THE CHURCH MILITANT
Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
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Amazon Prime’s new show ‘The Boys’ devoted a full episode to attacking the Christian faith.
As pop culture continues its obsession with superhero movies and TV shows, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood used the genre to attack the Christian faith. “The Boys” – a new superhero series on Amazon Prime TV, not only blasphemes the name of Jesus Christ but launches an all-out assault on the Bible, mocks Christians and portrays anyone who would follow Christ as ignorant, brainwashed bigots. It wastes no time in trying to plant doubt about God’s Word in the Bible, a tactic used by Satan going all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
THE PLOT – SUPERHEROS AS GODS
On Amazon Prime’s ‘The Boys’ superheroes are treated like gods.
Here is the official synopsis:
“THE BOYS is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven,” and their formidable Vought backing.” (source).
In the world of “The Boys” a secret corporate program altered the DNA of certain infants giving them superhuman abilities. A select group, called “The Seven” (a clear spin on marvels Avengers) are hired by a large corporate conglomerate. Superheroes are celebrities, launching fundraisers, endorsing products and have millions of social media followers.
But rather than being noble, benevolent beings, the superheroes of the Boys hate the public, and are obnoxious, greedy, and immoral – doing everything for money, fame and power. They have no qualms about letting the innocent die or murdering when it suits their purposes. And thus, the real heroes are “The Boys” – a group of mortal humans who have been wronged in one way or the other by the Seven and seek to expose and eliminate then.
THE ANTI-CHRISTIAN MESSAGE
The Boys mocks Christians who celebrate Jesus with their “Believe Expo.”
While the first few episodes have subtle hints of anti-Christian blasphemy (which will be addressed below), the clear intent of the show is on full display in episode 5 entitled “Good For The Soul.” Starlight, the newest member of The Seven (who actually wants to help people and is a good, moral superhero) reveals that she came from a strict Christian upbringing. On this episode she is the keynote speaker at the “Believe Expo” which is clearly supposed to be a mockery of many Christian conferences and events for younger teens and millennials.
On The Boys, Ezekiel is the “Christian Superhero” who evangelizes and speaks to millions on behalf of the Christian faith. Early in the season it is revealed that Ezekiel is not only not a Christian, he is a homosexual who engages in orgies and all manner of sexual sin in his spare time.
Ezekiel, the “Christian” superhero on The Boys, is a practicing homosexual and unbeliever.
At the event, Ezekiel starts his speech to the crowd of thousands by mocking The Lord Jesus Christ, saying:
“So Jesus says, hey Bro. Hey Bro bring it in. You shouldn’t need proof. You should just believe, because I say so because you have faith. People who have faith y’all those are my peeps!”
The Boys Episode 5 “Good For The Soul”
Immediately the show seeks to diminish the words of Jesus Christ by misquoting the Messiah as telling people “you shouldn’t need proof.” The Bible says the exact opposite. During His earthly ministry where He performed dozens upon dozens of miracles and supernatural feats, Jesus made it clear that the purpose of His miracles was to establish that He indeed was the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament and God in the flesh:
“So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. – John 4:46-54.
Jesus specifically stated that He performed miracles to validate that as God, He had the power and authority to forgive sins:
“And he [Jesus Christ] entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.”
When Jesus cast demons out of the possessed, it was another powerful proof that He had the power of God:
“And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.” – Luke 4:33-37
“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?” – Matthew 12:22-23
Time and time again Jesus used His supernatural power to establish, prove and validate His position as the Messiah. Never once did He ask for “blind faith” or “no proof” as The Boys states.
When Ezekiel finds out his false faith is going to be exposed he tries to kill one of The Boys.
But on the show that was just Ezekiel, the corrupt, fake Christian superheroes intro. He continued:
“So let me ask you something. Why can Jesus walk on water? Why does Homelander fly?….[He then stretches his arms]. Why were we chosen? Because The Lord. Because we were born with his power because we believe!”
The Boys Episode 5 – Good For The Soul
So not only does Ezekiel blaspheme Jesus Christ, he equates the members of the Seven with the Savior. The shows premise is that Christians treat the superheroes on the same level as Jesus. And despite this, the adoring crowd cheers for him wildly. The point is that Christians are foolish and naive and thus fall for the charlatan superhero as easy as they “fall” for the teachings of the Bible.
The Boys repeatedly portrays Christians as gullible fools.
