Hollywood is ashamed of its superheroes. I got that vibe watching Sunday night’s Oscars telecast, anyway. Oh, sure, Captain America and Star Lord handed out a couple of Oscars, but they sure weren’t about to receive any. Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy were both shut out in the technical categories. What won the night’s biggest prize? Why, Birdman. In it, Michael Keaton’s Riggan pushes back on his legacy as a famous movie-bound superhero to return to the real business of acting—to create a piece of art that means something. ... READ THE REST »   | Leonard Nimoy died earlier today at the age of 83. He was, according to the obituaries I’ve seen, a man of many talents: poet, photographer, musician. But it was as an actor that most of us knew him first and best—an actor who became famous for one role. Mr. Spock of Star Trek. A few years ago, I wrote a book proposal that probed spirituality from the deck of the Enterprise—a show created by Gene Roddenberry, one of the world’s best-known humanists (and no fan of organized religion). And no one was more compelling from a spiritual angle than Spock. ... READ THE REST » Posted March 1, 2015, by Paul Asay SHOWING POSTS 1-1 of 126 VIEW MORE »  When I was a little kid, maybe 6 or 7, my best friend Terry and I would pretend to be superheroes every chance we got. He was always Superman or Captain Marvel or someone impossibly strong and powerful. But I was always Batman. For me, even though Batman wasn’t the strongest superhero around, he was always... Read the rest of this answer. Batman may be a hero, but he’s a pretty dark one—particularly the hero we see in Christopher Nolan’s recent movies. Why did you pick him to use as a spiritual exercise? God-honoring stuff can be found in really rough and messy circumstances sometimes. We’re living a world that no Christian should be comfortable in, just as the Apostle Paul was. But Paul used elements of the culture to speak into people’s lives. And even today, I believe that God’s fingerprints can be found on everything... Read the rest of this answer. Batman’s been around for nearly 80 years now, and he’s more beloved than ever. What’s the secret to his continuing popularity? Well, he just looks cool, for one thing. One look at the guy, and you know not to mess with him. And then there’s the fact he has so many awesome gadgets, drives an amazing car and could buy a handful of Caribbean islands if he really wanted to. But an even bigger reason, I think, is that he’s recognizably human, just like... Read the rest of this answer. Is Batman Christian? That’s a hard question to answer. In the end, I think it depends on who Batman’s caretaker is at any given time. Batman’s first origin story shows him praying to God after his dad dies—praying for the strength to fight evil and, in essence, become the hero he’d eventually grow into. But he’s always been a man of... Read the rest of this answer. |
