I came across an article recently interviewing Chris Evans, known for his role as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is the starring voice in the new Buzz Lightyear movie (instead of Tim Allen as in the Toy Story movies, which some people have thoughts about). The movie has made waves for the attention given to a same-sex relationship of one of the main characters. Well, not financial waves- it’s comparatively flopping in that category. But the kind of waves that have had the movie banned in 14 countries (mostly Muslim-majority Middle Eastern countries). But I’m not writing about all that. I understand why people argue that kids’ movies should represent life in the “real world”. I understand why people cry foul when Christians complain about these kinds of things when our Bible has some decidedly 14A+ stories in it. Again, this isn’t an anti-Disney rant. Instead, it’s about some quotes from Chris Evans regarding people who aren’t fully on board with aspects of what Lightyear is wanting to promote.
“The real truth is those people are idiots,” Evans said. “Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good…There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs…I think the goal is to pay them no mind, march forward and embrace the growth that makes us human.”
Chris Evans
I have a few thoughts about what Evans says here.
- First, it should never surprise us that this is how some people think about biblical morality. It certainly shouldn’t cause us such panic that we adjust our thinking to avoid charges like this. It shouldn’t surprise us because this is how it’s always been. The ways of the Kingdom have never aligned with the ways of the world. People have always come to less than charitable assumptions about followers of Jesus and what they believe. Jesus told us to expect this (John 15:18-21). Early Christians were accused of being incestuous cannibals because they called each other brother and sister and commemorated Jesus’ death through communion. The Romans believed Christians were unenlightened and narrow-minded because they only worshipped one God. They charged Christians with being seditious and dangerous to society because they wouldn’t bow to the emperor in worship. The point is, there is always a clash between the ways of the Kingdom and the ways of the world.
- Second, we should stand in the confidence that we are given in the Scriptures. Chris Evans may believe that biblical views of marriage and sexuality will go the way of the dinosaur, but the Bible tells us something very different. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:1 that “this world in its present form is passing away.” He says in Philippians 3:19-20 that people whose minds are set on earthly things have destruction as their destiny, but that “our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” John tells us in 1 John 2:16-17 that “everything in the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” One more, from Isaiah: “all people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field…the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8). Bottom line: despite Evans’ claims, we are told in the Scriptures that it is in fact the ways of this world, including the lust of the flesh, that will ultimately go the way of the dinosaurs. I would say we already see evidence of this in the unravelling of Western society.
- Third, when we read things like this, we should ask: where does someone like Chris Evans get his definition of “good”? Where does he get his definition of “what makes us human”? His measure for these things appears to be whether or not someone is on board with all “the current things”. Do you embrace whatever society deems as progress? Of course, there are all kinds of issues with this. What if your particular culture or society undergoes radical change in the direction of totalitarian socialism? What if your particular society thinks progress is restricting freedoms and rights? What if your society embraces a theocracy (a government that rules in the name of a particular god)? Presumably Chris Evans wouldn’t see some of those movements as “growth”, but why not? Others would see it that way. What makes his view superior to theirs? Making your particular personal viewpoint the standard of goodness and authentic humanity is subjective and fleeting. Not only that, but you could easily charge Evans with a kind of ethnocentrism here. It would seem that for him, growth, goodness, and humanity are defined by whatever liberal Western culture thinks it is, with all those other backward foreign cultures needing to catch up.
Instead, the Bible gives us something much more solid and objective. It tells us that God is good. He is the standard of goodness. It tells us that humans are made in His image. To be authentically human is to reflect the image of God in all His goodness. We get a concrete picture of this in Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus shows us what authentic humanity looks like. Growth is defined by the extent to which we are becoming more like Him. Paul says that our goal is to “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). He writes that “we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Growth, goodness, and authentic humanity have a transcendent, objective measure: our Creator, who became flesh in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
So don’t be fearful, or anxious, or even enraged when you read celebrities like Chris Evans saying the things he does. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Run the race with your eyes set on the prize. Live for Him and for His glory. Live for an audience of one. And if the world thinks you’re an idiotic dinosaur, so be it!
