Superman

Whenever I notice a headline in the news that mentions Jesus Christ, I get interested. So when I saw the title "Jesus Christ Superman" the other day, I certainly was curious.

The articles notes how people have been comparing Superman to Jesus Christ. The new Superman Returns movie apparently has all kinds of imagery in it that relates Superman to Christ.

I guess one of the reasons for this is to create hype in the media and get the large Christian population behind the movie in order to make money off of us. Fair enough. But I wonder if there is a deeper reason. I understand that John Eldredge's book, Epic, he explores the "Larger Story." He says, "Think of all those movies you’ve ever loved, the stories that have stirred your heart – there’s a reason they move you so. They’ve been trying to tell you about the true Epic ever since you were young. It is a breathtaking story, and you play a crucial role."

Now, I'm not a big fan of John Eldredge (some people that I love and respect like him a lot, and some people that I love and respect give his books horrible reviews - I lean towards thinking that his books are not worth reading, but that there is more good in them than some of his critics will admit but that's a whole different topic. I've only ever read Wild at Heart and have little knowledge of his other books sp O can't say much...The Journey of Desire I read a bit of but thought it wasn't worth my time...maybe if I picked it up again I'd feel differently...who knows....)

Anyways....

I wonder if the reason that Superman relates so well to Christ is because they have made a story about a hero which is really just a shaddow of the real Hero named Jesus Christ. I wonder of Eldredge is onto something in saying that the reason we love movies like Superman is because there is something inside of us that longs for a real hero and that longing is supposed to point us to Christ.