The Green Lantern Paradox

There is a DC comics character by the name of Green Lantern.  The title is an honorific, held by anyone who carries a ring.  During my childhood, it was Guy Gardner and Gnort.  I wasn’t the greatest DC comics reader, but that was pretty funny.  The main thing about being a Green Lantern is possession of a ring.  Whoever possess the ring is a Green Lantern with all sorts of powers.

Here’s the paradox.  The rest of Green Lantern Corps know that all the power is contained in the ring.  The person is just a container.  Should the ring pass to another person, that person would no longer have any power.  To the outsiders of the world, the man has all the power. 

The Green Lantern Paradox is a paradox of knowledge and perspective, but it is one that is very profound.  Take the argument between Stephen Colbert and Dr. Bart Ehrman.  During the argument Ehrman stated that the tone of Jesus was the same in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and changed in John.  Let me make something very simply clear.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke were disciples of Jesus Christ, and worked with him on a daily basis.  John was not.

Reexamine the question as presented in light of the Green Lantern Paradox.  The first three books (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) were written by other members of the Green Lantern Corps.  The fourth book was written by an outsider. 

Also note that the book following John (Acts) is written by an insider (Paul), and once again returns to the narrative portrayed by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  So yes, the way Jesus is portrayed is different in John than in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  It’s simply because the perspective of the writer was different. 

So, to complete the Green Lantern Paradox, what in the world is the ring in this case?  That would be God.  Jesus came to Earth as a man, stripped of all his Heavenly power and authority. Jesus said God acted through him.  Remember, Jesus was a man with no power whatsoever.  All the power came from God.