# Say What?



## Nice & Wavy (Jun 15, 2013)

What do you think about this?

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/14/superman-coming-to-a-church-near-you/?hpt=hp_t1

*Superman: Flying to a church near you*
By *Eric Marrapodi*, Co-Editor CNN Belief Blog

*Baltimore, Maryland (CNN)* - As the new Superman  movie takes flight this weekend, filmmakers are hoping the Man of Steel  lands not only in theaters, but also in pulpits.

 Warner Bros. Studios is aggressively marketing "Man of Steel" to  Christian pastors, inviting them to early screenings, creating Father’s  Day discussion guides and producing special film trailers that focus on  the faith-friendly angles of the movie.  The movie studio even asked a theologian to provide sermon notes for  pastors who want to preach about Superman on Sunday. Titled “Jesus: The  Original Superhero,” the notes run nine pages.  “How might the story of Superman awaken our passion for the greatest  hero who ever lived and died and rose again?” the sermon notes ask.

 Similar campaigns to corral the country's large number of Christians into the movie theater have been used for "Les Miserables," "Soul Surfer" and "The Blind Side," all of which had at least some faith angle. Baltimore pastor Quentin Scott is among dozens of ministers who  received an e-mail invitation from Grace Hill Media, a Hollywood-based  Christian marketing firm, to an early screening of “Man of Steel.”  “There was an actual push to say `We’re putting out something that  speaks to your group,' ” said Scott, one of the pastors of Shiloh  Christian Community Church in Baltimore. 

At first, Scott said, he didn’t buy the religious pitch. Then he decided to attend a free midweek screening in Baltimore.  “When I sat and listened to the movie I actually saw it was the story  of Christ, and the love of God was weaved into the story," said the  pastor.  "It was something I was very excited about that with the consultation of our senior pastor, we could use in our congregation.”

Grace Hill’s sermon notes are specially designed for churches like Shiloh that integrate multimedia into their services. “Let’s take a look at the trailer for `Man of Steel,’” the notes  suggest after briefly introducing the movie’s history and themes. 

The man behind the notes, Pepperdine University professor Craig  Detweiler, has prepared similar material for films like 2009’s "The  Blind Side" and "The Book of Eli" from 2010.  The spiritual themes in “Man of Steel” are abundant, Detweiler said,  and his notes enable Christians to thoughtfully engage with pop culture  instead of shunning it.  “All too often, religious communities have been defined by what  they're against. With a movie like `Man of Steel,’ this is a chance to  celebrate a movie that affirms faith, sacrifice and service,” Detweiler  said.  It will be hard for even casual Christians to miss the messianic metaphors in "Man of Steel.”  The movie focuses on the origins of Superman, who was sent from the planet Krypton as an infant to save his species.

He is raised by surrogate parents who help him grapple with his  special powers, even though they don’t fully understand the source of  his extraordinary abilities.  When he turns 33, Superman must willingly sacrifice himself to save the human race.  Sound familiar?  If that’s not enough, as a boy Clark Kent is shown wrestling with his  superpowers, and asks his earthly dad, Jonathan Kent, “Did God do this  to me?”  “Somewhere out there you have another father and he sent you here for a reason,” says Jonathan Kent.  Even the visuals hammer home the messianic motifs. 

During a fight with his archenemy, General Zod, Superman plunges down  to Earth, his arms outstretched as if he were being crucified. Of  course, he rises again.  Detweiler writes in the sermon notes, “What Jesus and Superman both  give us, through their `hero’ actions but also their `human’ actions –  is hope.” “I think it’s a very good thing that Hollywood is paying attention to the Christian marketplace,” said Ted Baehr, who runs Movieguide, a website that reviews family friendly films from a Christian perspective. “Where it gets sticky is when they try to manipulate the market and  when Christians try to manipulate Hollywood. But here I think we have  the right balance.” 

But other Christians are heaving a supersized sigh at the movie marketing.
_*"Any pastor who thinks using `Man of Steel Ministry Resources' is a  good Sunday morning strategy must have no concept of how high the stakes  are, or very little confidence in the power of God’s word and God’s  spirit," writes P.J. Wenzel, a deacon and Sunday School teacher at  Dublin Baptist Church in Ohio.  "As they entertain their congregants with material pumped out from  Hollywood’s sewers, lives are kept in bondage, and people’s souls are  neglected,"*_ according to Wenzel, who said he was e-mailed information  about the movie.  Scott, the Baltimore pastor, said he knows that Warner Bros. Studios has a financial incentive in pushing the film to pastors.  But he said that’s fine with him. “They’re using us but in fact we’re using them,” he said.  His church won't show clips from the movie this weekend because it  had already planned out its service. But he plans to use them later,  during meetings with the church’s men’s group.  “If you give me another opportunity to talk to someone about Jesus  Christ, and I can do that because of your movie, that’s a win for me,  because it is about spreading the Gospel.”

