What’s In A Hero?: The Quiet Strength of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Hello Everyone,

Who was your hero as a kid?  Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman?  In any culture you find there are stories of great heroes.  Heroes are people who perform magnificent feats in order to save the lives of those in danger while putting their own lives at risk.  People revere and honor them for their courage, benevolence, inner strength, and astounding acts of heroism.  Heroes can take any form, shape, size, and color.   But who is the greatest hero of all time?  This question can spark as many answers as there are varieties of flowers.

Growing up, I was always fascinated by heroes, especially superheroes and most of the shows I used to watch as a kid were focused on superheroes such as Goku, Superman, Samurai Jack, etc…  I always held these figures in high regard, because they possessed something I had rarely possessed throughout my life;  bravery.  I always fantasized about being a courageous hero like these men, but I would cower away in fear most of the time.  I used to be afraid of everything from riding a bicycle to even thunder and lightening.  As a child, I would skylark in class about superheroes such as Johnny Quest or Space Ghost.  I always wanted to be like a superhero.  They did the most good wherever they went, always got the beautiful girl, and ah yes, they possessed superhuman qualities or powers.

Superheroes for me, however, represented another quality I looked to gain growing up; true manhood.  These superheroes truly represented what it meant to be a man.  They took upon themselves the well being of others and would give their lives to protect others.  These shows would usually end happily where the heroes become the saviors of the people.  Recently, I began to think about Jesus’ role as a hero and Savior to the world and one question seemed to arise.  With heroes like the ones in these shows, why do they need a Savior like Jesus Christ?  Could Jesus be counted among these great heroes or is He above and even separate from them?

The truth is in the latter part of the second question.  Jesus Christ makes it clear throughout the New Testament that He is more than just a hero.  He is THE MESSIAH and THE SON OF GOD and He has spiritual authority handed down to Him from His Father.  This means that Jesus possesses far greater power than these superheroes do.  However, Jesus does not go around exalting Himself.  Rather, Jesus prefers to let His Message speak for Itself through the Power and Authority of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord, however, gave me wonderful links that could provide some insight into the Quiet Strength of Jesus Christ of Nazareth in stark contrast to the bold chested heroism of ancient and modern day heroes and superheroes.  God gave me the example or parallel rather of the last temptation of Christ.  Many people think it just about power, but what some may not realize is that Satan was offering Jesus all the power of this physical world.  He was tempting Jesus to become like these heroes and to use His Awesome Powers to take down and conquer his enemies and rule the world through His own might.  There was only one cost, Jesus had to bow down before Satan and worship him as God.  Jesus, however, blatantly refused stating that His Father was the One True God.  This last temptation, however, could also be seen as a distraction to the Purpose God had for His Son.  Jesus, through the Grace of His Father and the Holy Spirit, refused to let anything stop Him from fulfilling God’s Will.

These superheroes, however, are men and women of the world.  They fight for the things of this world and carry out their own interpretation of (mostly America’s) truth and justice.  They love the world more than they love God.  They reflect this aspect all human beings share.  This is what the ancient Greeks (and essentially most other civilizations) did with their gods and goddesses.  They ascribed to them human characteristics in order to relate to them.

Jesus, however, was the exact opposite.  He commanded us to ascribe to be like God in our attitudes and behavior.  Here is a link to a site that talks about a comic book, portraying Jesus as a superhero and it is number 4 on his list:

http://www.cracked.com/article_18785_6-comic-book-crossovers-you-wont-believe-actually-happened.html

Here is a picture someone drew illustrating this last temptation of Christ:

http://thenumber42.deviantart.com/art/The-Temptation-of-Jesus-Christ-35868642

I also began to think about how this relates to this blog and the Lord pointed me in the direction of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.  He led me to this documentary and showed me this wonderful act of heroism:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB70mWXrzEE

While these acts of heroism are great, without Jesus, we can do nothing and must realize that true heroism lies in serving God  first, others second, and ourselves last.  Please let me know what you think.

