Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Sure, he walked on water, but did he wear a cape?

My only personal experience of born-again Christianity:

At Thanksgiving dinner several years ago my wife, Anne, and I, along with my parents and my brother, Mike, were gathered around my uncle Gord's dining room table, drooling over the aroma of mashed potatoes, roast turkey, squash, stuffing, gravy and fruit pies warming in the oven. Sitting across the table from me were my cousin's young sons, Rod and Todd Flanders. (Okay, obviously not their real names - their father was a wild child who discovered Jesus after badly losing a barroom brawl. My cousin lost the fight, that is, not Jesus.)

Now, the turkey was still being carved in the kitchen, and to make conversation, my cousin, Colin, sitting next to me, asked Rod a question: "Who is the greatest superhero in the whole wide world?" We were all expecting a Batman vs. Superman debate, with maybe some X-Men thrown in for spice. The new Superman movie was in production, Batman Begins was in theatres, and the X-Men movies were in full swing too.

To our eternal delight, Rod's eyes lit up, and with the full confidence and enthusiasm only an eight year old boy can muster, he shouted, "GOD!", punctuating his yell with a raised fist and a huge smile. Todd, sitting next to him, nodded enthusiastically and laughed.

Cue the barely-contained guffaws from my brother and I.

Colin, ever the trooper, shook his head and said, "No, okay, let me rephrase: Who is the greatest superhero that God created?"

Rod and Todd's eyes met, and for a brief, shining moment, I thought I could see them telepathically communicating, weighing heroic feats against awesome powers, judging climactic battles against cool costumes and gear, and carefully selecting the greatest superhero of them all:

"JESUS!" they yelled in unison.

My brother and I dissolved into gales of laughter. I laughed until I ejected my spleen. Mike laughed so hard he ruptured space-time and now lives as a Turkish warlord in 1073 AD. Anne, meeting my uncle's family for the first time I might add, buried her face in her hands in embarrassment and gave serious thought to handing me back her engagement ring.

Then the turkey arrived, and we all gave thanks, and had a lovely dinner.

 Edit: The superhero questionner's name is actually Colin, not Scott, like in the original post. Never blog before consuming adequate amounts of caffeine.

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