Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Semi-Official Blog of Zack Hunt

Home
Progressive Christian
Jesus Is The Man Of Steel?

Jesus Is The Man Of Steel?

Last updated on: June 17, 2013 at 7:47 am by Zack Hunt

Jesus Is The Man Of Steel? 2013-06-17T07:47:16-06:00 Zack Hunt

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.

This weekend I went to see Man of Steel.

I liked it. Didn’t love it.

Actually, I was kind of disappointed.

Going in, I heard over and over again about how much Jesus imagery there was in the movie. So, naturally, being an ordained minister, I prepared myself to lead the audience in an altar call following the movie.

Unfortunately, Man of Steel didn’t turn out to be quite the modern reinterpretation of the gospel I was led to believe, or which Warner Bros. hoped pastors would believe to help them sell more tickets.

Was there some Jesusy stuff in the movie? Sure. Superman has a unique birth, he sort of sacrifices himself to save the world but not really, there’s a not so subtle moment where he’s sitting in church in front of a stained glass image of Jesus, and there’s another scene where he hovers in a sort of crucifix position.

Past that I didn’t really see the Jesus connection.

Ok, that’s not exactly true. I didn’t see a Jesus-type character in the movie, but I did see the type of character most of us want Jesus to be.

Superman is the American Jesus.

He’s the quintessential American hero who leaps over every obstacle, ignoring international boundaries to fly in to beat up the bad guy and save the day….while doing no small amount of damage along the way…..which he’s apparently not responsible for.

He’s the incarnation of the big, strong, good looking, take no prisoners archetype we idolize in America and which so many of us wish we could be.

He’s also nothing like the real Jesus.

Superman flies in at the speed of sound, flashy red cape in tow.

The real Jesus comes in humble and meek, riding on a donkey.

Superman is invincible.

The real Jesus was pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities

Superman kills his enemies or at least beats them to a bloody pulp.

When it came time for the real Jesus to confront his enemies and save the day, he died for them.

If anything, Jesus was the anti-Superman.

I think few of us would admit to our affinity for a Superman Jesus rather than the real deal, but think about how we usually talk about and portray the real Jesus. It doesn’t matter what it is, if Jesus did it, he would be the best at it. When we portray him in movies and plays, he’s always a toned, good looking guy. And just like Superman, we wait and expect Jesus to save the day whenever and wherever we need him to with no help from us.

The sad and unfortunate truth is that for many of us the Jesus of the gospels has been replaced by one of our own creation who fulfills all our desires and behaves just like we would if we had God-like power.

In a lot of ways, we’re just like Jesus’ Jewish audience in the gospels. We’re looking for someone else, something else. Something bigger, better, stronger.

Jesus was a poor outcast, but we recast him as a conquering king, Jesus tells us to love our enemies, but we fight them in his name. Jesus declares it the poor who are blessed, but we lust after the American dream, Jesus bids us come and die, but e do everything we can to keep out of harm and stay alive.

Don’t get me wrong.

There’s a lot of times I wish Jesus was a lot more like Superman and would come flying in to save the day every time I need him too.

But Jesus is no man of steel.

He’s a man of the cross.

And maybe that’s a good thing, because if Jesus really was like Superman that “go and do likewise” stuff would be a whole heck of a lot harder than it already is.

Grace and peace,

Zack Hunt

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 14, 2013

In All Things Necessary To Our Salvation

Next Post

June 19, 2013 Westboro Baptist Has A New Target: Little Girls & Their Lemonade Stands

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Review Classifieds Commentary Fundie Friday Funny Pictures Music Video News Prophecy Technology Televangelist Throwback Thursday Tract Tuesday Tracts Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 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 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz