The Nightcrawler as a Roman Catholic Superhero FAQ
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:33 pm
This is a new area of the FAQ I've been thinking about for a while.
Marvel's writers have chosen to make Nightcrawler a Catholic character, but to me it seems that the representation of his faith is somewhat limited. If you are to take the artwork and often his own words at face value, he's more of a lapsed Protestant. Yet the stories told clearly indicate that he's meant to be a devout Roman Catholic.
I've discovered that much of society in general doesn't understand what Catholicism is about and what Catholics really believe. That means, given how much of an emphasis is made on him as a religious character, there is a whole side to who he is – that is missing for many readers.
So I decided that a great resource to have here, along would everything else we have about Nightcrawler, would be a FAQ about Catholicism – and specifically how it might apply to a certain blue mutant superhero. I'm hoping it could be useful to comic book readers as well as artists and writers of fanfiction.
====================================================
Because religion can be a touchy subject, there are a few things I must say before we get going:
1. The purpose of this FAQ thread is not to convert you to Catholicism. If you think you want to be Catholic, I suggest finding a Catholic church and talking to them. They won't try to convert you to Catholicism either, but they will suggest you attend RCIA classes where you can learn more about the faith. THEN after about 5 months of learning about the faith, you can decide if you still want to convert. And if you do, you will attend another three months of classes so that you can make absolutely sure.
2. I will not argue whether or not Catholicism is better or worse than your faith tradition. If you are concerned that your beliefs are lacking in something, I would suggest a visit to your own pastor, rabbi, or spiritual leader rather than discussing it on the internet with me.
3. One of the reasons we can do this is that we have an Admin willing to watch the thread and make sure that it remains unbiased and authoritative. There is an excellent thread of religious debate in the Off-Topic forum, this one has a totally different purpose.
====================================================
The point of this FAQ is to provide information about how Catholic rituals work and what is said during them, about what Catholics believe and why they believe it. If at any point you find that I am not being totally impartial, let me know.
Feel free to add questions or comments, but it is my goal to give authoritative information using sources such as the Catechism, Vatican writings, "The Catholic Source Book", and occasionally the Bible. I know that there are many Catholics and many churches with many traditions of their own. As I am trying to be an impartial purveyor of facts, I would like to avoid "Well, here's what we do at my church…" The word Catholic itself means "universal" so it is important that we focus on those universal elements that would exist the same in the U.S., Germany, and elsewhere.
So, that's what the Nightcrawler Catholicism FAQ is all about. Now that the ground rules are laid down I will try to keep it interesting, related to Nightcrawler, and fun to read. If you have any questions in particular, please feel free to ask them here. If not, I'll just pick a topic that seems relevant.
The first topic I'm working on will be about confession, since it figures so prominently in the last arc of the Nightcrawler Solo Series.
Thanks
-e
Marvel's writers have chosen to make Nightcrawler a Catholic character, but to me it seems that the representation of his faith is somewhat limited. If you are to take the artwork and often his own words at face value, he's more of a lapsed Protestant. Yet the stories told clearly indicate that he's meant to be a devout Roman Catholic.
I've discovered that much of society in general doesn't understand what Catholicism is about and what Catholics really believe. That means, given how much of an emphasis is made on him as a religious character, there is a whole side to who he is – that is missing for many readers.
So I decided that a great resource to have here, along would everything else we have about Nightcrawler, would be a FAQ about Catholicism – and specifically how it might apply to a certain blue mutant superhero. I'm hoping it could be useful to comic book readers as well as artists and writers of fanfiction.
====================================================
Because religion can be a touchy subject, there are a few things I must say before we get going:
1. The purpose of this FAQ thread is not to convert you to Catholicism. If you think you want to be Catholic, I suggest finding a Catholic church and talking to them. They won't try to convert you to Catholicism either, but they will suggest you attend RCIA classes where you can learn more about the faith. THEN after about 5 months of learning about the faith, you can decide if you still want to convert. And if you do, you will attend another three months of classes so that you can make absolutely sure.
2. I will not argue whether or not Catholicism is better or worse than your faith tradition. If you are concerned that your beliefs are lacking in something, I would suggest a visit to your own pastor, rabbi, or spiritual leader rather than discussing it on the internet with me.
3. One of the reasons we can do this is that we have an Admin willing to watch the thread and make sure that it remains unbiased and authoritative. There is an excellent thread of religious debate in the Off-Topic forum, this one has a totally different purpose.
====================================================
The point of this FAQ is to provide information about how Catholic rituals work and what is said during them, about what Catholics believe and why they believe it. If at any point you find that I am not being totally impartial, let me know.
Feel free to add questions or comments, but it is my goal to give authoritative information using sources such as the Catechism, Vatican writings, "The Catholic Source Book", and occasionally the Bible. I know that there are many Catholics and many churches with many traditions of their own. As I am trying to be an impartial purveyor of facts, I would like to avoid "Well, here's what we do at my church…" The word Catholic itself means "universal" so it is important that we focus on those universal elements that would exist the same in the U.S., Germany, and elsewhere.
So, that's what the Nightcrawler Catholicism FAQ is all about. Now that the ground rules are laid down I will try to keep it interesting, related to Nightcrawler, and fun to read. If you have any questions in particular, please feel free to ask them here. If not, I'll just pick a topic that seems relevant.
The first topic I'm working on will be about confession, since it figures so prominently in the last arc of the Nightcrawler Solo Series.
Thanks
-e