{"id":2208,"date":"2006-06-14T22:22:00","date_gmt":"2006-06-14T22:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/superman-movies-give-evangelists-authority\/"},"modified":"2006-06-14T22:22:00","modified_gmt":"2006-06-14T22:22:00","slug":"superman-movies-give-evangelists-authority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2006\/06\/superman-movies-give-evangelists-authority.html","title":{"rendered":"Superman movies give evangelists “authority”!?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>The Superman hype among evangelicals<\/a> continues. Newsweek<\/a><\/i>, GetReligion.org<\/a>, The Daily News Journal<\/a><\/i> in Tennessee, and possibly others have been covering this angle, and most of them quote Stephen Skelton, author of The Gospel According to the World\u2019s Greatest Superhero<\/a><\/i>. The latest example of this silliness is this piece<\/a> from Rick Warren\u2019s Ministry Toolbox at Pastors.com. Here is a typical quote:<\/span><\/p>\n

Comparing the potential to how churches used The Da Vinci Code<\/a><\/i> in evangelistic efforts, Skelton said the upcoming Superman movie has more positive potential. For example, a pastor talking about The Da Vinci Code<\/i> must refute the mistakes, or inaccuracies of the movie. Christians must say, \u201cLet me tell you where they got it wrong,\u201d Skelton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Superman, we have the positive option of telling them where the movie got it right. We have the endorsement of the storytellers,\u201d he added. \u201cWe are the messengers, not the interpreters. You have more authority.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou have more authority,\u201d as an evangelist, because of a comic-book movie!? \u201cAuthority\u201d!? This would have been ripe for the Wittenburg Door<\/i>, back when that magazine was funny.<\/p>\n

Look, I am all in favour of pointing out the parallels between pop myths \u2014 or myths of any<\/i> sort \u2014 and the spiritual realities in which I believe. And I had great fun as a child, pointing out the Christological elements in Star Wars<\/a><\/i> (1977), Tron<\/a><\/i> (1982), E.T.<\/a><\/i> (1982), and so on. And I expect to do a bit of that here, too.<\/p>\n

But you simply cannot reduce stories to evangelistic tools, not if the stories are any good \u2014 you have to interpret them, you have to practise critical discernment, you have to sift through their multiple meanings, you have to engage them with your heart and brain. We need to interpret movies, like all other stories, for what they actually are and not for how we think we can use them.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying that Superman Returns<\/a><\/i> will go the Last Temptation<\/a><\/i> route the way the other movies did. But given how Christians have been blithely ignoring that aspect of the original movies, despite the fact that it\u2019s oh-so-visibly there, I think it\u2019s a little premature to be so gung-ho about a movie that we haven\u2019t even seen<\/i> yet.<\/p>\n

And incidentally, Christians who criticized The Da Vinci Code<\/i> had the endorsement of those<\/i> storytellers, too \u2014 remember how Sony sponsored TheDaVinciDialogue.com<\/a>? The studios will endorse just about anything<\/i> if it gets people to buy tickets to their movies.<\/p>\n

Oh, one last thing. The article linked above states:<\/p>\n

The name of Superman\u2019s arch enemy, Lex Luthor, sounds like \u201cLucifer,\u201d the \u201carch enemy\u201d of Jesus and Christians. He is the \u201cevil one.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Is this really an obvious connection? Because for me, Lex Luthor\u2019s name has always brought, if anyone, Martin Luther to mind.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Superman hype among evangelicals continues. Newsweek, GetReligion.org, The Daily News Journal in Tennessee, and possibly others have been covering this angle, and most of them quote Stephen Skelton, author of The Gospel According to the World\u2019s Greatest Superhero. The latest example of this silliness is this piece from Rick Warren\u2019s Ministry Toolbox at Pastors.com. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSuperman movies give evangelists "authority"!?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Superman hype among evangelicals continues. 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