# Hercules and gospel truth **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 5, 2022, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115 "2022-12-05T10:23:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/21 "2022-12-07T06:15:33Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > That’s not a low bar for Christian persecution. C’mon, man. You call that _persecution_??? Please tell me you’re joking. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/22 "2022-12-07T06:37:04Z")
Sorry, but this is just one in an infinite list of examples of Christian culture leaving its heavy-handed imprint on everything it touches. To claim that a modern telling of Hercules in which the only recognizably Greek components are the names of the characters, and in which modern American nuclear family squabbles take center stage along side a choir of pop-gospel music somehow is “co-opting” Christian culture is… rich. That movie was made by a bunch of Christians (and others)! You can’t co-opt your own culture. You can’t persecute yourself. They mined Greek myth and twisted it to conform to their own modern Christian storytelling tropes and symbolism. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/23 "2022-12-07T06:55:58Z")
That bar isn’t low. That bar is _buried._ ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/24 "2022-12-07T07:05:26Z")
Well, then, they should have made an accurate Hercules movie in which Zeus plays a role other than God the Father Almighty! Yes, they’re persecuting themselves. Hades is practically the _good guy_ in Greek culture. I mean, it’s bad enough what they did to Pocahontas. I’m very grateful that _Encanto_ showed that Colombia has very real dangers, and that _The Princess and the Frog_ talked about racism and misogyny. ♫I have to admit, it’s getting better, it’s getting better all the time (It couldn’t get no worse)♫ ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/25 "2022-12-07T08:10:29Z")
It’s the gospel truth that “gospel truth” does not literally mean “Gospel truth.” ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/26 "2022-12-07T11:32:38Z")
Because if they put a capital G in there, they _would_ piss off Christians. At least, those intelligent enough to know better. Look, I understand that 85% of the Dope is secular, but please try to understand where I’m coming from. I can take a little mockery. I think the depiction of Jesus in _South Park_ is hilarious. But there’s a difference between loving mockery and heresy, and it’s not okay just because other Christians are doing it. They’re just doing what the studio tells them to do. So, please try to show some respect and tolerance from those who have different belief systems than you do. I’m a liberal Christian. I believe in LGBT rights. I’m an activist and fundraiser for The Trevor Project. I believe that we’re all part of the same human race. I believe in science and reason, but I also believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/27 "2022-12-07T12:40:27Z")
So South Park is loving mockery but this is heresy? **Heresy**? If this is your bar for heresy I have to wonder how you function at all in our society. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/28 "2022-12-07T12:49:52Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > In specifically Christian usage, of course, it carries the literal sense of “the truth of the Christian gospel”, but in colloquial usage it just means “attested, vouched for”. I was prepared to argue with you, but I wisely decided to do a little research before I opened my mouth and stuck my foot in it. Turns out you are right! LOL [**Pre-Christian Uses of “Gospel”**](https://glenandpaula.com/wordpress/archives/2010/02/25/pre-christian-uses-of-gospel) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/29 "2022-12-07T12:55:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > So South Park is loving mockery but this is heresy? **Heresy**? South Park is clearly parody. Kyle at one point kills Jesus, which he didn’t want to do because he’s got a the-Jews-already-killed-Jesus complex. Hercules takes a gospel-style song and inserts the Greek gods into it, and claims it’s the gospel truth. Fine, let’s not get stuck up with what “the gospel truth” means. Either it’s the small-g “honest truth” or the capital-G “Greatest Story Ever Told”. Nevertheless, it was done in a Black Christian gospel style and claimed to be true. And the Greek god Zeus was clearly modeled after The Lord, and bore not even a superficial resemblance to the wrathful, lustful Zeus of yore. They took Christian theology and put them in Greek costumes. Yes. People would have been burned for the stake for this in the 1600s. (Along with a lot of other people, granted.) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/30 "2022-12-07T13:28:09Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Yes. People would have been burned for the stake for this in the 1600s. (Along with a lot of other people, granted.) Hey, you found an example of _actual_ persecution. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/31 "2022-12-07T13:35:38Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > So, please try to show some respect and tolerance from those who have different belief systems than you do. Irony meter is on the brink of failure. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/32 "2022-12-07T13:44:56Z")
Okay, I’ll just fuck off, then. It’s okay to offend a Christian, but Black centaurs in Fantasia are right out. I haven’t seen a single person show actual respect for my feelings in this thread. I’m getting more of a “fuck your feelings, snowflake” vibe from this thread, and I’m getting too old for this shit. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/33 "2022-12-07T13:56:48Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > This is going to sound bad coming from a liberal Christian, but it seems sometimes that white Christians are one of the few Acceptable Targets left in society. I am sorry that you find it hard to punch down from your lofty position atop the social hierarchy ladder. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/34 "2022-12-07T14:02:20Z")
How many liberal Christians do you personally know? You think it’s easy having to say to every friend I meet, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not _that_ kind of Christian?” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/35 "2022-12-07T14:02:54Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > South Park is clearly parody. Kyle at one point kills Jesus, which he didn’t want to do because he’s got a the-Jews-already-killed-Jesus complex. Ahhh! So it’s ok to perpetuate a stereotype that has been used to justify the murder of Jews for millenia, but don’t you DARE use Christian tropes to discuss a Heathen topic, _that’s going too far!_ ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/36 "2022-12-07T14:04:18Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > They took Christian theology and put them in Greek costumes. No, they took ancient Greek mythology and molded it into a Christian image. As we roll into December, the month of universal Christian celebration that took existing non-Christian traditions and transformed them into a Jesus Birthday Bash, the juxtaposition of anyone calling Hercules heresy and persecutory because Christians did the same thing with a movie loosely based on Greek myth is, well… consider how these are similar, and who the victims really are. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/37 "2022-12-07T14:04:22Z")
South Park offends _everybody_. Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists, aliens, Black people, White people, Scientologists. Sir Isaac Hayes quit the show in protest over “Trapped in the Closet”, and when it was clear he wasn’t coming back, they killed off his character in the most horrifying and memorable way in contemporary western animation. There’s a subtle difference. You know, it would be nice if I could get just one person showing the least amount of support for my point of view. I feel like I’m being ganged up on. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/38 "2022-12-07T14:04:41Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > How many liberal Christians do you personally know? You think it’s easy having to say to every friend I meet, “I’m a Christian, but I’m not _that_ kind of Christian?” You poor, poor thing, you. Considering how the vast majority of people you run into are likely to also be Christian, I don’t see why you would feel like you need to tell them something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/39 "2022-12-07T14:06:08Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > You know, it would be nice if I could get just one person showing the least amount of support for my point of view. I feel like I’m being ganged up on. Great, maybe you’ll develop some empathy for members of religious minorities living in a Christian country. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115/40 "2022-12-07T14:06:30Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Considering how the vast majority of people you run into are likely to also be Christian, I don’t see why you would feel like you need to tell them something like that. I have to vet them to make sure _they’re_ not that type of Christian. I knew we were headed for trouble with daffy landlord and his wife when she said during the interview process, “And at least you know you’ll be housed with true believers.” That was a big red flag, but we were pressed for time, and overall, I do love the family. This was pre-Trump, of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hercules-and-gospel-truth/976115.md?page=3)