1.)    The purpose of this article:

The purpose of this article is to provide a critique of the recent movie Superman Returns. I will discuss the worldviews which it portrays. Through this critique and discussion, I hope that we will grow in our ability not to be deceived by worldly philosophies which would hurt and damage our love and devotion to our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

1.)    Two important quotes from the world:

         First, if what I say is true, that the world needs a prefect Savior, then it must mean that people are in bad shape to begin with so that they need saving. If this movie Superman Returns excels in one area above all it is on this point:  The world and its individual people are corrupted by evil and need saving. Most of the time, Hollywood will not admit this. Instead, Hollywood promotes the idea that most people are good but culture and other excuses are the reason for why only some people are evil. These people just made bad choices. However, of course that idea is superficial. Consequently, the movie Superman Returns does a decent job of portraying mankind as appearing to be mostly evil and needing to be saved.  When Superman takes Louis with him up into the sky is probably the best scene in the movie that makes this point.  Superman takes Louis in the sky  in response to Louis stating that neither she nor the world needs a savior. After reaching a good height in the sky, Superman stops at a spot overlooking the city. Then this conversation happens between the two: "Superman - What do you hear? / L. Lane- Nothing. / Superman - I hear everything. You wrote the world doesn't need a savoir. But everyday I hear people crying for one."  Superman earlier in the movie is seen high in the night sky listening with his super hearing, which enables him to hear millions of people at the same time. The audience listens with Superman as we hear many sounds of criminal and evil activities going on all over the city. Superman then singles out particularly bad criminal activity and flies to the rescue. This is why he responds to Louis by saying "I hear everything....  I hear people crying for one [Savior]."           

            The next quote I wish to bring in from the movie is from Superman's father: "They can be a great people if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you my only son." This reason is very important because it raises the bar for the type of saving Superman is to perform on Earth. Superman is to be a moral light to the people of Earth. Since Earth's people have a high capacity for good(according to Superman's father), Superman can  be a light and fly the people of Earth to the "goodness" or moral level, of which they are supposedly capable. Therefore, Superman  becomes more than a mere "standard of justice" but transcends to a moral savior for the people of Earth. Of course, if one stands for justice in any capacity, this is at its core a moral stand. Obviously, this new Superman transcends clearly into a moral savior and helper and not just a pillar of justice.

            However, what happens at the end of the movie shatters Superman's image as a moral savior. This made the movie for me rather anticlimactic.  We learn that the 5-year-old child whom Louis Lane has is not Richard's, her boyfriend, but Superman's. At first, Superman is portrayed as a moral helper and savior. Then, we find out this guiding "light" of morality had adultery outside of marriage, which resulted  in a kid who is going to be torn by being raised by a man who is not his dad and wondering why his real dad has not been there for the past 5 or so years of his life. It just seems a bit anticlimactic to have our moral savior responsible for having a kid out of wedlock and causing brokenness in families. What a savior Superman turned out to be. If he cannot be strong enough to bring moral light to his own family, then what kind of savior is he, let alone a father? Now, how well does this movie reflect reality? How badly do we humans need to be saved?  Just how evil are we? Why is it that fallen heroes can't save, and why do we need a perfect Savior to save us? Also, why is this worldview in Superman Returns so bad; what does this worldview teach us?

 1.) How badly do we need to be saved; how evil are we?