The New World Order War Machine: The Red Ribbon Army is Here.

Back in the seventies, there was an animation that was created in Japan that would become a world wide success.  This animation goes by the name of DragonBall and it was created by Akira Toriyama.  The protagonist of the series is a seven year old boy named Son Goku.  He is a very strong and nearly indestructible alien child with a super extendable fighting stick he calls a power pole and a monkey tale.  The story seems to be based off the Buddhist text, Journey to the West.  Goku strongly parallels the character of Son Wukong in the text.  In one part of the series, Goku (being about 7 years old) has to defeat the Red Ribbon Army.  A military organization (resembling the Nazis) whose leader is bent on finding seven magical orbs known as Dragon Balls to summon the dragon Shenron to grant him his wish of ruling the world.  In the end, Goku defeats this organization and becomes one of Earth’s mightiest heroes.

Recently, I was thinking about how the United States has hired mercenary organizations such as Blackwater to aid in their wars in the Middle East and in other parts of the world including our own country.  These mercenary organizations act as their own private armies for hire.  They have been accused of treacherous deeds and have even been indicted on some of them.  I remember this story that appeared on Infowars where the American Police Force (APF), a privately owned police force was enforcing the law in Montana.  Alex Jones along with Steve Quayle reported the unconstitutional nature of having a private police force enforce the laws anywhere in the United States.  There is another story of this occurring in Salt Lake Valley, Utah.  If the government keeps passing their unfair laws, these privately owned police forces will act as their strong arm and use merciless force to oppress you.   Here are the links to both stories:

http://www.infowars.com/exposed-american-police-force-is-a-blackwater-front-group/

http://realitybloger.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/the-sheriff-who-sold-his-county/

This seems that this uniting of armies and police forces will eventually give way to forming a one world army, which will oppress its dissidents just like the Red Ribbon Army did in this show.  Unfortunately, there is no Goku riding on a magical cloud coming to save the day.  I know making a comparison between a one world army and a group of cartoon villains may seem childish, but people seem to understand animations better rather than just the plain facts.  Some people just need a visual aid.  However, there is hope and power in the blood of Jesus Christ.  Jesus (who will descend on a cloud) will put an end to this evil on the Earth and will Judge all mankind.  Our hope rests in Him.

Here are a few links about the Red Ribbon Army and how Goku took them down (Both of them are animated music videos or AMVs):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhJ0muSJ_cU&feature=related (Goku may have been our childhood hero, but Jesus Christ is the greatest hero ever).

What’s the difference?

(Source:http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Red_Ribbon_Army).  

(Source:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/18/new-york-times-blackwater_n_77361.html).  

Christianity and Atheism.

Greetings everyone,

I remember watching television and there was a debate between a group of Atheists and a group of Christians.  As I watched their debate, it felt as though something was missing.  Finally, I realized what was missing: depth.  Their debate seemed to lack depth.  I have had many intellectual debates at college between my atheist friends and myself (a Catholic).  Our debates would get very intense, not only with emotion, but also with the depth of the material we had learned in college.  However, our debates would end with both sides admitting that the debate that just took place was one of the deepest they ever had.  Was it just me or was our debate far more intellectual than those on television?  Does the mainstream media prevent us from reaching a certain depth in this long fought debate? 

Personally, I do believe in God the Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  However, I have never shoved my beliefs down other peoples’ throats.  We as Christians should serve as examples of Christ in our daily lives to inspire those who don’t believe to put their trust in God.  While this is a tall order, I feel it can be done.  I am still trying to live the way Christ would in my own life and let me tell you it has been no walk in the park.  There were many times where I doubted God, but He always seemed to help through any problem that I had faced. 

The journey or path a Christian must follow is a rough path, but the rewards for doing so outweigh the risks.  Trying to tell a non-believer about the joy of following Christ can be very difficult.  It is almost like Goku telling a human being how to transform into a Super-Saiyan.  There are many different arguments to this age old debate, but the deeper we search for God, the more likely we are to find Him.