Superman

A few weeks ago I watched the new Superman movie with friends from church. I was surprised to notice a lot of allusions to the idea of Christianity. For example Lois' article about "Why the world doesn't need superman". Superman is a positive character and people are generally big fans. I think you don't have to be a Christian to realize that the world needs a savior; people just don't spend time thinking about that. So I thought it was cool that the movie mentioned that idea. And it was nice to listen to Lex Luthor(aka the bad guy)'s philosophy: "Gods are selfish: they don't share their power with humans" and automatically think that our God is different. How cool is that?

Anyway I found a very interesting post on one of my non-christian friends' blog. She is a very popular girl studying to become a journalist. She's seen the movie and it made her think about why the world does/doesn't need superman. The blog is in Romanian, so I'm just going to translate, because I think the non-christian perspective is very interesting.

"Why the world doesn't need Superman:
- because history showed that we can grow without him : we got to do brain surgery, build tall buildings, step on the moon without his help
- because his existence (the idea that somebody will show up and help us right before it's too late) creates tranquility, so we don't have the motivation to solve our problems on our own; because only trying to do the impossible can we go beyond our limits; because evolution is based on failure, on the frustrations we have when we’re not able to solve our problems
- because no matter how hard we try, we can't become Supermen, and we need a model who would be human, with strengths and weaknesses;
Why the world needs superman:
- because we are our own enemy: we move fast and depend on technology, but kill each other and are in a continuous conflict with one another. We're unable to respect life and Superman can stop at least part of the consequences of our criminal tendencies
- because we need to believe that somebody up there hears our cry for help, we need to believe until the very last second that something good will happen to us. If faith in an unknown force disappears, the existence of Superman fills our hearts with hope
- because we need an immaculate model, as we have too many imperfect ones. "

If the movie was meant to make people meditate about the known God that saves us, I think it did a pretty good job. It's interesting how so many people believe in God but do not know Him. And my friend is right when she’s saying it is very difficult to keep the faith in a God you don’t know. How can you trust a person you hardly know if you don’t know their character, their capabilities, how faithful they are, and so on? What’s even more interesting is that Superman is making himself known, he gets close to humans. He speaks to people, he's kind and gentle, he can be your friend and you can get to know him (at least Lois did and his "mom" too).

Unfortunately:
- he can't be in more than one place at the same time
- he can't share his power with (other) people
- his powers can be diminished by some weird green crystals
- he needs the sun to get energy
- he doesn’t help people be better/more peaceful
- he offers help in critical situations but does not offer long term solutions (for a better/happier life)
- he's totally enjoying the glory of the world
:)

Currently listening : Relient K - Pressing on