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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Blast from the Past


I have been hard at work writing my book, "Too Stupid to be an Atheist", so I have neglected this blog for the past week or so. This post is not going to change that much. I was reading some internet articles/blogs earlier this week and one reminded me very much of a blog post I put on MySpace (remember that) and I wanted to share both of them here. First will be my post. I wrote it almost four years ago (September 5, 2007) and was the first "blog" post I ever wrote. It went something like....

This will be a great way to start off my blog. Hopefully no death threats will ensue, but if they do, it will prove one of my points. I recently watched Superman Returns. This in not the Superman of my childhood (Christopher Reeves), but an updated, metrosexual version. Aesthetics aside, I couldn't help but notice the way that Bryan Singer (director) had turned the last man of Krypton into a Christ-like figure. Arms out to the side, crucifiction (and Scott Stapp) style, looking down on Earth. Marlon Brando (or God) telling him that we wish to be a good people, we just need him to show us the way, and that is why he has sent him to us. I have to admit, I was really turned off by this. Superman is a comic book superhero. He stands for truth, justice and the "American way" (pre -Bush administration). That American way is about liberty, freedom and secularism (see Thomas Jefferson). I didn't like the spandex clad hero of my youth converted into a religous figure. I imagined a world where a myriad of televangelists asked for and received millions to help spread the word of Superman. I could see teary eyed villagers claiming that they had started to eat a grilled cheese sandwich, only to discover that the face of Clark Kent could be seen on the bread (then them selling it on eBay). What a disaster. And then it hit me. This would never happen, and for one very important reason. No one over the age of ten believes in Superman. He is just a character of fiction. And this is what makes him superior to any religous icon. Not believing in him means that no one flies a plane into a building, or shoots someone outside of an abortion clinic in his name. It's not possible that people would blow themselves and others up over a difference of opinion over whether he was really the son of Jor-el or not. Believing in him might mean less homophobia in the world, mostly because Brandon Routh gives off such a gay vibe in this most recent film (no argument is perfect). No one could believe that some ancient text was the word of Supes, and then proceed to judge how well others live their lives based on those words. All he does is teach us how to help and care for others, and how to fight for freedom and justice. I was very fortunate to have parents who served as excellent role models. Not everyone is so lucky. I guess my point is that works of fiction (new or old) can serve as a guide to morality and it's compass, but that it turns bad when we believe those stories to be "true".

Nice, huh? I wouldn't change much about it. Anyway, enough about me. Click here to see the article I read earlier this week. I don't want to copy and paste their entire post, but I will share the last blurb...

While Superman is certainly an iconic hero, he never asked anyone to worship him. Even after Superman died to protect the people of Metropolis and came back to life, he never asked anyone for anything. Why? Because he’s an imaginary character, you dumbass. Superman is as real as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and snipe hunting. God is also an imaginary character…and approximately five billion people on earth believe he (or another form of him) exists. It might be time to start the cult of Superman…because he’s better than God in every way.

I like their post better, but mostly because of the pictures (I like pictures). I actually prefer both Batman and Iron Man as superheroes (no supernatural abilities...super rich guys with character flaws fighting bad guys). But Superman is a perfectly adequate fictional character (and he played a big role in "defeating" the real life KKK). There's also way less violence in Action Comics #1 than their is in the Bible (i.e. little kid friendly). Anyhow...I know this is a cop out and not a "real" blog post. It's the kind of recycling that would make Al Gore proud actually (which is never my goal). But writing this book is important to me. And it is dominating most of my thinking right now. I'll try to have something "fresh" here next time...no promises though. Some of my MySpace and Tumblr blogs were pretty decent (I may share one more).

4 comments:

  1. The worst thing, I thought, that "Superman Returns" did was to make the character thoroughly boring. How was that possible? How did they make such a classic character really dull? Anyway, enough of my ranting.

    Hope the book is going well. Great title, by the way, love it :)

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  2. I know what you mean about "Superman Returns". I found him to be whiny and creepy in that flick. Sad!! I'm glad you like the title of the book. I'm learning the hard way that it is best to just "write and keep writing", as opposed to "write a little and then edit a little". The intro took forever!! It's a fun experience.

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  3. Yeah, I know what you mean about editing - I find myself editing each paragraph of my posts after I've written it, then edit the whole thing again once it's done. Not very efficient, I must say :)

    Hope it's going well ..

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  4. Despite being created by two Jews, Superman has been a Christ figure in the comics for a long time, including his death and resurrection. Taking the Bible for what it is best used for,a source for literature references, thus isn't surprising.

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