Pop Culture Christianity

I mentioned in my first Antiwhite Nihilism post, “Paper Christians”, that most Christians in the West have a number of beliefs that contradict what’s actually written in scripture. With non-Christians, the situation is worse. Abysmal actually. Many non-Christians nowadays couldn’t communicate even the most basic tenets of the Christian faith. In a Western country whose foundations are partly informed by Christianity and where most people go to church at least in their youth, this is surprising to say the least. Much of what people know is a smattering of biblical quotes mixed with social experiences they’ve had with Christians (good or bad) mixed with things they’ve seen in popular media (fictional and otherwise). Here are some of those beliefs:

• God rules the world
• Satan/demons are frightening
• “The devil made me do it”
• Christians hate those they identify as sinners
• Christians are hypocrites
• Christians are stupid and ignorant and have never doubted their faith
• God is a bearded old white man who lives in the sky
• Jesus was a bearded, brown-haired white man
• Jesus is a weak, wispy, “nice”, milquetoast person

I’m sure that some of my readers could add to this list. This is simply a list of things I’ve picked up over the years. I used to believe some of them myself (the first and second one). Some of these things are at least partially true. Some Christians are hateful. Some Christians are hypocrites. Some are ignorant and stupid and have never questioned their faith. The last of three are common representations of certain elements of Christianity I’ve seen in pop culture (think South Park’s version of Jesus).

Because you may not see it anywhere else, I think it’s important to address these misconceptions with biblically correct teaching. I don’t see this concept addressed directly in many places, so I guess I’ll start. I recommend that anyone reading comment on this post if you have something to add.

First, God does not currently rule the world. Our world is currently ruled by an evil spirit that wants to destroy us. While being tempted in the wilderness, Jesus was offered all of the kingdoms of the world. He does not deny that the devil can give Him that. He simply refuses. Throughout this passage, the devil is trying to tempt Jesus. This is much closer to how evil often operates in the Bible (and in real life). However, it’s not unusual to meet even Christians who think that spiritual evil looks more like it does in horror movies. They believe they’ll be besieged openly by terrifying dark forces that would send even the most inveterate atheists screaming straight to a Bible.

That’s not how this works.

Demons are not God. They are not omnipotent. They don’t have access to all information about a person in the way that God does. I don’t think that most evil in the world has anything to do, directly or indirectly, with the actions of demons. Most evil arises from our own evil desires. Demons may have a hand in certain evils in the world, but they are working through people who willingly participate due to their own defects in character. No one, devil or otherwise, is making them do evil. As I stated in The Gospel of Satan, temptation only works on the fallen. Those with perfect character who have no evil desires (that is, Jesus) will never give in to temptation [EDIT: Based on the words of readers who I consider to be people of good will and my own thinking, I’ve decided I should put a note here. I don’t think it’s entirely correct to say Jesus had “no evil desires”. He certainly felt the temptations we feel, but he never gave in to temptation. Here’s an article that may help clear up the confusion for anyone else who thought the same. I still have more learning to do on the subject as well.]

Older works of literature do a much better job of depicting how evil actually functions. Works like Faust or The Picture of Dorian Gray depict people making deals to obtain material wealth or pleasure. This kind of story reveals an ancient truth that many people knew before the arrival of Christ – hedonism defeats itself. If I were asked to describe what the Enemy really wants, it’s definitely not to frighten you directly. It’s to make you soft, fat, and comfortable. Being righteous will require some sacrifice or hardship from us. The fear comes in when you have to sacrifice your comfort and pleasure for what is right. If you’re accustomed to living in a hedonistic state, however, when the time comes for you to make a stand, you’ll be too weak. I may discuss this topic in more detail in a later post.

Like I said, some Christians are hateful, hypocritical, and ignorant. As far as hypocrisy goes, becoming a Christian doesn’t eliminate all sinfulness from a person on this side of heaven. We must practice righteousness daily. If we do it right, then we get better over time. Identifying someone as a sinner is not indicative of personal hatred. It means that the person has violated God’s Law. Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. This is why we require a Savior. Ignorance varies from person to person. There are brilliant Christians and there are dull ones. Most are somewhere in between, and many lose or at least question their faith at some point. Some come back. I may do a post on my own journey at some point.

The depiction of God as an old, robed man in the sky isn’t necessarily derisive when it occurs in a work of art. However, it’s a common barb thrown by those trying to highlight the apparent silliness of the Christian faith. You may have heard similar insults that refer to God or Jesus as an imaginary friend. The Bible never describes God as being like a man. The Bible specifically states that His nature, form, and character are not like a man’s. He is spirit. If someone were to ask me what I think God is like, I’d say He’s probably like a field. When I say “field”, I mean like the electromagnetic field. This field extends throughout all of space. At every point in space at a given time, a vector can be drawn. The difference is that God is a living, conscious, personal Being. He has power over all other fields and is the source of their existence. Probably not the best analogy, but that’s what I imagine God might be like. No man in the sky.

As far as Jesus’ appearance goes, He no doubt looked like a brown-skinned Middle Eastern man because He was descended from a Middle Eastern people. He was neither black nor white. A youtuber called Metatron has a nice video on His appearance.

The final point on this list has been an interesting one for me to think about personally. Jesus is often described or depicted as being a generically “nice”, weak, milquetoast person. Someone whom you could never imagine saying a harsh word. Everything Pop Jesus says makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This is interesting for a couple of reasons. I mentioned the South Park depiction because it encapsulates what I mean. I believe the reason Pop Jesus is often depicted as being weak is because our own internal ability to be and do good is weak. Our fallen nature overwhelms us so often that we believe on some level that evil is stronger. Size is often used in art to express how intensely something feels. In the clip, Saitama (the caped baldy) doesn’t literally turn into a giant. We are looking at an artistic depiction of how Genos (the cyborg) feels about the magnitude of the threat he’s facing. I believe the relative size of Satan and Jesus in South Park is an example of this idea. You see the same thing indirectly in many horror movies. The idea that evil can never be completely overcome.

Another reason this piques my interest is how much people in the world seem to be attached to the idea of Jesus. Jesus is often contrasted with “the God of the Old Testament”. People love to cherry pick His teachings and remove them from the full context of the Bible. As if Jesus came to do away with the Law as opposed to fulfill its requirements for us. People will literally make up an imaginary-friend version of Jesus who validates their every decision. What’s really surprising is how often non-Christians will do this. What’s the point? It’s something I’ve never fully understood. Maybe some of my readers can put their own ideas in the comments.

I hope someone gains some insight from this. I think it’s important for believers and nonbelievers alike to have an awareness of the difference between pop Christianity and actual Christianity. This is a difference that needs to be addressed explicitly now more than ever based on what I’ve been seeing and hearing. Use it in your ministry.