On Superman and Jesus Christ

Restored post, with comments

Sunday, July 25, 2010

My sister in law and I have been watching a lot of “Lois and Clark”, a television series about Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane. We have watched from two to six shows a day. As I watched (and envied the emotionally healthy way Lois and Clark became friends, then deeper friends, then best friends, then began to love each other and eventually got married), I began to see some similarities between Superman and Jesus.

But, first, some differences: Superman rescues everyone even when they should do it themselves. Jesus lets people struggle (which gives them strength) and only helps when he is asked. Jesus, as a resurrected being, has all wisdom and all power. According to the scriptures, he had a lot of power and a lot of intelligence before but not as much as he did later. Jesus has already vanquished the “bad guy” and there is not an endless supply of “bad guys” who keep cropping up and try to kill him. At the moment, it looks like the “bad guy” is winning because we are still struggling, but he is not all powerful. God is in charge and God is keeping the “bad guy” within certain bounds.

Now for the similarities:

*Both are morally clean.

*Both have clean language.

*Neither of them cheat nor steal.

*They don’t hurt people, though the ones who do wrong are punished.

*Both want to save every soul on the planet and both do all they can to accomplish that desire.

*Traditionally, only one thing can kill Superman though the media has invented other ways. Only one thing could kill Jesus: his willingness to die when someone tried to kill him.

*Both are very powerful.

*Both fight “bad guys” who are too powerful for us.

*Both are considerate, loving, and kind.

*People around them don’t recognize who they really are except those very, very close to them.

*The biological father of both was not a native of earth.

*Both biological fathers arranged for an earth father to help raise their son.

*Both grew up in a small town.

*Both grew up among people who didn’t know who they really were.

*Both respect women and children.

*Both can move mountains.

*Both can cause mighty winds, ice, fire, and so forth.

*Both honor and respect their parents.

Similarities between Superman and the resurrected Christ:

*Both are impervious to heat, cold, and fire.

*Both can see through things (though Superman is limited by lead and Christ is not limited at all).

*Both can smite with “the glance of his eye”.

In saying Superman is morally clean, I am ignoring the stupid movie made that portrayed him as getting Lois pregnant then leaving for several years. That does not fit the Superman persona. The Superman persona is of a man who is clean in every way.

Jeremy said... Hmmmmmmmmm, perhaps you should reevaluate "the stupid movie" about superman. You may find there is more there than you are seeing. July 29, 2010 10:14 AM 

L'Jn said... Yes, I admit I am prejudiced. I probably could learn something from it.

I think there is so much we can learn from the stories people write, whether in book form, movie form, or some other form. August 3, 2010 1:43 PM 

L'Jn said... I guess I just don't like the idea of Superman's personality being changed so drastically.

But, the subject of similarities between Superman and Christ . . . I found the similarities intriguing. Tuesday, August 3, 2010