How Much Must I Boycott?

Remember when everyone made a fuss over Chick-fil-A? When the gay-friendly thing to do was to eat less chicken because the head of the company voiced his opinion on who should marry whom? I was a bit torn on the issue, myself. Boycotting a business based on corporate executive editorializing seems overboard, but when it came out that a fave fast food of mine was contributing funds to anti-gay organizations...I admit, I was bummed. I hated to think that even a nickel of my $5.99 went to marginalizing a community.

I bring this up now because of a recent story that will likely matter even less to you. A comic book I’d be interested in reading has hit enough political controversy that it might not see light and will surely be delayed. The future author of the comic, Orson Scott Card, is a kooky Mormon who doesn’t support gay marriage and thinks global warming is a shame. So, does this alone mean his work should be censored?

Image via Wired.com; Chris Samnee, DC Comics

Seriously, I’m asking you. The Superman title Card will author has lost an illustrator and some distribution due to the controversy. He’s written one of my favorite books, Ender’s Game, which as an upcoming movie that will likely suffer from his views in much the same way. On one hand, I’m happy that there is public consequences for stupid beliefs because it could shame others into not believing them. On the other hand, I’d rather folks dismiss beliefs because they realize they are stupid and not simply because they are unpopular. Then again, it could be said the measure of the stupidity of a belief is a measure of how poorly they reflect the culture...which is it’s own kind of popularity contest.

I think I’ve decided to separate the work from the man. I figure if I stop using and enjoying everything that socially conservative and evangelical people produce or support--my options will become very limited. After all, it’s not like these guys were Nazi’s.

P.S. Ironically, this was written while listening to Wagner.

P.P.S. When the product and the opinions of those in charge are intermingled, I see a greater conflict. The Boy Scouts, who advertise themselves as a ethical guide for young men, should not have policies highlighting bigotry or exclusionism. Likewise, churches, with whatever moral value they may hold, should never let pedophilia slide.

P.P.P.S. Are postscripts just for letters or are blogs okay?

I Don't Know

“I don’t know.” I grew up thinking this statement was a sign of weakness. My father set the early goal of making me a leader--with middling results--by establishing tenets drawn from self-help books and cliches such as “never let them see you sweat” and “shoot first, ask questions later.” His uncharacteristically geeky role-model, Captain Kirk, always had the answers even when the situation was completely unknown. While this worked out for the main character of a successful television show, but in the real world the “no-win-scenario” actually isn’t winable and some questions just don’t have accessible answers.

I eventually dropped Kirk as my inherited role-model for the more analytical Batman. This was partly because Bats was way cooler and partly because I didn’t want to end up as an away team red shirt. Bruce Wayne’s alter ego is considered “the world’s greatest detective” and is an accomplished scientist in many fields. (For the purposes of this argument, please familiarize yourself with the Batman of the comic books. I recommend Grant Morrison’s JLA or Batman: Hush. Christian Bale’s depiction was great and all, but he wasn’t the hero we deserved.) Among nerd conficts of superheroics, it is accepted that, given enough intel and perparation time, Batman could beat anyone. Seriously, Superman, Thor, Yahweh, anyone! I consider him a posterchild for the importance of knowledge.

via AmazingSuperpowers.com

Religion has proven itself a source for answers throughout history--and history has proven religion’s answers false at nearly every turn. Yet people still hang on to the few answers that religion holds over the growing wealth of verified human knowledge. Abiogenesis, pre-Big Bang and post-death happenings, and existential meaning are all supposedly answered by invoking a single word, “God.”  That kind of baseless research tells us nothing. We should instead sit at our Bat-computers, gather information, study, learn, and contribute to knowledge. If that all fails, we need to accept what theists and Kirk don’t understand--that “I don’t know” has value. The value is honesty.

You Are Not Gladiator.

Meet Gladiator, pictured left. He's an alien hero from the Marvel universe who is most known for his interactions with the X-Men. He has the apparent powers of Superman, the skin tone of a smurf, and the mohawk of...okay, let's be honest, no one rocks the mohawk like Gladiator these days. What's more, he's a testament to the fictional power of faith.

Before I ever read a Gladiator comic, I had something in common with him. We both believed we could fly. Of course, that's were our similarities ended. His belief in flight is what actually allowed him to fly. Gladiator is the only hero I know of with faith-based abilities. His mental state informs his physical state. His self-confidence is everything. In the real word, my belief that I could fly didn't translate into any measurable affect. It's a real shame.

Mind over matter is a concept I lingered on to far longer than I should. After my childlike superhero musings, I moved onto Christian Science, where the word "Mind" was always capitalized as a synonym for God. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." ~Philippians 4:13. In retrospect, this was a step in the wrong direction. Youthful imagination can come up with some crazy ideas, but when I believed I could fly, I placed unfounded faith in myself. Placing unfounded faith in an unfounded deity is stupid squared, and I was guilty as charged.

Faith in the supernatural, from within or without, is an obsession that humanity needs to outgrow. That's why I write this blog. I don't want anyone to look as silly as a blue man with a mohawk.

Morality Week: The Ubiquitous Rule

Worst. Atheist. Ever.

Atheism is the most reasonable position as long as the evidence for a god is not compelling. In our reality, I feel this is true. In the fictional world of DC Comics, atheism and the most noted atheist character, is most probably wrong.

Mister Terrific would be an awesome atheist roll model. He’s one of the strongest minority characters in comics, has a mastery of science and his main “power” and is considered the third smartest man on the planet.* He would be an awesome atheist roll model...if his religious skepticism did not cross over into denialism.

For a little background, Mister Terrific is the modern incarnation of an older hero of the same name. His motivation to take up the Terrific mantle comes from a visitation from The Spectre who gave him a reason to live after his wife and unborn child died unexpectedly. It’s worth noting that The Spectre is the personification of God’s wraith. Yes, the Biblical God.**

Not only did God’s number one guy get Mister Terrific into the game, but Mr. T goes on to meet fallen angels and the gods that empower and inspire other heroes like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel!*** The DC universe is so chock-full of mythology, that it not only validates Christianity, but also the old-school faiths of the Greeks and Romans. In fact, being atheistic towards any god is probably incorrect since every religion is mostly true.

I understand that this causes problems. Every religion as the true religion would be paradoxical to the extreme, but with DC’s continuity problems, I doubt they care. They accept their necessary position as an amalgamation of sometimes conflicting stories. Even if we try to explain it all away in tradition picture-book fashion--with a retcon--and say that all the “gods” depicted in the comics are just super-powerful aliens masking their nature in familiar folklore, Mister Terrific would still be wrong. The true creative force, and for all intents and purposes his God, is the comic book writer. No matter how you look at it, he’s the worst atheist ever.

*The first and second smartest characters are never identified. Some same his assertion that he is third is “just being modest.” Others say that it is probably Lex Luthor and Batman, who are also very secular characters.
**DC recently rebooted their entire line, so I’m not sure if Mister Terrific’s origin is the same as mentioned above. See, keeping track of this is complicated!
***Captain Marvel apparently goes by Shazam now.

Web Comic Spotlight: Scenes From The Multiverse

The multiverse isn't just a possible explanation for the fine-tuning argument. It's also the setting for one of my favorite web comics--Scenes From A Multiverse. Why is it a fav? Firstly, it's funny. Secondly, it often delves into the realms of science and religion. Here are some humorous takes from Jonathan Roseberg.