heavenward since. She supercharged God's presence in my life. To God and to her I am eternally grateful. Happy New Year everyone. As I move forward into 2014 I do so knowing that it will not always be all so easy, but it will always be as the person God and good people have formed into today. And such a person is, basically, happy. We cannot meet life better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)