The Jesus Mutation
05-25-2006
by Johann Snyder

I am a mutant. I am an Ex-Man. I am different from the rest of humanity. I have been irrevocably changed, and I must use all of my skills and talents to help save the very world that hates and persecutes me. How did this happen, you may ask. The answer; I had an encounter with the Jesus mutation, and I've never been the same since.

Okay, okay. I admit that sounds a bit melodramatic, but with the release of the new, and supposedly final X-Men film, I'm once again reminded just how much Christians are like Stan Lee's mutants. The mutants of the X-Men are a small group of individuals who are different from the rest of society. They've have been altered at the genetic level, and this change not only makes them different from the rest of humanity, but it also imbues them with incredible powers. The rest of humanity, however, fears and hates these mutants because of their differences and powers. Despite the animosity of the world, however, the X-Men fight for the good and the salvation of humanity from evil. They fight to protect the very people who would destroy them. Doesn't all of that sound a bit familiar?

There's been a lot written on how Christians are a lot like the X-Men, so I'll try to avoid covering that same ground, but after a recent viewing of the new movie, on of my co-workers commented that he finally realized why they were called X-Men; because they've been mutated and were no longer just men, they were ex-men. Being the geek that I am, I pointed that wasn't really why they were called the X-Men, but the idea resonated within me because as a Christian I realized that what my friend said was true; I really am an Ex-Man. The Bible says that when Jesus enters a life, all things are made new. It tells us that we are a new creation. We're told the old man is gone away. (2 Co 5:17, Col 3:9-10, Eph 4:22-24) Repeatedly throughout the New Testament we see imagery of Christian being more than what they were. We are transformed (or perhaps mutated) by Jesus Christ into something entirely different. Jesus even warned His disciples that the world would hate them because as His followers they were no longer of the world. (Jn 15:18-19) They were now Ex-Men, and Jesus gave them gifts, talents, abilities and powers to use for the salvation of others, and indeed, the entire world - a world that not only hated and killed Jesus, but would do the same to all who were touched by Him. Jesus still does the same for all who give up their life and follow Him. That's why I say that I'm a mutant; I am an Ex-Man.

Now, if you don't mind me switching gears here, I also find it rather interesting that the new movie X-Men: The Last Stand released so close on the heels of The Da Vinci Code. In X-Men we have a story of group of people who are separated from society by their differences and that society wants to "cure" them, to erase what makes them different and set them "free". In The Da Vinci Code, we're told that if the secret the church has kept hidden for centuries were to ever get out, if people knew the "truth" of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, Christians - who as I pointed out are also set apart from the rest of society - would finally see that what they thought set them apart was a lie and they would finally be set "free", along with the rest of the world that's "suffered" under the "oppressions" of the Church. In essence, it would be a "cure" for Christianity. I find those parallels interesting. In the past month, lot of Christians have claimed that The Da Vinci Code is an attack on them; an attempt to undermine who they are and fundamentally change what they believe in. In X-Men, the so called "cure" for mutation is seen as the same thing; something that undermines mutant-kind, an attack to change mutants and help them conform them to society - something neither all Christians nor all mutants desire to do. Is the timing of these films a coincidence? Probably. But I find it interesting that one film is seen as an attack and the other depicts a group that is attacked. The heroes of X-Men choose to make a stand for who they are, and those of us who are Ex-Men because of the Jesus mutation must do the same. Although I don't believe The Da Vinci Code was an attack on Christianity, I do believe that it alerted many Christians to the fact that we all need to stand for what's True. It shook us out of our complacent pews. We need to hold the line, even in the darkest of days; a fact that I was reminded of by another group of mutants who were willing to stand for what's right, even if it meant sacrificing their lives. The Da Vinci Code received a lot of attention because it dealt with faith and "relevant" topics. However, if you think X-Men is any less relevant for our times, especially as Christians, you may want to look again, for it depicts the very struggle all Ex-Men are currently engaged in as we make our last stand before Jesus' return.

Johann "Yo" Snyder is the host of the Mid-day show at M88 radio, 88.3FM in Albuquerque, NM. He writes a monthly blog that takes some elements of current events and pop culture to illustrate spiritual points. The archives for these articles can be found at: http://www.m88.org/yo-duh.asp