The Burr in the Burgh

Here is the original uncondensed version of an article I wrote for Higher Things magazine.

“Who will deliver me from this body of death… (Romans 7:24)?”

Your biggest problem is not your zitty face. It’s not your love life or lack thereof. It’s not even Osama bin Laden and his band of merry terrorists. Your biggest problem is that you are going to die. Yes, the latest scientific findings have confirmed it. 1 out of every 1 person dies. You are dust and to dust you shall return.

As people have pondered the grave through the eons, they have imagined all sorts of specters, ghouls and goblins. As they have considered what lies beyond, they have dreamt of worlds and powers that chill the bone. Those with more active imaginations have conjured spooky campfire stories which have been handed down and modified through generations. And these eerie visions can now be projected on screens large and small.


The horror movie usually deals with one or two basic primeval themes. Evil and Death. And of course, these two go together like Barne’s & Noble or macaroni and cheese. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20). Good horror movies grapple with that reality and express something true, even if unpleasant.

For whatever reason, scary movies are very popular, especially with young audiences. The scarier the better. The popularity of vampire movies, for instance, makes sense to Christians. After all, life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). But some of the most spooky movies today don’t rely on gross out gore-fests or gotcha tactics that make you jump out of your seat. They don’t have to. Movies like The Ring and, to a lesser extent, The Grudge, get the job done with creepy nightmarish images.

Others terrify us with tales from real life, even if slightly exaggerated. The Exorcist, for instance, still lives on as a classic of the genre. Maybe the jaded audiences of today aren’t likely to faint and vomit in the aisles or run out the theaters for the nearest church as was reported when it first came out in 1973. But one of the reasons it remains so effective is because it is loosely based on a true story. Stuff like this happens in real life. And certainly, the scenes of demonic possession in the New Testament are horrifying (Matt 8:28-33; Mark 5:1-5; Luke 9:38-42).

Christians can make two mistakes: think about the devil too little and think about him too much. We should take the devil seriously, but not too seriously. There is only one Almighty. Satan is strong, but Jesus is stronger.

Why does the New Testament tell us about people who are demon possessed and have super-human strength and have convulsions and froth at the mouth? Not to revel in the occult, but to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus Christ. And some of the better horror movies, though perhaps not intentionally Christian, still leave the viewer with the idea that priests and crucifixes and churches counter the devil. What is the remedy for being demon-possessed? God. If they don’t get the answers 100% correct, at least they’re pointing in the right direction.

A lot of modern people tend to be too optimistic about human nature. Is man basically good or basically evil? Is a checkerboard a white field with black squares or a black field with white squares?

Let’s answer those questions with another question: What would you do if you believed you couldn’t be caught? How would you behave if there were no consequences for your actions? This is the theme considered in H.G. Wells’ novel, The Invisible Man. We read about a decent fellow who turns into a barbarian and steals, lies and murders to achieve his personal aims. Or maybe he was always the barbarian. Maybe he was always a thief, liar and murderer in his heart, but it was only when he became invisible and so could not be caught that he acted out on his deepest urges. Kevin Bacon’s movie, The Hollow Man is a modern day telling of that same story. In neither case is the ending very happy. It actually is a good thing that we don’t act out our fantasies. The fear of getting caught serves a good purpose. The Law is a curb. God’s commandments and our fear of being punished for breaking them keep us from going too far off course. William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, is another excellent example of what happens when all governing authority is removed.

The freaky black-and-white vampire flick The Addiction is explicitly Christian (and unbelievably gross). One vampire says, “We’re not evil because of the evil we do, but we do evil because we are evil.” And the film makes it veeeerrryyy clear that Christ’s body broken and blood shed are the only answer. This horror movie has more truth than many liberal Christians who think the world is essentially rosy.

Some of the most terrifying films are not those that have ghosts, demons, or weird Stephen King plot twists, but rather those that deal with the evil that men do. From Hell with Johnny Depp and Heather Graham is a fictionalized telling of the true crime story of Jack the Ripper. The famous 19th century serial murderer of London signed his letters to the police “from hell.” Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs and John Doe, the killer in Seven with Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow are, in some ways, scarier than vampires and haunted houses because the villains are mere men, not monsters. Every day, American soccer moms will slit their babies’ throats and social misfits will rape strangers in parking garages. Hollywood doesn’t have to make this stuff up. Just Google “Jeffrey Dahmer” sometime to see how depraved real human beings can become. The people least likely to believe that man is basically good are prison guards, FBI homicide investigators and LCMS pastors. Why? “There is no one who does good, not even one (Romans 3:12).”

Sometimes horror movies can serve a wholesome purpose by pointing out something that should be obvious. There is evil in the world. This has to be pointed out because our world is so perverted that it calls good evil and evil good. We’re at the point where many can’t even tell the difference between the two. Evil has to be exposed for what it is. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them (Ephesians 5:11).”

