I’m trying to write this article without using any of the words i used on social media. I was thinking about the superhero genre, and how a lot of the stuff is a decay, a negative, deconstruction of the stories we grew up with. Honestly, I’m tired of super-powered vigilantes. I’m not opposed to violence in comics, I’m just saying..
What frontiers are they? So I statted up an ESPer who is an EMT. I referenced in my post that the reason that people accepted the Fantastic Four as heroes first because they were astronauts in the 60s. What makes a hero a hero versus a villain? Using powers or whatever you have unselfishly. You could argue there are cases for superheroes in the bible (although it’s the Holy Spirit’s power working in those humans). But now.. who are our heroes? And how can a character with powers use them in a way that is perhaps counterintuitive, to help them in their profession or calling?
Imagine a person who could heal people, but only their minds/brains. Think about the people who suffer from debilitating illnesses, or brain cancer, or epilepsy (and yes, people that help people, regardless or whether they use surgery, or therapy, or medicine are heroes, generally). If you had a character that was a doctor with the power to miraculously heal people, they would have to keep it a secret. What if it activated outside of the character’s ability to control. Like it works one out of 20 times, or only with people with a specific trait.
What about a fireman with elongation? He wears the protective gear, but he can imitate some of the tools. He can reach 40 or 50 feet up (and you would need a limit at some point), but he grabs people out of windows and saves them. What about the person who can comprehend/speak any human language? (Granted, that really happens in Acts, and is a Gift of the Holy Spirit). And is Jesus the ultimate super hero? He defeats mankind’s greatest enemies (Satan, sin, death), does miracles, heals, raises the dead, rebukes evil spirits.. But Christ’s most compelling part to me is His compassion. He loves humans, every human. He tells you like it is, in love. He goes to the cross, which no ordinary human nor angel could/would do. And he rises from the dead. He defeated death long before Superman had a story told on biodegradable paper.
Now, I think that putting Christ into a box like that is not right. He is so much more than super-human. But imagine a person who never sins. He never lies, steals, cheats, thinks evil of anyone. Now that is some moral power. And.. in the coolest turn on any narrative, he extends the Holy Spirit to help us continue His work. Healing people, speaking Truth, and being different on the inside than we were before.
The bible is the most amazing narrative or series of narratives in which God continually intercedes in history culminating in Messiah, God with skin and bones, and then.. at the end of history, he breaks through and saves the faithful humans from apocalyptic disaster. He saves us, not just rescues, but saves us, from Satan, sin ,and death, and in a lot of cases, from ourselves.
Oh, man, I could keep going, but unfortunately the computer is dying. But yes, Jesus is God, and so while he is finite to some degree, he is infinite.
Hope that helps.