C.S. Lewis on Superman and being “Christ-ey”

Last updated on: June 21, 2013 at 10:35 pm by Jonathan Ryan

C.S. Lewis on Superman and being “Christ-ey” 2013-06-21T22:35:28-05:00 Jonathan Ryan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I will only quote Lewis towards the end, so bear with me.

As I read through the negative reviews on Man of Steel from the “Christian Art Realm”, I’m left scratching my head. I wonder two things; one, have any of these folks ever read a Superman comic book and two, what’s with barely disguised hatred of super hero movies?

Allow me to explain my questions.

Arty Christian reviewers are bashing the obvious Christ analogies in the movie. In doing so, they critique that which they don’t understand. Superman from his original inception has always been a bit “Christ-ey”. If not “Christ-ey”, then certainly grounded in Judeo-Christian in influence. The original creators were two Jewish kids from Cleveland.

Superman has gone through numerous writers and incarnations through out his history. Many of them have chosen to play up the “Christ-ey” element in their version of Superman. I’ll grant that Nolan and Snyder over do it in Man of Steel, but they are still well within the Superman mythos. When I hear Christian reviewers going off on Man of Steel for putting in the “Christey” element, it just shows their ignorance of the comic’s history. It makes me cringe.

Have marketing people taken advantage of this element? Sure, but that is beside the point. Superman was never intended to be Jesus proper, but rather more “Christ-ey”.

Lewis himself realized this about all his pagan gods and it is one of the points that led him to Christ. All his favorites were a bit “Christ-ey” and that is what drew him to the real Lord. The complaint seems more than overstated. Its just plain wrong.

And, if we know our our Old Testament, we know that “Christ-ey” types are all over it. It’s called “Covenant Theology”. Moses, David, Gideon, Solomon, and Father Abraham are all considered to be “Christ types”. Are they perfect Christ types? Not at all. But, again, that misses the point. They are “shadows” of the light to come.

Further, the attitude from Christian Art Reviewers seems to demonstrate a weird, deep seeded hatred of comic books and superheros. One reviewer called super heroes “inherently silly” and not worth serious discussion. Some critiques of Man of Steel revolve around the supposed silliness of a “man shooting fire out of his eyes”.

Because, you know, the beasts surrounding the throne of God aren’t weird at all.

I really am mystified by this attitude. If folks would like to explain it to me, I’m all ears.

Arty Christian types are committing the mistake that C.S. Lewis addresses in his essay, “On Science Fiction”.

“Many reviews are useless because, while purporting to condemn the book, they only reveal the reviewer’s dislike of the kind to which it belongs. Let bad tragedies be censured by those who love tragedy, and bad detective stories by those who love the detective story. Otherwise we shall find epics blamed for not being novels, farces for not being high comedies, novels by James for lacking the swift action of Smollett.”

Here is the thing. I would NEVER say everyone must enjoy comics or superheros. They aren’t for everyone. What I want to see is less of a dismissive and snotty attitude when it comes to the comic realm. I want to see serious engagement and serious discussion. I want to see less ignorance pretending to be knowledge.

As Lewis said it best in the same essay, ““Who wants to hear a particular claret abused by a fanatical teetotaler?”

This is an invitation to an open and honest invitation to discuss this issue. Even if you disagree, I want to hear your opinion. No comments will be erased or moderated as long as they are respectful.

Geek Comics

Geek Movies

Previous Post

June 21, 2013

Introducing our new Gamer and Comic Editor: Chris Bowsman

Next Post

June 25, 2013 Ghost Hunters....are they full of it?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Alien Life ASMR Book Reviews Careers in Writing and Filmmaking Catholic Imagination Christmas miracles DC Trinity War Articles Ebola Faith Family Entertainment Fangirl Raves Filmmaking Geek Books Geek Comics Geek Culture Geek Entertainment Geek Gaming Geek Girl Geek Goes Catholic Geek Goes Catholic Geek Literature Geek Movies Geek Music Geek Sports Geek Tech Geek TV Ghost Bear Ramblings God's Not Dead Coverage Grace Unplugged Coverage Ham on Nye Coverage (Yeah, we went there) HWA Stuff Indie Artists Interviews Jonathan Ryan Book News Kardashians Lord of the Rings Mark Driscoll Movie Reviews Parenthood Pixie Perfect Salt Lake City Comic Con 2014 Social Issues Teen Author Boot Camp The Conjuring Coverage The Michigan Dog Man Adventures Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was high priest when David ate the consecrated bread?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Eli Ahimelech Caiaphas Aaron