Religion in Comics

Being Sunday I figured it was a good day for this topic. It seems that right now in the industry there is more focus than ever on religion in comics. Whether it be Image's Strange Girl by Rick Remender, Dark Horse's Revelations by Paul Jenkins and Humberto Ramos, or DC/Vertigo's Testament by Douglas Rushkoff, religion seems to be the subject of choice. But what bothers me is that the majority of titles out there that use religion as a backdrop for their tales pervert it and twist it into something merely for entertainment purposes.

Now anyone who's talked to me online or in person at any great length knows I am very committed to God and have very firm beliefs, so I'm all for the exploration of religion in comics. For far too long any "Christian" comics (and I use the term lightly, because Christian, by definition, means Christ-Like, and let's face it, there are very few things in this world, including people, no matter how devoted they are, that are truly Christ-Like) made have been cheesy, preachy condescending forms of propaganda. This is not my desire for religion, and specifically "Christianity" to be used as in comics. It is pretty well known by many that my ultimate desire is to inspire and maybe even possibly reach some people through various mediums in the entertainment industry, but to do so in a way that challenges thinking rather than preaches and condemns. We all know that doesn't do anyone any good regardless of all the religion gurus that try to convince us otherwise. But the way it's been done has been sad and has done nothing but turn people off on God. They sell, yes, but who to? The choir? What good does that do in spreading the message? None.

But the use of religion, and sticking to the examples above, Christianity, has been twisted and contorted not for entertainment purposes as the writers would have you believe, but to hate on religion and discount it as fiction. That doesn't particularly set well with me. But there is freedom of speech and expression in this great nation, so I can't complain about that. And if these people truly believe what they are trying to sell then I commend them for that, but I am also saddened by their misinformation and perception of things. But what can I do short of writing my own tales that contradict, or spitefully posting in this blog, or writing letters to the titles that contradict so many truths? I don't know. What I do know is what the Bible says, and if you don't believe the Bible is truth then this will mean nothing to you. But two scriptures that are greatly overlooked by anyone who comments on religion through whatever format they so choose are found in 2 Peter 1:20-21 and Matthew 5:18

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
~2 Peter 1:20-21

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
~ Matthew 5:18

From these scriptures we realize that first of all, there are no private interpretations of the Word, so it's impossible for people to perceive what they want to out of it. Either you know truth or you don't. Now having stated that I am a firm believer that none of us will ever unveil the full truth that is contained within those scriptures as long as we walk this earth because there is so much in there that we could not possibly comprehend it all with our feeble human minds in relation to the great mind that is God's. So when I say you either know truth or you don't, I'm saying either you have uncovered parts of the truth that lie within the Bible, or you have no clue what you're talking about. All those out there that think they have a private interpretation are either basing that belief on certain scriptures fit together pulled from the whole, which doesn't work, or they've discovered something that is truly there that maybe others around them haven't had revelation of yet. It's not interpretation, it's revelation, or it's nothing at all.

Secondly, we understand that not one jot or tittle is to be added or taken away from the Word of God, meaning not to put our own twists and perverted thoughts into our works. That's not to say don't use Biblical reference or inspiration for your stories, but when you start spouting off certain things as fact as has the writer of Testament, then you're crossing into dangerous ground. In the back of the first issue of Strange Girl Rick Remender comments on how he doesn't believe in a God who would watch over our lives like a housewife watching their soaps. But God isn't like that, He's like a concerned father watching over his children. There's a distinct difference. I could go on and on, but unless I'm speaking directly to Mr. Remender it does no good, so I'll reserve those comments for a letter I write to Strange Girl, a title I won't be reading any further simply because I don't support the message it sends as it perverts and twists the concepts of serving God and the Rapture, and glorifies Hell. Dangerous ground, Mr. Remender, even if it is a comic, because it speaks of your personal views. And just in case somehow you do read this, Mr. Remender, it is far more than simply accepting Jesus into your heart then living how you want that will get you to heaven as you and many others seem to think is what religions are saying.

Am I an expert? By no stretch of the imagination. Who I am is someone who has served God for 28 years and has had many, many questions and confusion over those years. I have been to different kinds of churches, I have studied different types of religion, and the conclusion I came to on my own through my own research and experiences, which would BLOW YOUR MIND, was that the Word of God is truth and many, many other religions have their roots in Christianity if you look far enough back, whether they admit it or not, and whether you agree with it or not.

Another thing that gets me that is slightly off topic is the disbelief in events that took place in the Bible, like the parting of the Red Sea, the Flood or the plagues of Egypt. The thing is we look at these things as the same kind of wondrous powers and events that exist in popular media (ie, video games, movies, COMICS) and determine in our feeble thinking that because things like Spider-Man's powers can't exist in our world that neither could those events. But the thing is God is wise. In every instance He used nature itself to speak to us, as is still the case to this very day. Scientists, who are usually the opposite of the religious sect, have proven that the parting of the Red Sea is possible, and many other events of the Bible as well. These are wondrous events in terms of awesome representations of nature just like Tornadoes and Earthquakes are today, but they are not magical, mystical things made up in fairy tales. God's not stupid, and He wouldn't give us that much reason to doubt His existence.

But I digress. I am a fan of fantasy and comics, but many times it's hard for me to enjoy a piece of fiction because of the blatant attempts to confuse the religious foundations I know to be truth. I find myself many times talking to the books I read, and it becomes rather annoying. For me in those cases it can't simply be entertainment, because I know the devices of the enemy and how subtle he is. In this day and age we have become greatly desensitized to many things from violence to sexual relationships (and I'm not highlighting homosexuality with that statement, I'm talking about the openness of premarital sex) to many other issues we seem to not think so heavily on anymore.

