The Gospel According to Diana, daughter of Hippolyta Queen of the Amazons

Alright, I've been thinking and writing and musing over this movie for the last few weeks, and it's about time I made a post that put the 'Geek' in 'A Geek Under Grace'.

I'm going to talk about the latest greatest hero to hit the big screen.

The one who can turn a hawk to a dove.

Stop a war with love.

and make a liar tell the truth.

yes, none other than...

WONDER WOMAN!

(Note this WILL have spoilers, read at your own discretion)

Staring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, and directed by Patty Jenkins, by itself it is an incredibly well made, well paced and fun movie that's tearing through box office records like a Greek two edged sword through flypaper.

Those who know me personally, know that I have an almost psychologically bad obsession with Superman, but this movie has bumped the classic Richard Donner Christopher Reeves "Superman the Motion Picture" out of my top spot.

But there is even, possibly unintentional gospel truth littered throughout the 2 hours and 21 minutes of epic heroism.

I know there has been several TV and internet evangelists who have been attacking the movie, and saying that Christian families should avoid it, and even boycott it because of how it uses Greek Mythology, and other silly nit-picks, but to be honest, there was so much ... GOOD in it. and not just as in good movie but as in point to God and the Gospel good! I caught five points that Wonder Woman aka Diana daughter of Hippolyta Queen of the Amazons used to point to Jesus Christ and his Gospel to the world:

1: Humanity is made in the divine image, therefore are beings of intrinsic, inherent worth.

At one point, in a scene in Diana's childhood, her mother, Queen Hippolyta, told her a story to try to quell her longing to train to fight. She told her the story how Zeus, King of the Gods, created man in his own image, so that the Gods would have someone to commune with. And when he looked upon his creation, Zeus said "Mankind is very good."

the whole moment was very similar to this passage out of Genesis chapter 1:

"Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, "be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground - everything that has breath of life in it- I give every green plant for food."  And it was so. God saw all he had made and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day."

In both Bible and Movie, mankind was made in 'his image'. Mankind was created inherently good creatures meant to be wise and beautiful, and their lives are worth protecting. They should be treated with respect, kindness and love. But, out of fault of our own, we didn't stay in that pure state...

2: Humanity is also broken and terrible, selfish and destroyed.

As Diana's bedtime story continued, the Queen told her daughter of how Ares, the God of War, introduced hatred, jealousy, death, and pain to mankind. But she softens the story, which the truth is far closer to the story in Genesis chapter 3 than ever portrayed in a secular film before.

Diana was devastated to learn just before the final act of the film, that while Ares had a hand in leading mankind to the darkness of hatred and destruction. He whispered in their ear, made them question the rightness of their path, but he didn't make them chose to embrace sinful ways. He didn't make them hate, covet, and murder. while it was led by a evil being, there is evil at the core of each of them.

She discovered that saving mankind was more than destroying one evil being. Even Steve Trevor admits, in a moving speech, that evil is in his heart as well. To destroy evil, it must be destroyed in the heart of mankind as well as the being.

Human beings have become corrupted by sin, and the cost of that corruption is and will always be death. This is a terrible truth, it was refreshing to see a movie that embraces this truth, and shows us Diana devastated at the revelation of it. 

3: Doing the right thing sometimes requires sacrifice.

Sacrifice is a major plot in not only the movie, but the story of Wonder Woman in the comic book universe, as well. Whether it's Queen Hippolyta (Diana's mother) giving up her only begotten child to send her off into Man's World to save them from themselves, or Steve Trevor's friends agreeing to fight not for money (as they usually do) but because it's the right thing to do.

There's even a moment late in the movie when it's made clear that sometimes one must sacrifice one's life to protect others. Just as Jesus said, there is no greater love than this, that one would lay down his own life for his friends.

4: God provided us an example to emulate.

 A major point in Wonder Woman's character is she inspires the people around her (and us) to become better humans and to choose light over the darkness. Her example causes people to sacrifice for one another.

In her fictional original story, when Ares led mankind to embrace sin and destruction, Zeus used the last of his power to create something that could stand against the darkness, something that could inspire, something that could be light in a sin darkened world: Diana.

The story of Wonder Woman is a beautiful parallel to Jesus, as he was sent by God the Father to not only lead us by example in light and holiness, but to strike the killing blow to our enemy and to death itself, bringing hope to a hopeless world.

5: Only love can save the world.

Wonder Woman concludes with one big take away: "Only love can save the world."

The Bible itself tells us that God is Love. (1 John 4:8) and the greatest commandment of all is to love! (Matthew 22:36-40) God sent Jesus to save the world because of his love for all people (John 3:16)

In Christian theology, love is the motivating cause for salvation, the way through which salvation is effected, and the person who makes it possible. The world can only truly be saved by one love: The love of Messiah Yeshua, Jesus, the Son of God.