Jesus Christ and… Jack Bauer?
This post makes me smile. Mark Driscoll, a Seattle Pastor often criticized for being “overly macho” and dudely (to which he will gladly admit to the latter and deny the former as even being possible) wrote an article last year that I keep coming back to for some valuable perspective and laughs.
While I am not nearly as outgoing in my “dudeliness,” or advocation thereof, I certainly appreciate the perspective and agree that a responsible, biblical, and moral masculinity is sorely lacking in our culture. Neither he nor I are advocating misogyny, subjugation of women, or anything else that would disagree with the heart and spirit of equality between the sexes. Rather, we both see a need to redeem men in our culture to values like responsibility, fatherhood, loyalty, faithfulness, sacrifice and selflessness service. Driscoll’s article uses humor to connect biblical masculinity as lived out by Jesus to similar parallels in culture. In this instance, we have the pleasure of giving you Jack Bauer.
Enjoy!
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Is Jack Bauer a Type of Christ?
POSTED ON: 06.03.06
© Resurgence 2006
http://theresurgence.com
With the fifth and arguably best season of the hit television show 24 now concluded, Jack Bauer can take a much needed shower, get something to eat, and power up his cell phone battery which magically lasts forever. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I would like to offer the suggestion that perhaps 24 is incredibly popular because Jack Bauer is a lot like Jesus, as the following correlations indicate:- Jack and Jesus are both dudes who worked in construction.
- Jack and Jesus have disciples and Jack’s disciples have names like Chloe, Michelle, Bill, and Tony.
- Jack and Jesus do not lie and can be trusted to accomplish whatever they promise.
- Jack and Jesus both oppose evil and seek to bring forth a glorious shalom world, free of tyranny and evildoers.
- Jack and Jesus were both betrayed by a close friend who ended up dying as a result of his sin.
- Jack and Jesus are both saviors willing to lay down their life for those they love.
- Jack and Jesus were both resurrected from death; Jack was essentially put to death to fool the Chinese government and then resuscitated.
24 is easily the best show on television despite the many reasons it conceivably should not be. First, the show is long, lasting an hour a week. Second, the show is complicated and unless you rent the DVDs and begin in season one and work your way up through season five, the storyline really makes no sense. Third, it is just the type of kill-the-bad-guys, do-whatever-it-takes-to-defeat-evil, macho, alpha-male, action-hero kind of show that our less than manly culture would see as too violent, too intense, and too dudely.
But the show works for the same reasons it could have failed. And it is also a great case for expository Bible teaching. While that may sound like a leap, think about it. Expository Bible teaching requires going through a book of the Bible to tell its story over the course of many, many weeks so that characters, setting, theme and such are established just like 24. Expository Bible teaching requires a masculine dude named Jesus to be presented each week as the hero/savior who is willing to risk His own life to defeat evil and rescue those He loves. And expository Bible teaching should be long-say an hour-and take the time to show the horrors and complications of life on the earth under the curse with wildly unpredictable storylines that God inspired to be told.
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- Nov 30, 2007: The “Country Club” Church Is Crap. « Confessions of a Seminarian
Lots of fun. And yes, I think everyone has an inherent desire to have a hero come to the rescue — they’re just looking for Prince Charming rather than Jesus, because Jesus might ask you to behave yourself.
And amen to your comments about biblical, moral masculinity. Our current culture is doing all it can to suppress it, but what we really need is more of it, not less.
Thanks for the post.
I don’t know about Jack Bauer (I have never seen 24), but have you ever considered the striking similarities between Jesus and Superman?
Waltzing,
“I think everyone has an inherent desire to have a hero come to the rescue”
Man, I very much agree to that. Some look to Prince Charming, others to their family (parents or kids), alchohol, their careers, etc. Men especially look to women and their careers. I think that if we restored a balance emphasis on Jesus’ masculinity, you’d see a lot more guys sitting in the pews (so to speak). The pink dress-wearing, feathery hair-waving, watered-down pacifist Jesus portrayed in many churches just doesn’t appeal to construction workers, high risk investors, military personnel, big time lawyers, or carpenters (Jesus’ first career…).
