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Holy Confrontations, Batman! Preaching the Gospel at Comic-Con 2012

By Dr. Tom Snyder, Editor

The best news at Comic-Con 2012 was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being preached on the streets and even in the convention.


MOVIEGUIDE® saw several groups of people preaching the Gospel outside the San Diego Convention Center.

One man was carrying a cross near the trolley tracks across the street. A woman nearby passed out a great tract, titled “Proof,” proving the existence of God and showing that belief in the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus Christ makes sense.

Yet, by far the biggest Christian group preaching the Gospel outside the convention was the Holy Bible Team from the Bible Distribution Club in Cerritos, Calif., run by James Broman and his brother, John. MOVIEGIUIDE® has actually worked with John’s father and two brothers before, most notably on a new proposed JESUS FILM for Asia and other markets (all they need now is part of the financing for the movie).

The Holy Bible Team has appeared at many public events in California and elsewhere, but James said this is the first time the Holy Bible Team has been at Comic-Con.

“We go wherever there’s a crowd, wherever folks go,” James said.

Crowds on the street are good, James said, because the people aren’t just driving by your signs but walking by them.

“In the end,” he added, “we can’t make Christians. The best you can do is present the Gospel. It grows because God’s Word is life.”

James said his team wasn’t there to target the Comic-Con attendees specifically or to attack the convention, just to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

During each day of the convention, the Holy Bible Team had people on the two major corners holding signs, with two or three people on portable microphones presenting basic biblical theology to the crowds walking by.

MOVIEGUIDE® helped the Holy Bible Team briefly one day with some preaching. Another day, I spotted a famous science fiction author, David Brin. Brin wrote the novel THE POSTMAN, which was made into a 1997 movie starring Kevin Costner. Brin has a Doctor of Philosophy in Space Science from the University of California, San Diego, and has won two Hugo awards for his science fiction novels.

Back in the 1980s, I argued politics with Dr. Brin, who back then was a liberal while I was just in the process of formulating my Christian conservative identity.

This time, Dr. Brin was trying to argue with the Holy Bible Team that the doctrine of original sin was a stupid, evil doctrine and that the Apostle Paul was mean, if not insane.

I started discussing these and other issues with Dr. Brin as he walked toward the convention center, trying to show him that he was obviously misinformed.

I tried to explain to Dr. Brin the obvious fact that the human race does indeed have a problem with evil or sin, just as the biblical doctrine of original sin shows. I also told him that no one has produced a better, more profound definition of love than the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13.

The discussion became fairly heated when Dr. Brin falsely claimed that Paul got his doctrine from the Mithras Cult in Ancient Rome and that the Gospel texts weren’t written until 200 A.D.

Of course, Christian as well as some Non-Christian scholars have proven both of these claims false, and I told him so, while mentioning my own research in these areas (see my book MYTH CONCEPTIONS and MOVIEGUIDE®’s pamphlet exposing the lies of DA VINCE CODE author Dan Brown). I also mentioned the works of the late Ron Nash (THE GOSPEL AND THE GREEKS and FAITH AND REASON), J. Gresham Machen (THE ORIGIN OF PAUL’S RELIGION), and others.

Of course, Dr. Brin, who seemed a bit smug in his deprecation of all things Christian, would have none of this, and we parted ways inside the San Diego Convention Center, where he disappeared into the crowd.

Please pray for David Brin and those with whom he meets and influences at events like Comic-Con.

In addition to my interesting, if contentious, conversation with Dr. Brin, I had some interesting conversations inside Comic-Con with the Christians running the Christian Comic Arts Society, which held a mixer during the second night of the convention.

The Society has been holding events at Comic-Con for nearly 20 years (watch for MOVIEGUIDE®’s upcoming interview article with leaders of the Society). The members’ approach to preaching the Gospel is more dialogue-driven, but they reported to me that the convention organizers have been very friendly and accommodating to the group.

Of course, the Christian Comic Arts Society is only a small minority of the 100,000 people or so who attend Comic-Con each year. Thus, there clearly is a need for a bigger, and even diverse, Christian presence at this major cultural phenomenon, which has become one of the biggest annual events in the whole world.

The good news is that, not only did the Society promote Christianity, including a new comic-book version of the Book of Revelation, to be published February 2013 by Zondervan, at this year’s convention, but also that Christian groups like the Holy Bible Team were actively preaching the Gospel there.

Thus, the Great Commission is being fulfilled by God and His people – the Gospel of Jesus Christ is being preached. Praise the LORD!

To get in touch with the Holy Bible Team and join their group on YouTube, please go to their website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holybibleteam/.

To get in touch with the Christian Comic Arts Society, go to http://www.christiancomicarts.com/.

To become informed about the historical reliability of the New Testament documents, including the epistles of Paul, please see MOVIEGUIDE®’s article on the subject on our website at https://www.movieguide.org/articles/main/you-can-trust-the-easter-story.html.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.