_CNN's Erin McPike contributed to this report._


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Jun 15, 2013)

Amen to the bolded....Aren't there enough men and women of the bible to keep our attention, oh I forgot they are not relevAnt to this time...


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## MrsHaseeb (Jun 15, 2013)

These professing Christians who claim to see Christ in a superman movie have no discernment and can't know Jesus Christ at all. All their trying to do is make the Lord Jesus Christ common... As if he was simply some "enlightened" man, equal to a "super hero" and not God incarnate, savior of the world. This is anti-Christ, the devil at his best trying to make the world have a false sense of love for Jesus. This is disgusting and filthy.


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## MrsHaseeb (Jun 16, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:


> "Any pastor who thinks using `Man of Steel Ministry Resources' is a  good Sunday morning strategy must have no concept of how high the stakes  are, or very little confidence in the power of God’s word and God’s  spirit," writes P.J. Wenzel, a deacon and Sunday School teacher at  Dublin Baptist Church in Ohio.  "As they entertain their congregants with material pumped out from  Hollywood’s sewers, lives are kept in bondage, and people’s souls are  neglected," according to Wenzel, who said he was e-mailed information  about the movie.



This... A thousand times over. Spoken like a true man of Christ.


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## Laela (Jun 16, 2013)

Bolded, I believe it's beyond that...  From Day One, Satan has always wanted to be worshipped like God .. he's _been _using Superman


*Isaiah 14:*
*12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!
	13 	You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
	14 	I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
	15 	But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the far reaches of the pit.
	16 	Those who see you will stare at you
and ponder over you:
‘Is this ithe man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms,
	17 	who made the world like a desert
and overthrew its cities,
who did not let his prisoners go home?’
	18 	All the kings of the nations lie in glory,
each in his own tomb;
	19 	but you are cast out, away from your grave,
like a loathed branch,
clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,
who go down to the stones of the pit,
like a dead body trampled underfoot.
	20 	You will not be joined with them in burial,
because you have destroyed your land,
you have slain your people.
“May the offspring of evildoers
nevermore be named!
	21 	Prepare slaughter for his sons
because of the guilt of their fathers,
lest they rise and possess the earth,
and fill the face of the world with cities.”
22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the Lord. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of hosts.
*

This latest round of confusion from  WarnerBrothers  is not only blasphemy; it's fostering misunderstandings of who Jesus the Christ of the Gospel truly is. Not to mention it reinforces the beliefs of many who don't even believe that Jesus the Son of God is real in the first place.  

There is no substitute for the real thing. What's that saying.. "Often imitated, never duplicated"..  The Messianic "allegories" are a trick.  



















MrsHaseeb said:


> These professing Christians who claim to see Christ in a superman movie have no discernment and can't know Jesus Christ at all. *All their trying to do is make the Lord Jesus Christ common... As if he was simply some "enlightened" man, equal to a "super hero" and not God incarnate,* savior of the world. This is anti-Christ, the devil at his best trying to make the world have a false sense of love for Jesus. This is disgusting and filthy.


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

Iwanthealthyhair67 said:


> Amen to the bolded....Aren't there enough men and women of the bible to keep our attention, oh I forgot they are not relevAnt to this time...





MrsHaseeb said:


> These professing Christians who claim to see Christ in a superman movie have no discernment and can't know Jesus Christ at all. All their trying to do is make the Lord Jesus Christ common... As if he was simply some "enlightened" man, equal to a "super hero" and not God incarnate, savior of the world. This is anti-Christ, the devil at his best trying to make the world have a false sense of love for Jesus. This is disgusting and filthy.



This right here.....


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

Laela said:


> @Bolded, I believe it's beyond that...  From Day One, Satan has always wanted to be worshipped like God .. he's _been _using Superman
> 
> 
> *Isaiah 14:*
> ...



At the bolded....this is why is so disconcerting that pastors are even given this any thought....deception is so prevalent in the church...