HIS,
Yeah, I think Superman does have some striking similarities, but… i don’t know. I hesitate because while Jesus did perform many miracles and “save” people, he also modeled humility, weakness, and dependence on God. Superman doesn’t really depend on anyone (for saving, anyway) besides himself. Yes, he does sacrifice personally, but not ultimately.
It is still a good analogy in many aspects. And even Jesus, in telling his parables, never meant for anyone to be able to represent completely that which it referred to.
Brad says:
Jesus was the only begotten son of his father ‘Jor-El’, and sent to earth by his father to be its savior. I dunno, sounds pretty familiar to me.
Superman has been killed, and killed willingly in order to save the planet earth. He has always been resurrected in order for the Superman myth to continue. The most famous is the ‘Death of Superman’ epic in the early 1990s, where Superman sacrificed himself to save Earth from the monster Doomsday, only to be found missing from his coffin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Superman
This is only scratching the surface of Jesus-Superman analogies. But perhaps my favorite analogy is the dual human/superhuman aspects of each character. Is Jesus human? Is he Divine? Modern Christology says that he is paradoxically 100% of each. Superman is the same way. Is he ‘Kal-El’ from Krypton, or is he mild mannered Clark Kent? It depends on the era, but he is really 100% of each character in the same body at the same time. But Superman must not reveal his ‘true’ identity to the unsuspecting public, much like Jesus often would not reveal his ‘true’ identity to the unsuspecting public in some of the Markan stories.
Trust me, there are loads more analogies. I am not sure whether they are intentional or not, but I suspect they are archetypal elements of a superhuman mythology. In other words, once the myth starts, these elements of the myth become inevitable.
I said :
Sorry, I need to be more precise when I write. I mean to say, “I suspect they are archetypal elements of a superhuman savior mythology.”
Wow. I am humbled. Your superman/comic knowledge is impressive and I appreciate the comparison! That is… wow. I can definitely see more of what you are saying… very interesting….
It seems that the need for a savior/superhero is ingrained in us. I think it would probably blow my mind to investigate how common a theme that is in the entertainment industry….
My favorite comics are the 1960s era Fantastic Four from Marvel Comics. Unbelievable science fiction and imagination in those old things. I am not much for television, but I grew up on comics. Sorry, not many Jesus/Mr Fantastic analogies that I can give. But the real Savior archetype is given beautifully in the Superman saga.
Oh man…. you and mike need to talk… seriously, brothers from a different mother. No wonder you two get along so well!
It is true, I am a comic book nerd. I was raised on X-men, but the writing for DC is just too good right now. I am a Batman and Green Lantern guy.
I just collect the comics but don’t read them much
BTW, Mark is one of those trying to fix the Feminization of Christianity (check out the site linked in that post).
Paul
Yeah, he sure is. I read the post you wrote on Church for Men, as well as the atheist’s article in response. Wow.
I really enjoyed the excerpts you filled out on d-C. I think that they are pretty right on the money (especially the historical explanation post-1800s). The website may be.
.. a LITTLE over-compensatory (IMHO), but then again, stopping movement requires an equal and opposite reaction, right? The fix can be as simple as preaching with a firmer, more convincing rhetoric (fewer “maybe’s”, “ya know?’s” etc.), and providing some opportunities for men to serve in a less marginalized capacity (teaching, leading service missions and small groups, etc.).
David Murrow has an excellent book that talks about some of the solutions to this problem, called “Why Men Hate Going to Church.” I highly recommend it.
Are you aware of John Eldredge’s writings? He is one who seems concerned about the sissyfication of Christianity. His Wild At Heart book says guys have been given the impression that following Christ means being nice. Nice is not a helpful word when describing Jack or Jesus.
I am starting a sermon series in January based on Eldredge’s work; EPIC–The Story God Is Telling.
Eldredge says most people are interpreting their lives like someone who walks into the theatre half-way through the movie. They are trying to figure out what in the heck is going on. What most people don’t realize is that Jesus is the main character in the story. This would be helpful to know if we want to make sense of this tragic-comedy called life.
One thing that I find very interesting, Eldredge points out that there is a Villian in the story. Every story has a villian. He says most people are living there lives like there is no villian in their story. This is unwise and very dangerous. Maybe we do need to be a little more like Jack when it comes to dealing with the Satan.
