Featuring Matt Anderson and Ben De Bono
This week on The Sci-Fi Christian, Ben and Matt take a look at God as our Father and take a look at how different father figures in sci-fi are both good and bad reflections of God’s true fatherhood.
This episode is a crossover with a sermon Ben preached the same day at EpicLife Church in Andover, MN. To download the sermon audio, click here.
Standard Podcast
I like scifichristianpodcast.com , bookmarked !
legal steroids
Re: X-Men and racism. I agree, the comic is not racist (certainly not in the post-Claremont era). I do recall, however, that this controversy was about “X-Men: First Class.” Also, the person who raised the issue (in the NY Times, I think) was a long-time X-Man fan who couched his observation in the context of having really, really loved the film. But he noted, and I think it bears some reflection, that the only black character in the cast, Darwin, dies. Yes, he sacrifices himself; but he dies. Add to that the fact that the film changed the ethnicity of Banshee (Irish in the comics) and Moira (who is Scottish, even, I think, in the end credits scene of X-Men Last Stand), and you get an all-white, all-Anglo American team. Also, all the characters of color or non-Anglo ethnicity end up teaming up with Magneto at the end — i.e, they become “the bad guys.”
I don’t think the filmmakers were intentionally racist, but filmmakers and storytellers do make choices that reflect, even unconsciously, cultural attitudes.
Reminds me of my wife’s reaction when we saw the first commercial for “Green Lantern.” We are both most familiar with the character from the animated “Justice League,” and so she said, in surprise, “Oh, I thought Green Lantern was black.” I explained about Hal Jordan, comics history, etc. She said, “Well, when it came right down to it, for whatever reason, they chose to make a movie about a white Green Lantern.” I found it hard to rebut that.
Here’s a link to the original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/opinion/09coates.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=x-men%20first%20class&st=cse. I don’t think it’s a complaint that can be easily dismissed. I don’t see it as being “politically correct,” but as hearing voices I don’t always listen to as I should.
I don’t think you guys were watching “Smallville” when you recorded this one, but now that you are (right?), what do you think of Jonathan Kent as portrayed by John Schneider? He is probably the most awesome father I’ve seen in genre television. It probably helped that Schneider is (I think) a devout Christian, and brought as much of that as he could to his portrayal of the character. Anway, as you work your way through “Smallville,” pay attention to Jonathan. Very positive and, although unstated, Christian example of fatherhood.