As Anime April continues, Dallas looks at the Gundam franchise. Not Gundam Wing, not Gundam Seed, not even Iron Blood Orphans. All the Gundam series across the board. He also looks at Christianity as a whole and how there are similarities between the two.
Written Devotion
1979
One thing that makes the Gundam franchise so fascinating is that the different series are not necessarily connected. Many of the series take place in entirely different, unrelated timelines. So you can go into any series having not seen the others and enjoy it and have a general understanding of what’s going on. So now the question raised here is, “Why are they all considered Gundam? What sets them apart from every other Mech anime?
A lot goes into a Gundam, but when you break it downs, there are some things in every series that carry the name Gundam.
- A young person or a group of young people who are thrust into war. Not just any war but specifically, thrust into war with a mech suit that needs to be operated by one of the young people. These kids have to come to grips with the reality that is war.
- There is generally a princess character who needs to be saved or protected.
- You almost always have a character wearing a mask for some reason.
Again these are plot points that go across most of these series. They are all considered Gundam rather than a different mech storyline such as Robotech or Evangelion.
Now back to the original question:
How are Christianity and Gundam Similar?
If you look out in the world, there are a lot of different groups and denominations who use the title “Chrisitan.” Now, are they all Christian? Yeah, most of them are, in fact, Christian. But not all of them. There are crucial elements of the Christian faith that we hold to that make an organization distinctly “Christian.”
- The Bible
- Salvation, By Grace through Faith in Jesus.
- Jesus is the Son of God
These are the essentials of what makes someone a Christian. Of course, there are differences in theology that can be, will be, and have been discussed and disagreed on. But we are all Christians as long as these essentials are the same.
Another Important Distinction
Now there is one final aspect to discuss, found in John 13. Jesus has washed the Disciples’ feet, a job meant for the lowest in the household. Now, these men are under Jesus, but Jesus is lowering himself to serve them. When we get to the end of the chapter, we see Jesus say this,
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35 (English Standard Version | ESV)
There is a lot you can get from this passage. Still, in this context, loving other people means serving other people, putting their needs ahead of yours. Take on the position of a servant even if you are on a particular high ground. You are lowering yourself, humbling yourself to take care of people.
Many people misconstrue telling the truth, no matter how you tell it, as being loving. That is not the case; you can be a jerk and tell the truth simultaneously. Genuinely loving people means serving people; going to people in grace and humility while doing life with them is showing love. If you look at the life of Jesus, we are shown a great example of Jesus being in people’s lives. He loved them, and yes, He presented the truth to them, but he did so lovingly.
There are essential doctrines, and sin is sin, but we do not have to be jerks about it. You can be loving while presenting the truth. This is a mark of true Christians. Yes, we have the essentials mentioned earlier. Still, we also have the presentation that matters. This is how others can look at us and go, “Yeah, they are legitimately a Christian.”
If you are not loving others, humbling yourself, and serving others, you might want to look at yourself and check your heart. It might be a good time to go to the Lord and ask Him to teach you how to love, be humble, and be an example of His love, grace, and mercy. All of these aspects come together to form a Christian.
Beware Counterfits
Like we said earlier, all of those aspects that come together define what indeed is a Gundam series. Unfortunately, there is a really messed up series called “Captain of Cosmos.” They take portions of different mecha animes and Gundam and splice them together to create their own anime. This is fake; it’s a fraud, a phony. The individuals who created this we’re intentional about it, and it is terrible. It is not Gundam.
Likewise, there are people taking bits and pieces of Christianity, splicing them together. They take away the things they do not want and reduce the things they want to fit their own particular mold. This is not Christianity. A form of love marks them, but that is not true Biblical love. Godly love presents Biblical truth, resulting from the essential tenents that are not bending. Now loving people is not just how we deliver the truth but what we deliver to them. That is the balance that we have to strike, of being humble in the delivering but not wavering on the truth in the scriptures.
We do not know your stance on Christianity, dear reader, what your faith walk is like, or if you even believe in Jesus. You may have just clicked on this article because you are a diehard Otaku who loves Gundam. But that’s ok; we still love you and care about you. We want to be a part of your life and show you what a Christian should look like, we want to show you the truth, and perhaps Holy Spirit will draw you to salvation. However, it is not our job to make you repent; that is Holy Spirit’s job.
That said, if you are a believer, ask yourself. Am I humbling myself? Am I serving others?