One of my favorite cartoons as a kid was Captain Planet. For those who don’t remember, Captain Planet was the guardian of the Earth who could be summoned by five teens who each possessed power rings that gave them power over the four elements of nature (fire, earth, wind, and water) and also the “heart.” My brothers and I watched this show all the time, so much that two of our favorite joke set ups are “By your powers combined, I am [insert punchline]” and “The power is yours!” It’s like having a family meme!
Because of this I wasn’t really surprised when my brother Matthew, the amateur theologian and professional drug dealer (read “pharmacist”), dropped this in my lap: Could Jesus have been used as an archetype for Captain Planet or could the Cap be an allegorical, environmental reinterpretation of Jesus?
Scriptural Proof that Jesus Could Be Captain Planet
Earth – When Jesus died…”[t]he earth shook, the rocks split” Matt 27:50-52 | “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Mark 11:23
Fire – “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Luke 12:49 | “The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.” Revelation 1:14
Wind & Water – 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:39-41
Heart – They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about the relationship between our Lord and Savior and the anti-pollution crusader. I think the evidence provided here speaks for itself, and it says, “No.”
Postscript
Sadly, many people read dumb blog posts like this, fall for it, and social-media-share the heck out of it. This is how so much junk gets spread across the Internet: someone presents a weird/interesting idea and then backs it up with spurious Biblical proof. It’s time to do better, blogosphere. It’s time to be more discerning, Church.
Joking aside, lots of heroes have Christ-like traits.
Who’s your favorite hero and how do they remind you of Christ?
[Image via ComicVine.com]
Andrew Terry says
Ah man, you had me convinced! I know for sure Superman heavily references Christ.
Phil Schneider says
Glad I’m not alone in my faith.
“For the LORD hath said, ‘The power…is…yours!'”
Ben Boles says
Missiologists call these Redemptive Analogies. The term comes from missionary Don Richardson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Richardson_(missionary)) who stumbled upon a cultural experience in the tribe he was sent to proclaim the Gospel to, which for that culture he called it the Peace Child. Richardson argues “hidden among tribal cultures, there are usually some practices or understandings, which [we] call “redemptive analogies”, which can be used to illustrate the meaning of the Christian Gospel, contextualizing the biblical representation of the incarnation of Jesus.”
Phil Schneider says
Wow! Talk about taking the comments up a notch! Thanks, Ben!
Ben says
I’m a Intercultural Studies grad student, glad I could impart some of this knowledge with others.
Phil Schneider says
🙂
Eric Dye says
The inspiration behind this post that was shared in the ChurchMag Authors Guild caused some serious LOLs. You spun this into an amazing post, Phil. Hat’s off to you, sir. 🙂
Phil Schneider says
Thanks, boss!