No Tights Required: Your Theology Utility Belt
To the Batmobile!
I have a confession to make: I'm not a superhero movie fan. I’ve seen a few Marvel and DC movies, but that’s about it. Could be the overuse of CGI, predictable plot lines, or perhaps I am secretly jealous I will never look as good as Henry Cavill in tights (probably that one).
There is one exception—Batman.
Not sure if it’s his moodiness, his awkwardness in an elevator, or perhaps it’s because while Iron Man and Thor are blasting Imagine Dragons, Batman is playing Leonard Cohen on vinyl.
However, I should clarify, it’s not all the Batman movies I like (SNS George Clooney), just the ones with Michael Keaton. It’s the nostalgia of my childhood, Tim Burton at his best, and Keaton as Batman. The man just wanted to brood in his cave and stare off into the distance. He seemed genuinely perturbed anytime he had to fight crime.
Keaton’s Batman felt realistic. Minus the Jersey Mike’s penguin in the sewer. He wasn’t strong like the Hulk, couldn’t shoot webs like Spiderman, and was not a god like Thor (although as a billionaire, he pretended to be).
The only thing Batman had to fight with were his tools. Using his utility belt, he could pull out whatever he needed in a given situation. These were tools anyone could use; they didn’t require any superpower, but were equally effective.
Now, why should billionaires with bat caves get to have all the fun?
Here’s your own theology utility belt, weapons to use when the Bat-Signal calls for it. Gadgets to make you feel confident walking down any theological Gotham or Ehrman alley.
Batarang
The first tool on the belt is the Heresy Batarang.
When the Arian’s come at you…Okay, probably not the Arians, but when Stefan at work, (who binges Reddit threads) starts with, “well actually…”
Pull out your batarang. An instrument used to spot bad theology.
Your batarang is to ask one question. Does this teaching lower Jesus, add to Jesus, or replace Jesus?
If the answer is yes, it’s probably heresy. Orthodoxy always makes Jesus bigger, not smaller.
The heresy batarang is a simple go-to, quick-draw weapon and one of the quickest ways to disarm heresy.
(Yes, I know, there’s a paywall, that batcave won’t build itself)
