I was watching "Infinity Wars" with my wife the other day and was struck, once again, by how weak the "gods" that Hollywood erects (only to destroy) really are. Now, Thanos wasn't weak relative to everyone else in the film. He easily thumped the Hulk and dealt handily with all of the Avengers even when they were attacking him en masse. But how does Thanos stack up against the One, True God revealed in the Bible? Well, let's see:
God is omnipotent. He is so intrinsically or necessarily; His omnipotence is part of His essential nature. His power is also sufficient to create and sustain the entire universe. As well, there is no discernible limit to God's power. His power exists separately from, or is transcendent to, the laws governing the universe, too.
How about Thanos? His power - great as it is - is derivative. He doesn't possess the power of the various elements of the Infinity Glove naturally, does he? Nope. His power doesn't enable him to create and sustain an entire universe, either. His power is also ultimately subject to and limited by the laws and energies already present in and ordering the universe. Not a good start for Thanos.
God is omniscient. God never gains any new knowledge; He has always known everything. He is never deceived or surprised by anything that has or will happen in the universe.
Not so, Thanos. He is far from being all-knowing. He is deceived several times and caught in various (though impotent) traps throughout the movie.
God is omnipresent. God is imminent in His Creation, though He is transcendent to it. There is no place in the universe that is veiled to Him, or too remote, or impenetrable. He is present everywhere in the universe He has made. In the densest black hole or the core of the biggest star in the universe, God is present and aware of what is happening in each; in the vast empty gulfs of darkness between galaxies, or the Las Vegas strip, God is there.
What of Thanos? No, he's not omnipresent. Much of the universe is utterly unknown to him. In comparison to God, Thanos is distinctly and severely limited in this regard.
God exists necessarily; He is non-contingent; He is the Uncaused Cause. Nothing brought God into being and nothing can remove Him from being. God needs nothing and He needs no one. He is entirely self-sufficient.
Thanos? Uh, no. Thanos is a contingent being. He had a beginning and will have an end. As a finite, material being, he cannot exist apart from, or transcendent to, the universe.
And so it goes. In comparison to the genuine article, to God, Thanos is a small and silly creature - just like the creatures who made him up. It is Thanos-like characters, though, that humans can potentially overcome which is why they are so popular as Strawman stand-ins for the One, True God. Knock down Thanos, and God Himself is shown to be conquerable. Or so the thinking goes. Of course, when one makes a proper comparison between these cartoons of God and God Himself, the vicarious destruction of God accomplished through the defeat of these divine stand-ins looks sad, and pathetic, and ridiculous. No matter how much humans may wish to be rid of their Creator and may fantasize about His destruction by their hand, in the end, He stands untouchable, and supreme, and soon to judge the wicked imaginations of the rebellious creatures He has made.
Psalms 2:2-4
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
God is omnipotent. He is so intrinsically or necessarily; His omnipotence is part of His essential nature. His power is also sufficient to create and sustain the entire universe. As well, there is no discernible limit to God's power. His power exists separately from, or is transcendent to, the laws governing the universe, too.
How about Thanos? His power - great as it is - is derivative. He doesn't possess the power of the various elements of the Infinity Glove naturally, does he? Nope. His power doesn't enable him to create and sustain an entire universe, either. His power is also ultimately subject to and limited by the laws and energies already present in and ordering the universe. Not a good start for Thanos.
God is omniscient. God never gains any new knowledge; He has always known everything. He is never deceived or surprised by anything that has or will happen in the universe.
Not so, Thanos. He is far from being all-knowing. He is deceived several times and caught in various (though impotent) traps throughout the movie.
God is omnipresent. God is imminent in His Creation, though He is transcendent to it. There is no place in the universe that is veiled to Him, or too remote, or impenetrable. He is present everywhere in the universe He has made. In the densest black hole or the core of the biggest star in the universe, God is present and aware of what is happening in each; in the vast empty gulfs of darkness between galaxies, or the Las Vegas strip, God is there.
What of Thanos? No, he's not omnipresent. Much of the universe is utterly unknown to him. In comparison to God, Thanos is distinctly and severely limited in this regard.
God exists necessarily; He is non-contingent; He is the Uncaused Cause. Nothing brought God into being and nothing can remove Him from being. God needs nothing and He needs no one. He is entirely self-sufficient.
Thanos? Uh, no. Thanos is a contingent being. He had a beginning and will have an end. As a finite, material being, he cannot exist apart from, or transcendent to, the universe.
And so it goes. In comparison to the genuine article, to God, Thanos is a small and silly creature - just like the creatures who made him up. It is Thanos-like characters, though, that humans can potentially overcome which is why they are so popular as Strawman stand-ins for the One, True God. Knock down Thanos, and God Himself is shown to be conquerable. Or so the thinking goes. Of course, when one makes a proper comparison between these cartoons of God and God Himself, the vicarious destruction of God accomplished through the defeat of these divine stand-ins looks sad, and pathetic, and ridiculous. No matter how much humans may wish to be rid of their Creator and may fantasize about His destruction by their hand, in the end, He stands untouchable, and supreme, and soon to judge the wicked imaginations of the rebellious creatures He has made.
Psalms 2:2-4
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
4 He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
