2/11/18 Hebrews 12:18-29
Any Marvel fans out there? If you’re not in that loop, Marvel characters are all the beings created for a fictional universe represented by all of the amazing supposed results of evolution! X Men, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Vision, Ant Man, Iron Man, are among their number. They demonstrate super human abilities along with others that far transcend anything we could barely ever think of or imagine – unless you’re Stan Lee - if that really is his name…
Plus, every now and then we are to believe that science stumbles onto something that can harness some of these marvelous, random, mutant abilities, if just given enough time and space. Or that us humans are just below the curve in our evolving. But with this story line, there are so many black holes in the plot that suspending your disbelief can require more stretching than even one of the Fantastic 4 could offer.
But the mega success of the multi-film franchise shows a desire to see these types of super powers on display. The irony is that if you would pool all of these powers into one being that being would indeed be the Living God. In that universe where there is no god, they have simply tried recreating Him without ever giving Him the slightest nod. It speaks to our desire to do all we can to HAVE all power, while feeding the delusion of believing we could somehow ATTAIN all that power. In other words, if we just try hard enough and have long enough to keep trying, we can achieve anything.. All without ever having to acknowledge that God even exists.
We are indeed created with the innate urge to worship and eternity in our hearts. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. He doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and He is all powerful. And that marvelous power will one day be on display, in very public ways that will make the Marvel series look silly, silly.
G.K. Chesterton once said something like: “When man no longer worships God, it’s not that he will worship nothing, but that he will worship anything.” (it’s ‘something like’ because there are too many versions of it around to nail down the exact wording)
Worshiping God as He is, puts our restless hearts at ease.
Worshiping false gods fuels an unquenchable thirst.
Why do you think Marvel movies are so popular? Which is your favorite “Marvel super hero”? Why?
What is your favorite attribute of God’s? Why?
Why do you think people are so willing to believe in anything supposedly supported by science?
Most people do not see or even bother to look for the bigger picture or ask the right questions. You have. Most Marvel movies are well written, Black Panther has the best character development of them all, imo. Origins stories lend themselves to greater ability to develop characters.
In that bigger pic, those flaws to which you referred are never dealt with through God for personal/individual spiritual transformation. They either reboot, go away for awhile, find a better scientific development or face legal consequences or better yet, require a bigger systems change.
i.e. the system must change, not individual people. A common message is: the system is bad, not people. It's easier to blame the system than take personal responsibility.
I think the Marvel movies are so popular because they often have hidden and unhidden messages/themes that speak to human desires. Black Panther had many of these. It also had many political and racial implications scattered through out the movie as well. I would also agree that people enjoy these marvel characters because it allows them to imagine what they think could be accomplished if people had certain powers/capabilities. I find it funny, that despite these powers of the marvel characters, they still have very human problems. Despite having amazing powers, all of them still have flaws. Just like technology, as it advances, human nature is still the same. Advances in technology don't solve the deepest longings in our heart.…