What's So Bad About Sex, Nudity And Fantasies In Entertainment? - THE TRUTH IS IN THERE

Should Christians Use Emulators And Abandonware? (Part 3)

Should Christians Use Emulation And Abandonware? Part 1 (Video)

Exodus: Gods And Kings Review (SBU Podcast)

A review of the movie "Exodus: God's And Kings"!

Exodus: Gods And Kings (CGC Uncut Review)

Hell - THE TRUTH IS IN THERE

In Search Of Truth, A Response To "Green Lantern Is Gay" OR Should We "Love" Our Hobbies?

I have to apologize, yet again, for delaying our continued look at the book of Acts. But I wanted to touch on this subject while the recent Green Lantern news was still on the minds of Christian comic book geeks. (Although I think it's relevant to geeks of ALL kinds.)

As geeks, we love our stories. Some stories and fictional characters we become so passionate about, so emotionally invested in, that it feels like a wound when we see them handled in a way we don't think they should be. The cancellation of Farscape, Darth Vader screaming "Nooo!" at the end of Episode 3, Vampires that "sparkle", and now Green Lantern being re-created as an openly gay character. You've probably got some memories of your own. Times when you felt personally insulted by the way a beloved fictional property was being handled.

Last week, I had three people, in less than 24 hours, ask me what I thought about the news that Green Lantern was now a homosexual character. They asked because they know that Green Lantern is my favorite superhero, and also because I believe the Bible when it teaches that homosexual behavior is not God's design for us. (If you're interested in my specific views regarding homosexuality, please read the post I wrote on the subject.)

So what was my reaction to the news? Confusion at first. Hal Jordan, the most well known Green Lantern and the one featured in the recent movie, has had a long history of womanizing, even in the recently re-booted DC universe. So I assumed the change in status referred to one of the other Green Lanterns: Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardener or John Stewart.

After some quick research I learned that the Green Lantern in question is actually Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern created for DC comics, but one who for many years has not been a part of the main DC universe, residing instead in a "parallel earth". As a fan, this made the news a little less jolting, though still no fun.

While listening to the podcast coverage of the DC Comics panels at ComiCon last summer, I heard one person after another step up to the microphone and respectfully demand that DC create more high profile minority characters, both in terms of ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation. Again and again I heard the writers and editors at these panels assure fans that they would be doing so.  And they have made good on that promise. (You can read my original reaction to that coverage in this post.)

Minorities of all kinds are popping up in various DC books, in some cases almost written as if to say "See readers? I'm a minority!" I think it's fine that the DC universe is becoming more culturally diverse. But I can't help but wonder if too much time in creative meetings was sacrificed to the cause of cultural diversity, causing the shortages I've been perceiving in truly well-written, character-driven stories. (I've dropped four books this week alone for the lack of these kinds of stories.)

I'm also bummed to see healthy family and marriage models vanishing from the DC universe. Clark and Lois are no longer married and Clark's parents are now both dead. The various members of the Justice Society (such as Green Lantern Alan Scott) have been made young in the reboot, deleting the wives and adult children in their lives and depriving the DC universe of wisened elders to look up to.

My weekly comic purchases are swiftly shrinking as I limit myself to those corners of the DC Universe still making story and character priority over demographic checklists. Let me be clear. It's not the presence of ideas contrary to my beliefs that is causing me to drop certain comic books. (I've read and enjoyed multiple ongoing titles with openly gay characters.) It's the lack of those things that I read comics for, that may or may not be falling to the wayside because of prioritization of other things.

So as I sit here, bummed at the general state of things in my beloved DC universe, what does the Bible have to say that might apply here and give me some perspective?

Apparently there are some conservative groups that have expressed great anger at the recent Green Lantern development. Usually this anger is vented "on behalf of the children". My first response is to notify them that mainstream superhero comics have not been written primarily for children for several decades now. My second response is to adjust my expectations based on what the Bible says to expect in life:

1 Corinthians 5:12 (ESV) For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

We shouldn't be surprised when our favorite properties are seemingly mistreated. We shouldn't expect that those in charge of them will treat them as they biblically should unless they have openly identified themselves as followers of Christ. I'd wager that most fictional properties are being handled by people who are not Christians. So it makes perfect sense, and naturally follows, that these properties will be handled in ways that do not reflect, and may even go against, the teaching of the Bible. We are not socially entitled to have our favorite fictional properties handled by non-believers according to biblical values.

1 John 2:15-17 (ESV) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

The Greek word for "love" here means "to love dearly or to be contented with". It's great to enjoy our hobbies and nerdly delights. After all everything good in life ultimately has its source in God.

