On Gods and Superheroes

It was shortly after the first Spiderman movie came out (The one with Toby Maguire). I developed an interest in “The Types of Christ”

It's a subject that fascinates me and I've wanted to write about it for a while.

“Types of Christ” are people, either real or fictional, who share characteristics with The Savior. They are prevalent in Holy Scripture, Pagan script, and popular literature. They have captured the interest and imagination of people for thousands of years.

Examples of Type Christs:

• Superman (and virtually every other superhero)
• Star War's Luke Skywalker
• Lord of the Rings' Frodo Baggins
• Harry Potter
• Spock
• Aslan
• Mufasa
• Aang
• The Doctor
• Isaac
• Joseph
• Moses
• Boaz
• Paul

If you are familiar with these figures, you may be able to see how certain aspects of their lives mirror the Savior's. Virtually anyone who saves someone else, lays down their life, suffers for someone else, sets an example, exhibit self-sacrifice, love, compassion, supernatural power, courage and strength can be considered a "Type of Christ"

The idea that the world would be so enamored with these types of figures is fascinating to me. Even people who aren't at all religious idolize Superman. I believe that it is because humans are fallen beings who seek redemption; therefore, it is a natural response to seek a savior. These figures can help us envision the true Christ and his love and sacrifice for us in a way that we wouldn't be able to normally.

Types of Christ have become so prevalent in our culture they affect the way we think and our perception of right conduct.

However, there is a downside to “Types of Christ”.

A long time ago (in microbiology class), someone said that "religion is a crutch for people who need an excuse to do the right thing." To which I responded, “No, people don't do the right thing even when they are religious.”

His view was, If you are really a good person, you don't need Christ. (This person was a superhero fan, however, I'm unsure how this influenced his moral reasoning.)

This discussion is a reminder to me that types of Christ can lead us theologically and morally to Christ, but sometimes they just lead us in circles. People can be enamored with a "Type of Christ" (or, of the idea of someone saving someone else) without having a good idea of who Christ is and what his sacrifice means for us.

Because of this over-simplification, Types of Christ and they give us a poor idea of what His atonement means.

People start seeing Jesus as a 'Type of Superman'. He might have flown down from the sky, stood on the roof tops and told everyone “OK, now you need to get your shit together.”

(And then, He died.)

This misunderstanding is unfortunate. Christ coming to earth was more about changing our hearts then telling us what to do.

I was going to write more, but it kind of went off topic. The topic of the atonement is too much for me to cover in this little blog. When I have more to say on this subject, I'd like to write it here. 

If you'd like to read more about this type of literary figure you can check out the following. 

• Popular Culture Types of Christ: (A better version of what I just wrote, minus the critical evaluation of people's perceptions of Christ)
• In scripture: (This source is kinda dry, but it's pretty comprehensive) 
• and Finding Christ in the Old Testiment (This link gives you the option of downloading the article as a PDF or audio file, so if your like me and too board to read you can just listen.)