I believe to answer this question it beseeches us first to understand whose children we are. This realization I trust will give us a clear place to begin. John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." Timothy 2:26, "[T]hey may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." [ESV] 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In their case the god[Satan] of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" 1 John 3:8, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning." Does God love or hate the devil? Obviously, He hates the devil.   Therefore, what do you suppose God feels toward the devil's children? Every person before they are saved by Jesus Christ is a child of the devil whom the devil has taken prisoner to do his will; we are so much his slaves that we like to do what our father the devil does, which is sin.  Jesus has this to say about the human race: John 8:34, "Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin." Also, the prophet Jeremiah has this to say in 17:9:  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Romans 6:6,17,22, "[Our] old man was crucified with Him that we should no longer be slaves of sin ... though you were slaves of sin ...  But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God." The very meaning of being a slave is to be held prisoner unable to use your own resources to escape. No amount of hard work or self-will or anything you have can help you escape. Your will cannot help you because your will has been enslaved to desire sin more than God; this is what sin does! You are no more able to escape by anything you can do than Neo could by physically unplugging himself from the matrix by himself. The Bible teaches that we were children of the devil and total slaves to both him and to sin, which is everything that God hates.  Since God is infinite in intrinsic value, beauty and worth, then any sin, no matter how small it is, automatically becomes an infinite cosmic treason against God. Therefore, as Judge the only righteous and right way to punish infinite treason is with an infinite punishment, so that justice is fully satisfied. As a result, every member of the human race is infinitely in the worst place a created creature could be. I doubt many people ponder what it would be like to have a Being who has infinite power to be your enemy; yet, at one point we all were God's enemies (Romans 5:10).  I believe Ephesians 2:1 sums up our condition best when it states: "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." This means that our situation is so direr that mere medicine will not help our moral bankruptcy and guilt before the Universal Judge, because we are "dead" in our sins. We need to be given "life" itself which is why Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and life." Our sins killed our spiritual life. We have no way to know God and enjoy His beauty without it. "God is Spirit." Thus, a person must be "born of the Spirit" (John 3:5-6) to have a spiritual life in order to know and see God. Since sin killed our spiritual life, we, therefore, need life itself to be given to us. Mere medicine alone will not fix our problem.

2.) Why can't fallen heroes save, and why do we need a perfect Savior to save us?

            I believe the answer to this question is obvious. We have Satan as our father, we are slaves to sin, we are spiritually dead, and God has wrath and judgment stored up for us, even eternal Hell. Therefore,   I disagree with the quote from Superman's father when he states that we have a capacity for great good, because, according to God's bio (Bible), we  do not! We need more than a mere fallen hero or superman to save us; we need the Son of the only Living God! To be saved, we need someone to first set us aright with our Judge.   This Judge has judged us guilty of an infinite cosmic treason. Christ who alone has intrinsic "infinite" value  is able to pay the infinite debt, which our treason and sin has brought on us. Christ must be of infinite value if He was able to buy infinite grace and happiness for His church. This worth proves  Christ's Deity, for only God has true infinite worth. This worth also shows the greatness of Christ's value in that He was not only able to purchase our forgiveness and to take away our sins, but He was also able  to purchase for us infinite grace and kindness.  Romans 5:9-11, Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." We need a "perfect" Savior to save us from God's wrath. Christ lived 33 years of perfect obedience and morality on earth to His Father our God and Lord. Consequently, to the ones who trust, submit, and treasure Him, He rewards them by giving His 33 years of righteousness  as if they had lived it. With this gift we are able to approach the throne of the live God and be totally accepted and loved forever. Through Christ's gift of His righteousness, we are viewed by God as perfect, because Christ was perfect for us.  2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [Christ]."  Romans 5:21, Christ saved us "so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness [obedience of Christ] to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." This righteousness which is referred to in Romans 5:21 is the perfect obedience which Jesus Christ lived and then gave to us who love Him. Therefore, because we stand before God with this righteousness and perfect obedience of Christ clothed on us, the "grace," love, mercy, comfort, and peace of God reigns in our life for all eternity.  The Blood of Christ never fails us.

2.)    Why is the worldview in Superman Returns bad, and what does this worldview teach us?

            First of all, I do not believe the writers of Superman Returns meant to teach this particular worldview, that people can save themselves.   As I recall, they stated that they wanted to help us normal folks relate better to this superman by giving him real problems, such as broken families.

