The Avengers: The Christian Culturist Review

  byJohn K. Press, Ph.D.      @culturist

The Avengers is so unaware that it is a Christian film, that it takes a swipe at Christianity. And, it's our fault.

Here is the plot of ‘The Avengers: Infinity War.’  A demon is working to get all six infinity stones so that he might have the power  to kill half the universe’s population, making resources plentiful instead of scarce.  The dramatic tension comes from the stars, “moral compass” and emotional attachments mandating that they will not exchange even one star’s life, in their efforts to stop the demon from killing billions of beings.

Of course, as a Christian, I am upset that the film takes an unnecessary swipe at Christianity.  At one point a character says, “What master do I serve?” Then he mockingly answers his own question, “What, am I supposed to say Jesus?” with a giggle.  As this didn’t forward the plot in any way I have no idea why it was inserted.  But, herein I will argue that the Avengers actually do serve Jesus.  And, show what we can do to stop such attacks in the future.

Part of the film’s mocking of Jesus is self-referential.  In a world of endless demons, flying beasts, and miracles, perhaps Jesus seems like just one more fictitious creation.  But Jesus actually did walk the earth, and his witnesses actually converted a civilization.  This makes Jesus different than the Hulk or Thor.  So, while I wouldn’t believe in Captain America, there is no doubt  - it isn’t even a matter of belief – that Jesus existed.  Marvel should know this.

The Avengers' angst over individual souls is essentially Christian. The Avengers’ could have stopped the demon by killing a star at any time.  In Buddhism, the soul is deconstructed: there is desire, and sight, and touch, but no coherent ‘me,’ no real soul.   Islam is for God, not individuals.  Confucianism sees some as less valuable. But, Christianity, sees the soul, the person, their identity and consciousness as one.   Saving these very real individual souls is why Jesus died.  The sanctity of individual souls in the Avengers is essentially Christian.

Lastly, from a scientific, non-Christian point of view, the demon is right: He actually demonstrates that lower populations lead to a higher standard of living. He could easily be an environmentalist hero. Sacrificing people for material gains is very Marxist.  The Avengers being so opposed to mass murder in the name of life shows they value individual humans. Again, they are already soaking in Christian values. 

Culturists must remake Christianity’s image, if Jesus is to be taken up as a role model.  We must make Jesus so revered and tough, that people are afraid to take gratuitous swipes at him. Christians have made Jesus so wimpy that he doesn’t seem like he’d fit in action films. Here are four ways to make the Avengers proud of their Christian identity.

1) When Charlemagne translated the New Testament for the Vikings, he made Jesus a warrior.  We need to take a second look at this translation, the Heliand.[i]  2) Christians need to reclaim connection with the Old Testament, wherein God orders his people to fight wars![ii]  3) The Crusades.  4) And, let's not forget that Revelation shows Jesus as a vengeful killer.

The Marvel characters would follow Jesus as they presented him as the Avenger that he truly was. This would greatly strengthen Western Civilization.

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Learn more about John K. Press and culturism at www.culturism.us

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[i] Murphy, G. Ronald (1992), The Heliand: The Saxon Gospel, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0195073754.

[ii] Read about this in Dissident Dispatches, by Andrew Fraser, Arktos Publishing:  https://alternativeright.blog/2017/10/01/dissident-dispatches-the-culturist-review/