Friday, June 30, 2006

Is the Jack Bauer of '24' a type of Christ?

I guess I'm not the only one who likes '24' but alas, Jack as a type of Christ...? You decide and I'd appreciate your comments too after you skim this blog.

2 comments:

Solameanie said...

I think Steve is spot on here, although with this qualifier. I don't mind someone making comparisons i.e. an act of a certain individual being a "Christ-like" thing to do. However, if we take that and stretch it to someone being a "type of Christ," then that is worrisome and potentially blasphemous.

I think the real crux of the issue here is the common attitude these days toward a holy God (including God the Son). Rather than being the sovereign God of the universe who is a consuming fire, He is approached like he's some back-slapping buddy. We have truly lost sight of God's holiness, His righteousness, His power, His attributes etc. Even Jesus' disciples who knew Him the best never treated Him in a familiar manner, calling Him "Lord." The Apostle John's leaning on Jesus' breast was an adoring, worshipful attitude and intimate in THAT light. However, I am certain John would be horrified at someone making comparisons to Jesus and some television character.

Driscoll would have been better off to say that Jack Bauer occasionally shows actions following the EXAMPLE of Christ. But to draw a tight typology goes way too far.

Joe B. Whitchurch said...

Solameanie, love that blogger name...I appreciate your qualifier. I do think it can be an affirming witness to one or more attributes of Christ to state that such and such an action is 'Christ-like', e.g. sacrificial love, or truth-telling in challenging contexts, or others' oriented healing and empowerment, or someone giving their life to save other lives (a firefighter), etc for instance.

It does seem that since that pop rock song 'What if God were one of us...just a slob like one of us..?' that dumbing down analogies of God are more commonplace and ridiculous. This is a sad development.

On the lighter side, my wife woke up first the other day and woke me with this question, "Joe, do you think Jesus would threaten to torture someone by cutting their eyes out?" She thought she had me on an early morning 'gotcha'. I groaned half awake and said, "What did he say to do if your eye caused you to sin?"

OK, it doesn't really work at all but at least she found the response relatively laughable and merely said "ya gotta point on that one." Is that crazy or what?

We think Jack does a pretty good fictional job of thinking and acting both locally and globally for political freedom and liberty and is clearly willing to die for such. That is about as far as the analogy goes and making Jack a 'type' in a biblical sense like the passover lamb or the mana from heaven is nonsense of course.

Thanks ya solameanie you. LOL