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Superstar
of the Green Lantern Corps
Update
10/9/2009 -- Troy received an email that makes one wonder
even further -- Geoff Johns might be on to something with
Blackest Night and the potential role of Hal Jordan as Savior.
Bob
Pawlowski writes:
I
was recently in Israel. While there, I visited many of the
"holy places". Including the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre. I noticed what looked like the Green Lantern
logo on one of the walls (picture attached below). This
got me wondering if there was a connection. I did an internet
search and came across your article.
I
thought it was funny. So maybe there is a Jesus/Green Lantern
connection.
Just thought you might be interested.
“Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the
light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever
lives by truth comes into the light.”
Does
that quote sound familiar? If you guessed that it was the
oath for the Green Lantern of sector 3216 you would be wrong.
If you guessed that it was the oath of Earth’s original
Green Lantern, Alan Scott, you would be closer but still
wrong. That particular oath goes something like “And
I shall shed my light over dark evil, For the dark things
cannot stand the light.”
No,
none other than Jesus Christ spoke the above quote 2,000
years ago as recorded in the Gospels of John (John 3:20).
Yeah, who knew?
I’ve
seen “Jesus Christ, Superstar” and nowhere do
they even hint that Jesus was a Green Lantern. I would have
watched it …well ...religiously if it had been entitled
“Jesus Christ, Superhero.” Now knowing that
Jesus was a Green Lantern sort of explains many of the miracles
performed in the New Testament. Walking on water really
isn’t that hard when one has a full 24-hour charge
in his power ring.
I was
made aware of the similarities after I began using the Alan
Scott oath as my “signature” for all my e-mails.
I believed that it was obscure enough and not so nerdy as
to expose my love for comic books to the general public.
Yes, I am an “in-the-closet” comic book collector.
To paraphrase New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, “I
am a geek-American.”
So,
imagine my horror when while at a party a 40-ish female
neighbor of mine approached me and in a crowd expressed
her support for my e-mail signature. I was mortified. I
thought that this woman was going to expose me to perfect
strangers as the biggest geek in the world. Then she proceeded
to tell this group of people what a nice guy I was and how
religious I was because of my e-mail signature. Of course,
I am now beginning to believe that this woman is crazy but
I don’t say anything (Benson’s Rule #11 “Never
tell a crazy person they are crazy.”)
A few
weeks later a friend of mine who is far more religious than
I am (and sadly knows my shameful secret) e-mailed me the
above passage from the bible. She knew that I must have
gotten mine from a comic book and she wanted me to see the
“original version.” That in turn sparked a conversation
as to whether the original Green Lantern’s oath was
paraphrased from the Bible or whether it was independently
created.
I acknowledge
that it is sad that the similarities of these two quotes
had to be pointed out to me by others (I really need to
start going to church more.), but it rekindled a theory
that I had as a child. I believed as a child that if after
a nuclear war occurred (remember the cold war) comic books
were discovered in a far distant time (circa Kamandi or
Thundarr) a religion could be created based upon their teachings.
Many college thesis papers have already been written on
the Christ-like qualities of Superman. He has even come
back from the dead now. There are Lords of Order and Lords
of Chaos. While Hal Jordan’s Oath, “ In Brightest
Day, In Blackest Night no Evil Shall Escape my Sight….”
Almost carries as much punch as the Ten Commandments. So
why couldn’t a religion be based upon comic books?
I’ve
come to the conclusion that at my present stage in life
I need to either become more involved in a formal religion
or start my own religious cult based upon the Last Son of
Krypton. I think I like the cult idea. Bible study would
be fun. The only bug in my idea is that being the figurehead
for a cult based upon comic books may tend to expose me
as a comic book reader. If anyone has any ideas on how I
can establish my new religion and maintain my cool façade,
I would love to hear from you.
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