superman is a Christian?

[JM Aggie08]

Uh oh, better boycott the movie. Don't want to be brainwashed by fundies

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Uh oh, better boycott the movie. Don't want to be brainwashed by fundies

B-b-but there's Superheroes! And punching!

And I want popcorn!

 

[sourceninja]

You really don't want superman to represent your faith. He basically solves all problems by beating you into agreeing with him.

 

[her209]

I don't know how you could see the new movie and not see all of the obvious allusions to Superman = Jesus.

- Raised by a father who wasn't his biological father.
- Powers weren't revealed to the world until 33.
- Struggled with doubts about his role in the world.
- Missing chunks of history about his life.
- Seeks council at a church with a prominent stained glass window featuring Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane.
- His flesh holds the key to the salvation of his entire people.
- Saves all of humanity.

With the exception bolded above, a lot of Hollywood hero movies have most of the elements above. One movie that comes to mind is Clash of the Titans.

 

[Jadow]

I don't know how you could see the new movie and not see all of the obvious allusions to Superman = Jesus.

- Raised by a father who wasn't his biological father.
- Powers weren't revealed to the world until 33.
- Struggled with doubts about his role in the world.
- Missing chunks of history about his life.
- Seeks council at a church with a prominent stained glass window featuring Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane.
- His flesh holds the key to the salvation of his entire people.
- Saves all of humanity.

also heat vision

 

[ProchargeMe]

So, a man from another PLANET entirely, has the same God as earthlings? Hmmm...

 

[AnonymouseUser]

I guess that bodes well for Thor: The Dark World's potential box office performance

I like Thor because he's no longer being worshiped as if he really ever existed.

 

[IronWing]

Flash saved everyone of us, truly the savior of the universe.

Also, Flash Gordon might possibly have more, and better, anagrams than any other super hero...

http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/anagram.cgi?anagram=flash+gordon&t=1000&a=n

 

[DrPizza]

I saw part of that as simply being product placement. Rather than get paid for placing the product, they used it cleverly to increase the number of Christian viewers of the movie.

 

[justoh]

So he was jewish but now he's a born again christian, is what i'm gathering from this thread...

 

[dave_the_nerd]

You really don't want superman to represent your faith. He basically solves all problems by beating you into agreeing with him.

There are historical precedents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_I_of_Norway#Forcible_conversions

 

[SlitheryDee]

I like Thor because he's no longer being worshiped as if he really ever existed.

My only regret is that Jesus is going to make such a poor comic book hero in 1000 years or so. He never really kicked any ass at all, just went around telling people to be nice to each other. I guess there was the thing with the whip, but how many issues of "Jesus: The Messiah" can they stretch that into?

 

[justoh]

Man, am I the only one who didn't know superman was jesus? Apparently this isn't new? I'm confused. I looked into nolan et al, makers of the new movie, and none of them seem to be particularly outspoken about religion, plus it looks like he was always jesus?

http://www.dove.org/news.asp?ArticleID=97

Director Bryan Singer reveals the biblical meaning behind the movie magic of Superman Returns. Is that the Mary-and-Jesus pieta at the first of the film? How is Lex Luthor’s greatest crime in separating the “Father” from the “Son”? And just why are there two death-and-resurrection scenes in the movie?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

My only regret is that Jesus is going to make such a poor comic book hero in 1000 years or so. He never really kicked any ass at all, just went around telling people to be nice to each other. I guess there was the thing with the whip, but how many issues of "Jesus: The Messiah" can they stretch that into?

Pacifist superhero? He just need a mismatched partner.

 

[BudAshes]

The only true Superman is Jesus.

Instead of kryptonite his weakness is nails?

 

[Gunslinger08]

With the exception bolded above, a lot of Hollywood hero movies have most of the elements above. One movie that comes to mind is Clash of the Titans.

The basic hero archetype is pretty much Jesus. I haven't done my research to see if this is intentional or not.

 

[BudAshes]

The basic hero archetype is pretty much Jesus. I haven't done my research to see if this is intentional or not.

Uhh not really, jesus is a pacifist. When was the last time hollywood had a pacifist hero?

 

[blankslate]

While the religious imagery is there as others have said it existed when the character was created decades ago.


People are getting all worked up about a work of fiction....

Did these people miss the environmental message in the movie in which Kal-El's father tells him that Krypton doomed itself when it stopped exploring space and used up Krypton's natural resources?

As for the religious minded who might see the character as a sly dig at science... because Zod's wife talks about evolution then dies?

Well she didn't really understand evolution as a theory and anyone who believes the movie slams evolution because of her dialogue doesn't either.

Despite the unfortunate phrase "survival of the fittest" that has been associated with the theory. Even Darwin used it. It really refers to "fittest" as the best adapted to a particular environment.

Superman defeats Zod in the end because despite General Zod's military training (and likely genetically engineered toughness) because Superman had a much longer time to adapt to Earth's environment and had spent much longer storing solar energy reserves.

In other words as Evolution predicts a kryptonian (Superman) who spent decades adapting to Earth will perform better in an Earthen environment than a kryptonian (General Zod) who didn't spend as long on Earth.

Make no mistake General Zod adapts very quickly though and if both he and Superman spent the same time on Earth before the fight General Zod would have crushed Kal-El

 

[KeithTalent]

While the religious imagery is there as others have said it existed when the character was created decades ago.

People are getting all worked up about a work of fiction....

Um...

KT

 

[blankslate]

Um...

KT

Yes you could argue that I am too if you wish. I'll argue that I'm getting worked up about the people who are getting worked up over a work of fiction

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Instead of kryptonite his weakness is nails?

Iron. Just like faeries.

 

[KeithTalent]

Yes you could argue that I am too if you wish. I'll argue that I'm getting worked up about the people who are getting worked up over a work of fiction

I was referring to another work of fiction that seems to get people all riled up. :whiste:

KT

 

[blankslate]

Actually, I'm not that concerned about the Bible which is referenced quite extensively in Superman cannon.

If science is fiction then where is my ray-gun or VF-19 Excalibur or Mars colony I can vacation at?

 

[her209]

The basic hero archetype is pretty much Jesus. I haven't done my research to see if this is intentional or not.

Its the other way around. The basic hero archetype existed long before Jesus entered the picture. See ancient hero mythology/lore.

Example.
Heracles

 

[zinfamous]

Well, he was created by a Jew.

Who, along with the co-creator, quickly became homeless Jews.

....maybe they should have found jesus?

:hmm: