What had happen' was.....: Jan 22, 2011

I'm not the first to point out the agenda to bring Jesus Christ down to the same level as any historical figure. However there is another move straight from hell: try to bring Jesus below the level of fictional heroes. I saw a similar attempt to make it appear that Jesus is not as awesome as Superman to which I responded a couple of years back. This time it really hits close to home - comparing Jesus to Optimus Prime. The purpose behind such comparisons is to argue against Christianity. The thought is that so-and-so is greater than Jesus. So-and-so is fictional and so is Jesus. I think the be way to handle such fallacious logic is to show that Jesus is greater. Jesus is worthy of adoration and full worship and obedience. Let's examine the "logic" being employed. I find a lot of information is left out or is downright wrong. I think Optimus Prime is one of the greatest fictional heroes ever imagined. Instead of regurgitating the points about Prime, I want to instead explain why he can't even begin to compare to Jesus the Christ.

Age:

Given that Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. He has no age. His human body may be in the mid-thirties, but Jesus is the incarnated Logos.

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:1-5

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.- Colossians 1:15-20

Character Aspects:

Obviously the compiler of this list is attempting to make Optimus Triune, but I'd say character aspects should describe who they are. Neither point given makes this point plain. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit describe God not who Jesus is. Given that all three persons of the Trinity share the same attributes and again the fullness of deity dwelled in Jesus Christ a better characteristics list would be: Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence. None of which Optimus Prime can touch. Given that the original Optimus Prime did split into 3 parts and was linked to each other it still doesn't match omnipresence.

Sound like:

I like Peter Cullen's voice very much as Optimus Prime but there have been other actors who have given voice to the Autobot leader. Even Cullen can't match Jesus.

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,^[a] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. - Revelations 1: 12-16

That tops a John Wayne impersonation.

Number of Resurrections:

Jesus only needed one! And to be fair, there have been many different incarnations of Optimus Prime and you can't argue that they are all really the same character.

Associates:

Not that Jesus needs an army, but when He was being arrested He said:

⁵² “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” - Matthew 26:52-54

Usual M.O.:

Actually Jesus' method of operations can be summed up as thus:

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
   ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
   because he has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
   and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
   ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” - Luke 4:16-21

In addition.

4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Matthew 11:4-6

Success Rate:

I think Optimus Prime's success rate is overstated given the number of times Megatron and the Decepticons keep coming back! Jesus however triumphed over sin and death for His elect people.

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1st Corinthians 15:50-56

Philosophy:

The first time I picked up my toy Optimus Prime when I was 9 years old and read the character profile on the back I was amazed. "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." It was the first time I ever heard of the word "sentient" and my mother made me look it up in the dictionary instead of just telling me what it meant. I think that Jesus would totally agree with that philosophy. However Jesus goes much farther. The question that must be asked is "what is freedom"? The compiler of this list seems to think that freedom is not what Jesus is talking about when he said:

⁵ Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” - John 14:5-7

Conclusion

True freedom is impossible without Jesus. This seems to be the missing point in the comparison. Sure if he was real Optimus Prime could keep you from being stepped on by a Decepticon but what about your sins? Be honest with yourself. You know you are not living up to the standards you should be. We all know it. What can you do about it? If we got what we deserved we know it would mean death.

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.- Romans 8:21-25