            Nevertheless, the worldview that this movie portrays-either intentionally or unintentionally-is that we do not need a Divine or Perfect savior.  Really all we need is a fallen hero, superman, technology, or our choice (etc.); really when it comes down to it if we try hard enough, we might be able to save ourselves, right?  The problem with always having fallen heroes is that we become more prone to believe or act, whether we know it or not, that we really do not need a Supreme God using divine amounts of wisdom and power to save us. I mean that whole God thing is just a bit over board right? Today, we have too few heroes like the character Aslan from C. S. Lewis's Narnia series who is a perfectly moral, wise, complete, and true Savior. I am afraid this constant worldview as portrayed in this movie Superman and throughout Hollywood causes so-called Christians to be lethargic and casual in their religion. Many are led to treat Bible reading, church attending, Christ worshiping, etc.,  as trivial. Why be so diligent in these things and pursue Christ with such blood earnestness when Christ has already saved us for the most part? And we should be able to finish the rest ourselves without out much trouble. We can save ourselves, right? This  belief makes evangelism harder because people are taught before hand that they really do not need the Heavenly Jesus Christ to save them. They will be O.K. without Him; furthermore, quite frankly any excuse not to be bound by God's law is something the world is always looking to find.

            I have to admit I often have a hard time relating to movies like Superman Returns where the superhero is so fallen and like me. Why, you might ask? Although I am only 26 years old, I have, by God's grace, spent hundreds and hundreds of hours a year reading my Bible and penetrating theology books about God's fame, salvation, and character. I am rather accustomed to reading, thinking, and worshiping about a true Super-Savior who always wins and never fails, for "love never fails." Therefore, I am concerned when I hear fellow Christians and so-called Christians easily say they are readily able to relate to fallen heroes. I am prone to think that these people are much more affected by this world's theology then they would like to admit. If you truly knew and thought about the Greatness of Christ at least on average 2-3 hours a day, could you really relate to fallen heroes so easily? I say at least 2-3 hours because the scriptures tells us this concerning how our time is to be spent knowing Him and His truth "meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them....  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you," 1 Timothy 4:12-16. To give yourself to something is to be absorbed or immersed in it. Can you honestly say that you are  absorbed into knowing and serving Christ if, at best, you have only a 15 minute devotion with little deep worshiping thoughts throughout the day? Can you truly say you are given to and absorbed in knowing Christ far above all things in our life, or have you regressed to the plan of your Father the devil and intend to save yourself through worldly pleasures? No middle ground exists with Christ; either Christ saves you all the way, or you are left to defend yourself all by yourself.  Christ is ready to save and willing to save.  His invitation is free and without cost. Yet, the worldview in Superman Returns is telling us to rely on other things and ourselves in addition to Christ--or worse without Christ. However, this alternative is not free; it is not without cost; for in the end, trying to be divinely saved by any other means than Christ will spend your body, tear your heart, and cost you everything, even your life, which you will be forced to forfeit forever in Hell.

            Therefore, I encourage my readers to be aware of the hidden and deceitful theologies and worldviews, which come not from God but the world. These views are called deceitful for a reason. They may seem right; however, in the end, they are not true.  These views are instead harmful to you and are a blaspheme against Christ's Honor and Fame.  I, therefore, pray that you will find yourself at least in part out-of-place with fallen heroes because you spend so much time with the true and perfect Hero, Christ, the magnificent! I encourage you to spend many pleasurable hours seeking to know how Great of a God your Savior is and how great His Gospel is!

            Therefore, instead of asking you to look to the sky to see a flying superhero, I leave you with this thought: "Lift up [your] eyes to the hills -- From where comes [your] help? My help comes from the Lord".... "Then the LORD opened the eyes....  And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around" (Psalm 121:1-2; 2 Kings 6:16). Oh Lord, open our eyes to see the wonder of Your Fame and the greatness of Your gospel. You are our help, our Savior, our boast all the day long. Come and shine Your beauty in our hearts, cause us to turn from trivial things, lead us from deceitful pleasures to You, for You are our favorite thought by day and night. Almighty God, Heavenly Father, Amen.

Yours in Christ: Oshea Davis