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## dicapr (Jun 16, 2013)

Superman, from its inception had "Christ" parallels. I was watching a show on the history of superheroes and it really explained why this is. Originally Superman was created by two Jewish comic writers. They actually loosely based the idea for the comic on the Messiah that they believed was to come. The comic was stolen/purchased from them and made more mainstream. But from his conception, Superman always had a savior complex because of his creators. Superman is not a substitute for Christ but the creators of this hero bases the attributes of the character on what they believes the savior of their people would have. I can easily see why people would see Christ parallels in this fictional character.


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## Laela (Jun 16, 2013)

Well, Yeshua never had a "savior complex". He is Savior, the Son of God who has Authority. There is nothing and no one who that can take away His Power. He knows no fear, is Perfect and has no weaknesses.

Superman, by contrast, is a conflicted soul. He lives a lie, wearing a suit to hide his identity. Kryptonite can take away his power and weaken him. Anyone who knows this can use it against him, and he lived in fear of that (and magic and a red sun).  

I am aware of the history of the comic book story and the parallelism of a savior, to construct the character. Because the writers crafted "Christ parallels" doesn't mean it needs to be preached from the pulpits. That's the reason I expressed my concern. ...  it being preached from the pulpit, which can create a substitute in the minds of many, whether we want to believe it or not. Just read some of the comments by people on the Web. It's already happening... they're confused. This was my point.  Ministers of the Gospel are led by the Holy Spirit, not Hollywood.







dicapr said:


> Superman, from its inception had "Christ" parallels. I was watching a show on the history of superheroes and it really explained why this is. Originally Superman was created by two Jewish comic writers. They actually loosely based the idea for the comic on the Messiah that they believed was to come. The comic was stolen/purchased from them and made more mainstream. *But from his conception, Superman always had a savior complex because of his creators. Superman is not a substitute for Christ* but the creators of this hero bases the attributes of the character on what they believes the savior of their people would have. I can easily see why people would see Christ parallels in this fictional character.


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## Shimmie (Jun 16, 2013)

This is crazy... how could any Pastor EVER try and measure anyone or anything against Jesus?   There is nothing above nor beyond our God... Our Lord and Saviour, who is all Sovereign and Merciful.  

What these Pastors are doing are harming the souls of their congregations and anyone else who hears their idolatry, for innocent minds and souls will follow.   There are far too many 'Babes-in-Christ' who will come to Church and take this message over that of God's Word, which does not support superman or any other super (non) hero.    

Superman still had numerous limitations where God has none.   Superman is not invincible.   He was still plagued with a weakness unto death.   

One word:

*Kryptonite*

Here is where the creators of the Superman series are admitting the mortality of this character.  Superman still dies.  God does not, God lives forever.  Something that human minds are unable to fathom and they never will.  

They may call superman 'Man of Steel', however 'steel melts'.   As the Terminators in the movie Terminator 2 when 'both of them were cast into that hot molted liquid.  There was nothing left of them.   Nothing. 

I'll be honest, I loved the Superman movies and not because it reminded me of Jesus....     The stars were always handsome; all the way back to George Reeves to Brandon Routh.    I'm being real here.   I thought they were handsome.   Yet, I have sense enough to know they were not in any form or way near God.   

God can be anywhere, everywhere, all at the same time and can move miracles all at once at any given time or location all at the same moment.   Superman cannot.  No matter how many people are in distress, superman could only handle one 'crisis' at one time and it took forever to handle just that one.   

Any Pastor who does not respect God enough to keep Him on high in the hearts and minds of those who attend his/her Church or listen to their messages via the media --- they should be ashamed of themselves and removed from the pulpits.   

There is no other God than God and God will not be mocked or overshadowed by anyone.     They cannot handle His Glory.


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

dicapr said:


> Superman, from its inception had "Christ" parallels. I was watching a show on the history of superheroes and it really explained why this is. Originally Superman was created by two Jewish comic writers. They actually loosely based the idea for the comic on the Messiah that they believed was to come. The comic was stolen/purchased from them and made more mainstream. *But from his conception, Superman always had a savior complex because of his creators.* *Superman is not a substitute for Christ but the creators of this hero bases the attributes of the character on what they believes the savior of their people would have.* I can easily see why people would see Christ parallels in this fictional character.


Thank you for this information.  I didn't know this....  It just confirms to me how the mind of man is so limited.  God's thoughts are not our thoughts, that's for sure...and I praise Him for that!