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary (which was based on the language of the King James Bible) defines blasphemy as:
“An indignity offered to God by words or writing; reproachful, contemptuous or irreverent words uttered impiously against Jehovah.
Blasphemy is an injury offered to God, by denying that which is due and belonging to him, or attributing to him that which is not agreeable to his nature.” (source).
A VIP pass to meet the Christian hero Ezekiel costs $15,000.
At the Believe Expo, Ezekiel charges $15,000 per ticket for a “VIP” experience with him where attendees can meet him in person and be “rebaptized” by him. Additionally around the Expo are signs showing the Christian church discouraging the sin of homosexuality with silly slogans and pictures:
The show focuses on the Bible’s declaration of homosexuality as a sin.
There are also signs that read: “you can pray the gay away” and posters that portray Christians as giving propaganda to attendees rather than basing their belief on the inerrant Scriptures.
“YEA, HATH GOD SAID…” – CASTING DOUBT ON GOD’S WORD
Starlight (right), the lone actual Christian on the show, abandons the faith – which the show uses to further attack the Bible.
Where the show truly takes it attack on Christianity to another level is in its depiction of the character Starlight, the new member of The Seven who actually has morals and truly wants to help save people’s lives with her powers. She is also a Christian with a strict Christian upbringing who has attended the Expo for many years. However, now that she is older and more exposed to the corruption of the world, she no longer ascribes to the Christian faith.
The true agenda of the show is revealed at the Christian youth event.
Sitting at a youth event where teens can ask her questions about her faith, The Boys uses the scene as a thinly veiled pretext to vilify Christianity:
The first question comes from a young girl who asks about her friend who is Hindu. The Christian teen states that she “feels uncomfortable trying to tell her that she would go to hell.”
Starlight responds by saying “Well Jesus said, ‘Love your neighbor’” only to be corrected by the Catholic priest who says “but if you love someone you should want to save them and show them the way to eternal life.” (even if it means hurting their feelings with the notion of damnation for nonbelievers). And Starlight immediately gives him a skeptical look. The obvious theme is that she is starting to doubt her faith.
There is no discussion of the sin of her friend and her guilt before God. There is no mention of fact that all people are facing damnation absent the atoning work of Christ because all people are guilty, Starlight included.
The Roman Catholic priests pressures Starlight to lie about her fornication.
When she’s asked by another teen if she’s had premarital sex, Starlight wants to tell the truth that she did, but the priest gives her nervous non-verbal cues to lie and she says “I’m a virgin.” And the priest quotes Hebrews 13:4.
“WE SHOULD LOB A NUKE AT GOD”?
Butcher, the lead character of the show, angrily attacks God.
In the next scene, the lead character and “hero” of the show, Butcher, is telling a priest at a table that: “if there is some geezer up there he’s a world heavyweight c—t.” He then proceeds to rant that God is has a lust for mass murder and giving kids cancer. And then his solution is to nail his own son to a cross. That’s a c— move. We should lob a nuke at him and get it over with!”
This is the brazen arrogance that the Old Testament accurately detailed:
“Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?” – Job 21:7-15
Homelander whips the crowd into a frenzy then floats in the air mocking Christ on the cross.
Homelander, the hero most beloved by the public on the show (and one who is supposed to exemplify conservative Christian values) riles up the crowd to get revenge and kill the people who attacked an American airliner (when in fact it was Homelander who downed the plane).
Floating in the air in a mock pose of Jesus Christ on the cross, he shouts: “Is it not my God-given purpose to protect the United States of America!”
As he hovers above the Christian audience they reach out to him and hold their hands up in exultation as if he is a god. This level of mockery of the Christian faith again plants the idea in the viewer that Christians are silly, ignorant and gullible – thus they would easily worship a hyprocritical, wicked superhero who spews a few Christian conservative punchlines.
What kind of spirit would inspire the writers and directors of The Boys to do this? Certainly not a spirit of God. The Bible describes the mindset behind such arrogant attacks on the fair:
“They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth…And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?” – Psalm 73:8-11
THE LONE CHRISTIAN ABANDONS HER FAITH
Starlight abandoning the Christian faith is the “highight” of the episode.
The grand finale of the episode is when Starlight, the one character who truly was Christian – renounces her faith on stage before the thousands of Christians in attendance.
