3 Christian Values in 'Deadpool' You Probably Missed
The level of violence, gore and sex in the new box office smash "Deadpool" may lead one to believe that the film contains no Christian values whatsoever. But buried beneath the vulgarity of the runaway hit starring Ryan Reynolds lay a few Christian qualities that you might have overlooked:
1. Stand Out as a Peculiar People
Deadpool isn't your typical superhero, and the good thing is he doesn't try to be. The Marvel character embraces his unconventional ways instead of conforming to others' expectations. Christians can take a page from his script by standing out from the world as peculiar people, and striving to be the individuals who God created them to be, letting their inner and outer beauty shine, and resisting worldly pressures to conform.
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Romans 12:2 states: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
2. Do Some Self-Reflection
In "Deadpool," the title character periodically "breaks the fourth wall" and addresses the audience, showing an awareness of who he is and why he is.
In the life of a Christian, it's good to do some self-examination from time to time to ensure that one's spiritual life is on the right track. For some, what better time to do a little self-reflection than the season of Lent?
2 Corinthians 13:5 encourages Christians to, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"
3. Stand-Up for What's Right
Just as Deadpool doesn't hesitate to fight the "bad guys" (the guys considered worse than him), so Christians should take a stand for Jesus in a day when people resist sound doctrine, and when the freedoms of religious expression are increasingly challenged.
Famed late theologian Chuck Colson once spoke out against attacks on public expressions of faith and urged Christians to " … refuse to buckle under attempts to force them to keep silent about their beliefs — or worse, attempts to force them to deny those beliefs."
As previously reported by The Christian Post, Colson forecasted the religious persecution that has become so prevalent in the Middle East. "We're going to see the real anti-Christian bias over the next few years," he wrote in 2002.
That claim could not be better illustrated than by the increasing persecution of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Arab Christians in Middle Eastern countries like Iraq and Syria at the hands of terror groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda. Scores of believers are being massacred or sold into sexual slavery because of their Christian faith and refusal to convert to Islam.
To circumstances like this, Psalm 94:16 asks: "Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?"