Laela said:


> Well, Yeshua never had a "savior complex". He is Savior, the Son of God who has Authority. There is nothing and no one who that can take away His Power. He knows no fear, is Perfect and has no weaknesses.
> 
> *Superman, by contrast, is a conflicted soul. He lives a lie, wearing a suit to hide his identity. Kryptonite can take away his power and weaken him. Anyone who knows this can use it against him, and he lived in fear of that (and magic and a red sun).  *
> 
> I am aware of the history of the comic book story and the parallelism of a savior, to construct the character. *Because the writers crafted "Christ parallels" doesn't mean it needs to be preached from the pulpits. That's the reason I expressed my concern. ...  it being preached from the pulpit, which can create a substitute in the minds of many, whether we want to believe it or not. Just read some of the comments by people on the Web. It's already happening... they're confused. This was my point.  Ministers of the Gospel are led by the Holy Spirit, not Hollywood*.


Girl, you are preaching today! 



Shimmie said:


> This is crazy... *how could any Pastor EVER try and measure anyone or anything against Jesus?   There is nothing above nor beyond our God... Our Lord and Saviour, who is all Sovereign and Merciful.   *
> 
> *What these Pastors are doing are harming the souls of their congregations and anyone else who hears their idolatry, for innocent minds and souls will follow.   There are far too many 'Babes-in-Christ' who will come to Church and take this message over that of God's Word, which does not support superman or any other super (non) hero.    *
> 
> ...


Gosh, I'm a bolding Queen today......  Ya'll speaking nuthin but truth up in here!


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

MrsHaseeb said:


> *These professing Christians who claim to see Christ in a superman movie have no discernment and can't know Jesus Christ at all. All their trying to do is make the Lord Jesus Christ common... As if he was simply some "enlightened" man, equal to a "super hero" and not God incarnate, savior of the world. This is anti-Christ, the devil at his best trying to make the world have a false sense of love for Jesus. This is disgusting and filthy*.


POW!!!! Girl....speak!


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## Shimmie (Jun 16, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:


> Thank you for this information.  I didn't know this....  It just confirms to me how the mind of man is so limited.  God's thoughts are not our thoughts, that's for sure...and I praise Him for that!
> 
> Girl, you are preaching today!
> 
> Gosh, I'm a bolding Queen today......  Ya'll speaking nuthin but truth up in here!



Sis, your ''siggy" says it all, "Guard Your Heart".   We have to guard our hearts from counterfeits and distractions and imposters of the Realness of God.   We MUST be fed the Truth.     There is no watering down of God's Word.   Perhaps the 'milk' of the Word which is how we feed the 'Babies' and this is scripture.   The Truth of God is Bold, Alive and Stronger than Strength itself, therefore we begin with the Beginning and increase the feeding as the Babes in Christ grow and are able to digest what's being fed to them.  

Yet no where in God's Word are we taught anything other than the Truth pure and uncompromised.  

And here's my issue:   

Ummmmm, since when did the Church need Hollywood to tell us about Jesus?   Or even yet, to give us a Sunday Sermon?   Somebody dun' clearly fell off the pulpit and hit their head'  

I mean, Really?   Really?  This Pastor is actually going to use the Superman promo video during meetings with the men's group?

_Scott, the Baltimore pastor, said he knows that Warner Bros. Studios has a financial incentive in pushing the film to pastors. But he said that’s fine with him. erplexed

“They’re using us but in fact we’re using them,” he said. His church won't show clips from the movie this weekend because it had already planned out its service. 

*But he plans to use them later, during meetings with the church’s men’s group. *erplexed

“If you give me another opportunity to talk to someone about Jesus Christ, and I can do that because of your movie, that’s a win for me, because it is about spreading the Gospel.”_

So I'm 'guessing' that Pastor Scott doesn't have much faith in the True Gospel all by itself...

Since when is Jesus, who gave us His all in all, not enough?   

God's Word said, that He would have no other god's before Him.  That alone should be a warning to Pastor's do not participate in this mockery.   Every Pastor who received this invitation to 'break bread' with the devil should have sent the tape back with a note saying, 

_Dear Hollywood Producers:

This is not a representation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  As Pastors, we are called to Minster the Truth of God and nothing less.  There are no parallels to Jesus, only myths and distortions of the truth.  

Please know that this is not being returned to you in offense, but to encourage you to be truthful about the Lord who loves you far more than you can imagine.   Far more than a movie mockery of who Jesus truly is.  There is no comparison to Jesus Christ.   

While I am returning your invitation and video, I in turn would be honoured to sit with you one day and encourage you to not only learn the truth but to share it in a movie without parallels redefining the Sovereignty of God.  

