I just watched Ghost Rider off of my wonderful Netflix subscription. Despite the fact I heard it was terrible, I was very entertained. Nicolas Cage isn't going to be winning any Oscars, but I had my fill of action and special effects. As as street theologian, I enjoy the throwing back and forth of the angels versus demons buzz words. Perhaps the most theologically shaky line was what the old Phantom Rider says to the Ghost Rider, in effect: "You sold your soul for the right reasons, so God must be on your side."
umm
and later Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze says
"I may have sold my soul, but I still have a spirit."
The first presumption is, that the soul is something that you have within you. Basically, what I'm saying is that, your "parts" can be separated from you while you'd still be retaining your identity, but your soul is the seat of your identity. We are body/soul beings.
Secondly, I believe that demons are in a sense real and shouldn't be toyed with (well, Jesus cat out demons, didn't he?). But, these Faustian deals with the devil where the protagonist accidentally stumbles into a deal with the Devil that all parties, including God, implicitly, recognize Satan's proprietary ownership of someone, seems to be an overly legalistic simplification of the theology of sin. You can't be accidentally damned, just as you can't fall into Redemption.
I know, I know, it's just a movie.
(photo courtesy of www.marvel.com)
-Steve K.