Some people look at our progression as a nation being more open-minded and coming to a point where the amendments of the Constitution are truly in effect, freed from the shackles of conformation, etc., etc. However true some parts of that may be, and some are (for instance, concerning race relations, equality between the sexes, etc.) what is overlooked is the moral depravity in our society today as compared to then. We have steadily slid down the moral slide periodically removing more parameters as years pass. In this day and time we allow so many perverted things to clog our minds, and we have the audacity to refer to them as expression.

Now I'm no prude, and it aggravates me to no end to meet the religious despots that preach against short sleeve shirts, movie theatres and TV, and holding hands or even looking at someone from the opposite sex. These are values taken to the extremes of generations past, and they are wrong and not what the Bible or God spoke of or intended. There's a whole book of the Bible (Songs of Solomon) devoted to Solomon describing the love of his life's appearance and persona down to describing her physical parts that, if mentioned in most churches today, would incite a righteous riot. However, Mr. Rushkoff (Testament) there are no aliens in the Bible. But I do hold myself to some moral standard as I feel is right and have conviction of. I firmly believe conviction is from the heart and comes from revelation of God's Word, so everyone travels that road at a different pace, and noone but God Himself has the right to judge. However, we can enlighten in a loving way to those who want to know.

At any rate, I didn't mean to get off on a tangent like that. One more scriptural reference and I'll get this post back on topic as I intended it to be.

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written to you; As also in the epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. A-Men."
~ 2 Peter 3:14-18

Take from that what you will.

Now my whole point in this discussion was to ask you, my faithful few readers, does religion, or any other controversial subject, have it's place in comicdom? And if so should it be twisted and perverted just to be entertaining? Recently I read a lot of interviews with Allan Heinberg (The O.C., Party of Five, Young Avengers), an openly gay man who opted to include homosexual characters in Young Avengers, as well as sexual confusion in The O.C. There were many opinions on this in the letters page of Young Avengers, some rather hateful. The other day I wrote my own letter to Mr. Heinberg on the subject. I am not opposed to the inclusion of homosexuals in a book, show or movie. I don't agree with the lifestyle, nor do I prescribe to the notion that it's a natural thing like being a certain race, but rather a preference and choice based on many influences of our society today and the influence of the enemy many don't believe exists (and that's his greatest deception). But I don't hate or loathe homosexuals, and I have friends who are homosexuals. Who am I to judge? The Bible only differentiates one sin from all others, and that's blasphemy, which is another thing highly confused by many religious and non religious people alike (it's actually having experienced depths of God (the Holy Ghost) and then openly making the proclamation that it's not real.). All other sin is equally wrong in God's eyes, and I am convinced that there isn't one person on the face of the planet that doesn't sin by God's standards every single day of their lives regardless of how close they are to God. So I have no right to judge anyone. All I can rightfully do is point out God's Word IF they are willing to hear it. Never force it, it doesn't work. It didn't work with me!

But my point is in today's media we cover many controversial subjects and I personally feel they should be covered...to an extent. The whole purpose of entertainment is to get our minds off our real lives, so why inject so many real things into entertainment? Because entertainment has grown and gravitated towards an era where it delivers reality with twists, which is what the current audience wants. No longer are we content with fantastic worlds where amazing things happen that could never happen here. Why? Because back then there wasn't the knowledge or awareness that such things couldn't exist somewhere. We were enchanted. But now with so much knowledge existing in our modern world we now know those things can't exist as they were represented then, so it becomes difficult to enjoy entertainment like that because we come to the conclusion it will never happen. But with a piece of reality fused with the magnificent it once again becomes real enough to make us believe in it, yet fictitious enough to allow us to escape from our mundane lives. So all in all most of these issues need to exist in entertainment. Where the issue comes is when those elements try to persuade our thinking. And it may not be such a bad thing, but for those of us who are religious and wish to share our views it is a two-edged sword. Why? Because if any form of religious conversation is set forth in modern media it is attacked by those who say we shouldn't use entertainment as a platform. Yet movies like Constantine, Sin City, and various political movies are accepted even though they openly speak of many controversial issues from politics to prostitution to religion with a twisted slant, and they glorify these things. So if it's okay for them why isn't it okay for there to be an injection of Bible based truths in the backdrop of a story meant to inspire and challenge? Beats me. But yet books like Testament come out and everyone jumps on the bandwagon even though the "facts" the writer presents (as evidenced in interviews and content) are completely off the wall and totally false. But people will pass it off as entertainment and accept it because it's not the same message churches or "Christian" fiction propagates. Where's the justice in that?

My personal opinion is people should just shut-up. If you don't like my book then don't buy it. If you don't want to hear preaching or inspirational stories then go along your merry way and leave me alone. Just kidding, I want to hear your thoughts when I put a title out like that. And if I said that for real I wouldn't have any justification for writing what I just wrote. I do think many religious people, including people in my own church, are far too uptight about many things and need to get a grip. There are movements that preach vehemently against television as the tool of Satan and the preachers in their organizations aren't allowed to own one. That is taking things to the extreme. If you don't have enough conviction to own a TV and not watch filth then you have more problems to worry about than offending some self-righteous organization who thinks they have the patent on what makes one a Christian. There's a lot of crap out there, but not just on TV or in comics, but in life. If we take their stance on things we would never leave our homes in fear of coming across SIN. Absolutely ridiculous, and something I hope to change someday through many avenues, for that is part of my calling in the ministry.

In closing, religion has become a big part of life in any and every culture, yet it is the single most objected element in any form of modern entertainment unless it is twisted and perverted for entertainment's purposes. Is this right? I don't think so. What do you think? B-Out