In addition to treating sin and evil as being real, good horror movies question the meaning of death and eternal life. Ghosts. Zombies. Vampires. Laboratory monsters created from stolen corpses. There must be a way to overcome the grave. And there is. But science won’t do it. Neither will witchcraft or magic. Jesus said,"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live (John 11:25).”

Of course, the typical guy or gal in the theater is not looking for religion. A lot of moviegoers go to horror flicks for the same reason some people like roller coasters. The exhilarating adrenaline rush induced by fear. It’s a charge.

Many, maybe most, horror movies at your local Cineplex are a waste of time. A lot of them do glorify sex and violence … or violent sex. And anything that glamorizes Satanism or the occult is dangerous. But when you are alone and the room is quiet, remember that Jesus Christ is the antidote to death. He is the unstoppable force bashing into that heretofore immovable wall.

SKRACK! FZZAK! FWOOSH! ZARK! And BAM! BAM! BAM!

“Crazy curmudgeons Batman! Higher Things magazine is doing a piece on comic books. What does this mean?”

“Don’t fear, Robin. All the forces of goodness and justice have to stick together in this world,” responded the dark knight.

Ever since Superman made his 1938 debut in Action Comics #1, comic book superheroes have been a major feature in American pop culture. Consider movies and television, for instance. Comic book superheroes, old and new, have been translated to the big screen in such examples as: Superman, Batman, Daredevil, Punisher, Hulk, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, X-Men, Spiderman and Hellboy. Most recently, I heard a vague rumor that the Fantastic Four movie will be released 295 days and 9 hours from the time I’m writing this article.

But even with all that eye-candy to look at on the screen, the good ol’ fashioned printed page is where it all began, and according to many fans, where it still works the best. For a long time, movie special effects were so primitive that two-dimensional illustrations were simply far more impressive. And though computer graphics have made almost anything possible on-screen, seeing real live human beings dressed in superhero costumes can brink on the edge of silliness. But on the printed page, it still works.

While comic book superheroes come in a wide variety of forms, there are generalizations that could be made about them as a whole. Usually you have a pretty ordinary person who one way or another acquires special abilities which leads them to fight crime, defend the weak, and just basically set wrongs right.

The X-Men are human mutants with extraordinary powers such as being able to control the weather, pass through solid objects, spontaneously heal, read minds or transport from place to place instantaneously. Spiderman is just an ordinary teenager who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains spider-like abilities. He can scale smooth surfaces, possesses a heightened sense of danger, and has remarkable strength and agility. Batman has no superpowers. Instead he relies on his superior scientific knowledge, technology, physical strength and detective skills.

Superman, a.k.a. the Man of Steel, a.k.a. Clark Kent, is the exception. He’s not an ordinary human being at all. In fact, he’s not a human being. He’s an alien from the planet Krypton who was sent here as an infant to escape his home planet’s destruction.

Probably very few comic book writers are trying to convey any overtly Christian themes. In fact, a case could be made that they contain many elements which go counter to the Christian faith (ie. bad language, graphic violence, titillating sexuality, rebellious attitudes, a fascination with the occult). There is some truth to that argument, but as is often the case, there is also something more. At the risk of sounding like I’m trying to stretch my point too far, I would like to highlight some features of some comic books that, surprisingly, resemble basic Christian teachings.

First, the comic book superhero world has a strong sense of right and wrong. Justice is possible. Moral outrage is admirable.

Secondly, while a few superhero types walk around in costume (ie. the Fantastic Four), most of them want to keep their identities secret. Their powers are hidden by their everyday ordinariness. And they only reveal themselves when it becomes necessary. This should ring a little bit familiar to Christians Who worship a God who routinely hides His glory in humble forms – in the flesh of a Man, in bread and wine – and Who cloaks His majesty in human weakness.

Thirdly, the overarching theme is that the superheroes have a mission, a duty to fulfill. They realize that they have been given unique gifts and that it would be wrong to use them for personal gain. The great line from the first Spiderman movie put it this way: “In this world, with great power comes great responsibility.” Jesus expresses a similar idea: “To whom much is given, much shall be required.” In our world where people live to serve only themselves, comic books have caught a whiff of this counter-cultural theme that runs through the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Fourthly, a lot of these characters are misunderstood and even persecuted by the very people they are trying to help. Similarly, Christ tells his followers that the world will not accept them any more than it accepted Him. They will be hated and rejected for doing good. But we don’t respond in kind. We respond to hatred with love, to evil with good.

And finally, young people are attracted to comic books for many reasons, not the least of which is their desire to believe that there is something, Someone, who is larger than life, Someone with terrific powers who – though appearances may deceive – is going to be there for us when we need Him most.

I can sympathize with this longing. I share it. Many comic books are quite offensive, to be sure. Many others are quite fun, but it all boils down to something very serious. Our need for a savior, a champion who can overthrow every foe for us. Superman may be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. But he’s only fiction. When you put the comic books down, look at the real live God-Man, Jesus Christ, who can save us and has, in fact, already done so.