“Today, I wanted to share with you how I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. How His way is the only way….uh, please stop the music. You want me to just suck it up and just do this for you. You have no idea what you’re really asking. You have no idea what I’ve been through. Every single word that I say up here I’m reading from a script. I don’t even know if I believe in them..I believe in God. I love god so much.
But honestly, it’s just how G-d— certain everyone is. How do they know? How does anybody know? When the Bible was written life expectancy was 30 years old. I’m not sure it was supposed to be taken literally. If you Gay or ghandi, you’re going to hell. And if you have sex before marriage that’s not immoral. That’s human. Here’s the truth. Anyone who tells you they know the answers is lying. I’m just as scared and confused as the rest of you. I’m done pretending.”
Notice the sinister message here. It’s that anyone or anything (e.g., the Bible) that tells you the fate of your soul with certainty is “lying.” Rather than just say Christianity is horrible, the scene seeks to make Starlight sympathetic, kind and loving (as opposed to Biblical Christianity). The message is seeking to try to say that there’s no possible way to know what happens in the afterlife so don’t believe anything. And of course that the Bible is not to be taken literally.
Huey commends Starlight for abandoning Christianity.
To no surprise, Starlight’s love interest, Huey, the protagonist of the show says:
“you’re right. Nobody knows. And that is the only thing I’ve heard today that makes any sense.”
In ancient Israel, God exposed this exact subtle form of rebellion based on openly questioning His Word:
“Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:14-18
Time and time again the Devil uses pop culture entertainment to promote sin, brazen rebellion and attack the Christian faith. The Boys is just the latest example of how increasingly brazen the blasphemy has become. And below is just one of the satanic images subtle placed in the background of scenes on The Boys:
666 – the number of the Antichrist, is clearly emblazoned on an upside-down cross.
666 is the number of the Beast, or the numeric symbol of the Antichrist – the satanically empowered false messiah who will rule the Earth in the final years before the Second Coming of Christ. The upside-down cross has long been a symbol associated with the Devil. What spirit would lead the production crew and directors to include these kinds of symbols in their main scenes? Do not be deceived.
Eric Kripke – the writer and director of The Boys, is also the creator of the CW series Supernatural which depicts God as abandoning humanity, blasphemes the Christian faith and the Bible routinely and had characters proclaim that Jesus Christ was “just a man.” [B&E: we will cover this show soon].
Actor Seth Rogen, a producer of The Boys, is also a producer of the AMC TV series Preacher, a show about corrupt, hypocritical pastor. As Christian activist group One Million Momsnoted on their boycott page, the show is so blasphemous it actually pictures the Messiah fornicating in the Garden of Gethsemane. So it is hardly shocking to see satanic symbols displayed on The Boys.
A TIME TO PRAY AND CONTEND FOR THE FAITH
It’s time to tune out The Boys.
More than ever, Christians need to pray for society. The influence of pop culture and multimedia has never been stronger as millions of people “binge watch” hours upon hours of TV content each week. And at the same time, we are commanded “to contend for the faith once given to the saints.” We cannot sit idly by when the media or Hollywood want to blaspheme the name of God and disparage the faith. We need to be emboldened and impassioned in sharing the truth: this world is cursed by its sin and rebellion against God.
And in order to save us, even though we do not deserve it, God took on flesh and became one of us. Jesus Christ suffered as a human being, enduring torture, hated, mockery and death to take the punishment we all deserve. 2 Peter 3 tells us that:
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9.
God does not want anyone to perish, even the writers and directors of The Boys. When Jesus Christ was being beaten and blasphemed, He did not wish death upon those who hated Him. He said, “Forgive them father, for they know not what they do.” Sadly, many in society today have become so deceived and far from God they do not even realize how vain their efforts are to try and stop the Creator of the universe. Pray for Hollywood’s anti-Christian leaders to repent. And pray for those considering making shows like The Boys to repent before they are even aired.
There is a reason the disciples of Christ all died professing their faith in Jesus. There is a reason the Bible is the most popular book in the world. There is a reason that millions today suffer under persecution, hiding in basements to sneak pages of the Bible to others under the threat of imprisonment or death. And that reason is the love, joy and Spirit we receive when we trust and believe in Jesus Christ.
There is no religion in the world that tells you the hard truth – you are a sinner who is not good and can never be good on your own. And there is also no religion in the world that tells you God would become like you just to die in your place so all that sin can be forgiven. Lord willing, that message will be proclaimed to a world so in need of real hope that fictional superheroes can never provide.