James 1:15(ESV) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

But if we "dearly love" our hobbies, if we cling to them and view them as our source of contentment, we're failing to pursue a love of God. The more we love God, the more we'll constantly be reminded that this world falls infinitely short, and that we really shouldn't expect that much from it.

Don't get me wrong, I may still write a letter to the DC editors and tell them what potential I think they're leaving behind by completely reconceptualizing the Golden Age heroes of the DC universe (Not to mention the rocking potential if they would have gone with a World War 2 setting for the new version of Earth 2...sigh). But in the meantime, I'm content to let go of some of my comic book collecting and see what wonderful ideas God has allowed to be born in the minds of other creative types.

In Search Of Truth, Romans 13:1-7

Now we arrive at what may be a less popular passage for many of us. Paul teaches that Christians should submit to the authorities over them, specifically, the government.

The primary reason is that all authority structures and figures are put in place by God, according to what he wants to accomplish on earth in the short or long-term. (v.1, and Romans 8:28)

When we ignore laws our governments have put in place, we’re ignoring the authority that God has put in place. We can’t easily separate disobedience to government from disobedience to God. When others are content to ignore little laws that don’t seem to matter, or to commit “victimless crimes”, believers should remember that doing this isn’t just brushing off “the man”, it’s brushing off God. And the consequences or punishments that may follow are part of God’s response. (v.2)

Government is not the enemy. Under normal circumstances, we are only afraid of our government when we are in the wrong; when we have done something against the law. The more we ditch our rebellious tendencies and learn the virtue of submission (a dirty word in pop culture) the less we will fear our government or view them as “the enemy”. In fact, we will more and more recognize them as a powerful ally and blessing God has given us. (v.3)

The authorities over us are even called God’s “servants”, which may seem strange. After all, we have no proof now (nor have we ever) that our representatives, governors or anyone in the White House are genuinely believers in and followers of Christ. So what does Paul mean by this?

God has a history of using leaders to accomplish his will, despite the fact that they had no allegiance to him. God called Nebuchadnezzar (the king of Babylon) his servant when he used him to invade Israel. Though Nebuchadnezzar didn’t worship Yahweh (God). (See Jeremiah 25:9) God used king Cyrus, another “non-believer”, in a similar way. (See Isaiah 45:1-6) God uses leaders like these to do good and to punish evil. (v.4)

Our leaders may not be good, moral people. And when human laws conflict with God’s laws, we need to look for ways to peacefully yet firmly obey God rather than man. (Acts 4:19, 5:29) But when this is not the case, we need to recognize that our authorities and laws are servants of God and we must submit to them. Whether or not we understand the reason for every rule.

There is a sense in which we know that when we disobey the laws established by humans, we are violating a greater cosmic principle. Unless we have allowed ourselves to become numb to it, violating the law bothers our consciences. Even if we somehow know we won’t get caught, our consciences remind us of the fact that we’ve sinned, not just against society or the people who wrote down laws and signed their names to some document, but against God. In this way, the laws established by the government provide clear boundaries that assist us in keeping our consciences clear. And when our consciences become numb, the fear of punishment plays its part as well. (v.5)

Because our authorities play such a valuable role, established by God, paying taxes is both reasonable and good! We can argue about what should be done with that tax money, and hold our leaders accountable in how they use it (meanwhile thanking God we live in a country that allows us to do this), but taxes themselves are a tool for equipping our leaders to do good and to dedicate their entire work week to providing security, safety and order for the rest of us. As we pay our taxes, we should aim to remember that God uses that money to bless us. (v.6)

Our governments and laws expect certain payment or behavior from us, and we should be ready and willing to submit to those expectations, whether in the form of tangible service, financial payment, or social courtesy.

A wise man’s young daughter once asked him about the purpose of a prison building as they drove past it. His response was, “That’s where they put the people who never learned to obey.”

Our governments have been put in place by God to bless us with safety and security, to help train and assist us in living in obedience to him, and to serve any other purpose God may have.

Next- The Importance Of Love

Coffee House Question- How much do you think we should expect our governments and laws to reflect scripture? When is it time to “take action” and what might that action look like as we aim to represent Christ well to non-believers?

Brent Weeks Interview!

Both parts of my unprecedented interview with Brent Weeks are available to listen to right now!

For the first time in an interview, New York Times Bestselling fantasy author Brent Weeks openly talks about his Christian faith and the role it plays in his writing.


Use the links or audio players below for a revealing look at Brent Weeks and his approach to combining his Christian faith with dark, unsterilized fantasy fiction. (Audio from The Spirit Blade Underground Podcast)


Download Interview, Part 1

Play Interview Part 1-



Download Interview, Part 2

Play Interview Part 2-


Review of The Night Angel Trilogy (Written Review)


Download Audio Review of The Night Angel Trilogy

Play "The Night Angel Trilogy" Review-