The Superheroes Devotional: 60 Inspirational Readings by Ed Strauss

Author:Ed Strauss [Strauss, Ed]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-68322-302-3
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Stephen Strange was a brilliant neurosurgeon in New York City whose practice came to an abrupt end when a car accident broke the bones in both his hands. To his chagrin, medical specialists could do nothing, so he began looking for a cure in alternative medicine.

In the comicbooks, Doctor Strange ended up in Tibet, where he met a 500-year-old man named the Ancient One, the world’s most powerful sorcerer. In the movie, he traveled to Nepal instead, and the Ancient One was a woman. At any rate, Doctor Strange became a dedicated apprentice, mastering the magical arts before eventually taking the Ancient One’s place. He then began a long career of fighting evil sorcerers like Mordo and arch-demons like Mephisto and Satannish.

So what are Christians to make of a superhero who practices sorcery? Is Doctor Strange’s power of God? Some people argue that magic is merely a kind of energy that, at present, defies scientific description, but that it is neither good nor evil.

That sounds like the powers of most superheroes who draw on unseen energy to fly, teleport, shoot energy bolts, or use telekinesis. What’s the difference between Doctor Strange deflecting a bolt of psychic power with a shield of magical force and Invisible Woman deflecting an energy beam with a psionic forcefield? Isn’t “magic” simply an unknown power?

In the Bible, angels have God-given power to do miracles. But in Doctor Strange’s world, magical power is a little more complex, and it immediately goes sideways. In the movie, the Ancient One explained that they drew energy from other parts of the multiverse to make magic. But as is brought out in the comicbooks, magic comes from potent artifacts and, for the most part, by calling out to powerful other-dimensional entities. Most often, Doctor Strange invokes the names of a union of beings collectively called Vishanti, and named Hoggoth, Oshtur, and Agamotto individually. When he recites his incantations, he’s calling upon these beings for their power to perform his spells.

Hoggoth is the most ancient of the Vishanti and is called “the Lord of Hosts;” Oshtur is called “the Omnipotent” and “Lady of the Skies;” and Agamotto is known as “the All-Seeing” and “the Light of Truth.” At first glance, this sounds similar to the Christian Trinity. The Bible describes God as all-seeing and omnipotent and calls Him the “Lord of Hosts” more than 250 times. And Jesus said, “I am the light” and “I am… the truth” (John 8:12; 14:6 NKJV).

But the parallels end there. The Hebrews called Ishtar, an ancient Near Eastern fertility goddess, Ashteroth, and the similarity between the names Oshtur, Ishtar, and Ashteroth is deliberate. What’s more, one of Ashteroth’s titles was Queen of Heaven, and Oshtur, ruler of the stars, is called Lady of the Skies.

None of the Vishanti—not even Hoggoth “the Lord of Hosts”—are accurate reflections of the true God. It would be completely wrong to claim that Doctor Strange calling upon the Vishanti for power to perform magic is a picture of Christians receiving a miracle from the triune God.

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