Are we talking about Narrative Theology here?
Jeffodist,
Oh most definitely. I really enjoy the perspective he brings. It is very helpful in restoring some semblance of balance. The difficult part is in making sure that we do not communicate a masculine culture as scriptural truth. The message needs to be “this is ok, and encouraged as well for men,” not the ever-tempting “this is how all men should be.” I have many friends who buck Eldridge because he does not seem to allow for much of that in his writing, and they don’t necessarily gravitate towards hunting, nature, and other “rugged” activities.
Again, as with anything, the middle of the road is often the truth of the matter. Dudes need to be ministered to, included, and have opportunities to serve, but not at the expense of other cultures/subcultures. Otherwise, we are committing the same error in the other direction.
I do love Eldridge’s rhetoric about story, plot, and villains. Really really good stuff that needs to be emphasized in our over-reliance on propositional modes of communicating truth (as opposed to narrative).
“Are we talking about Narrative Theology here?”
lol, it depends on how you use the term.
Can you be more specific? Talk about potential land mines….
That is a great article. And I appreciate your comments about the important task of the church to reach and engage men (a lost and missing demographic if there ever was one) without becoming a new boys/country/jock club. Thanks for bringing this back to my attention Brad.
HeIsSailing said:
“Is he ‘Kal-El’ from Krypton, or is he mild mannered Clark Kent? It depends on the era, but he is really 100% of each character in the same body at the same time.”
Oh gosh, I forget what movie it was where one of the characters was talking about how Superman is different from every other superhero. He is different, because most of the superheros are born human, and their alternate personas are the masks they wear. They have costumes that cover up their true identity so that they can do their superhero stuff.
But Superman’s cape came with him to earth. He was always Superman, and the persona “Clark Kent” is the costume. Whereas Peter Parker becomes Spiderman, Superman becomes Clark Kent.
(If anyone can remember what movie that explanation is from, I would appreciate knowing, because it’s going to drive me crazy in the meantime.)
But I guess my point in the whole Jesus analogy here is that while Jesus is said to be both 100% human and divine, his original form is divine. The humanity is the “costume” (so to speak, although please don’t attach any negative connotations there, because I certainly don’t mean it that way) that he wears in order to be the savior. Like Superman.
As far as Jack Bauer is concerned, I find it interesting that as a woman, I LOVE that show. I wouldn’t have expected to, because I don’t like action movies, I’m sick of hearing about terrorists, and overt violence isn’t typically my thing. But the show - in all its masculinity, to be sure - appeals to me. It makes me wonder if likewise a de-feminized church (not meaning ingnoring feminism, but meaning not being the watered-down variety you all mentioned) would still appeal to women. I think it would.
Moreover, I suspect my deep addiction to the show is rooted firmly in the other layers it contains. Although the suspese is awesome, I am drawn to the (surprising) humanity of the characters and revolutionary ideas (even though Jack mostly follows presidential orders, no one can deny he breaks the rules all over the place when it will accomplish his mission).
And I think there’s a comparisson to the church in there. Because although the suspense is pretty cool (as in what will happen here on earth, as well as after we die), it is the human parts of the story that compel people to keep reading/listening/feeling/believing perhaps. And the church has been nothing if not revolutionary in history. Jesus’ story is a prime example.
That would be Kill Bill Vol 2.
“And I think there’s a comparisson to the church in there. Because although the suspense is pretty cool (as in what will happen here on earth, as well as after we die), it is the human parts of the story that compel people to keep reading/listening/feeling/believing perhaps. And the church has been nothing if not revolutionary in history. Jesus’ story is a prime example.”
Danielle, I have a quote that I am going to post that is just… awesome. A couple actually. I want to take that vein and fill it out a little more for a separate discussion. I think that in many ways, the church has become the “norm” (especially in the Bible Belt). As such, it has largely stopped (or at least stopped the pursuit of) being revolutionary, and as with anything that is satisfied with the status quo, it has started to implode.
If you look at churches and/or Christians who seek to be the counter cultural rebels they are called to be, you will see lives transformed, neighborhoods reborn, and cities reclaimed. Hehe, but more on that later…