In God's Love and Service,

Pastor 'A'   :Rose: _


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

Shimmie said:


> Sis, your ''siggy" says it all, "Guard Your Heart".   We have to guard our hearts from counterfeits and distractions and imposters of the Realness of God.   We MUST be fed the Truth.     There is no watering down of God's Word.   Perhaps the 'milk' of the Word which is how we feed the 'Babies' and this is scripture.   The Truth of God is Bold, Alive and Stronger than Strength itself, therefore we begin with the Beginning and increase the feeding as the Babes in Christ grow and are able to digest what's being fed to them.
> 
> Yet no where in God's Word are we taught anything other than the Truth pure and uncompromised.
> 
> ...


I love this letter....thank you, sis.

You are so right when you say:



> *Ummmmm, since when did the Church need Hollywood to tell us about  Jesus?   Or even yet, to give us a Sunday Sermon?   Somebody dun'  clearly fell off the pulpit and hit their head'  *



Chile....these pastors are not doing their job...they will answer that's for sure...


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## Shimmie (Jun 16, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:


> *I love this letter....thank you, sis.*
> 
> You are so right when you say:
> 
> ...



Code 'A'


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## Shimmie (Jun 16, 2013)

To the Pastors who compromised:  

Above All Else...

"Guard Your Heart"

Above Hollywood, Above Superman, Above ALL...

Guard Your Heart and the hearts of your congregations.


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## dicapr (Jun 16, 2013)

People are overreacting. I have seen movies that have given me pause and made me think of the spiritual rather than the Hollywood glamour the studio is going for. Unless the the sermon is poorly executed not even a child would confuse the imaginary superhero and the Son of God. I thought the movie Signs had a strong spiritual message but it did not make me believe in aliens. My pastor has used examples from popular songs and Yoda to illustrate a point. I would think that a sermon illustrating the great and true stories of heroism and love that can be found in the Bible could encourage kids to put down their comic books and pick up a Bible.


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

Shimmie said:


> Code 'A'


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

dicapr said:


> *People are overreacting.* I have seen movies that have given me pause and made me think of the spiritual rather than the Hollywood glamour the studio is going for. Unless the the sermon is poorly executed not even a child would confuse the imaginary superhero and the Son of God. I thought the movie Signs had a strong spiritual message but it did not make me believe in aliens. My pastor has used examples from popular songs and Yoda to illustrate a point. I would think that a sermon illustrating the great and true stories of heroism and love that can be found in the Bible could encourage kids to put down their comic books and pick up a Bible.


I don't think this is a correct assessment of the posts in this thread.  I know that I don't 'overreact' concerning the Word of God....it's how I live my life.

As a pastor, I understand the seriousness of these subtle messages when they are presented to a congregation.  Yes, its just that serious when there are people who would take a message from their pastor to say it's ok, it's alright, you can watch this movie...and they would actually believe it.


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

Shimmie said:


> To the Pastors who compromised:
> 
> Above All Else...
> 
> ...


Thank you for this post....thank you!


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## dicapr (Jun 16, 2013)

Nice & Wavy said:


> I don't think this is a correct assessment of the posts in this thread.  I know that I don't 'overreact' concerning the Word of God....it's how I live my life.
> 
> As a pastor, I understand the seriousness of these subtle messages when they are presented to a congregation.  Yes, its just that serious when there are people who would take a message from their pastor to say it's ok, it's alright, you can watch this movie...and they would actually believe it.



The people was general. The assumption that those in the congregation can't determine fact from fiction is to say that the congregation blindly follow a man rather than listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Whether the movie is ok to see or not see is not a decision a Pastor makes for me. Christians are more than capable of making decisions outside of the pulpit. The whole premise of the article is that Christians will become confused when a literary figure is compared to Christ. In essence the article is saying that the pastor's congregation is too feeble minded to get the message that the sacrifice and love involved in our salvation is a love story so great and epic that it could be made into a Hollywood movie.  To me the initial article is an overreaction.


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## Nice & Wavy (Jun 16, 2013)

dicapr said:


> The people was general. The assumption that those in the congregation can't determine fact from fiction is to say that the congregation blindly follow a man rather than listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Whether the movie is ok to see or not see is not a decision a Pastor makes for me. Christians are more than capable of making decisions outside of the pulpit. The whole premise of the article is that Christians will become confused when a literary figure is compared to Christ. In essence the article is saying that the pastor's congregation is too feeble minded to get the message that the sacrifice and love involved in our salvation is a love story so great and epic that it could be made into a Hollywood movie.  *To me the initial article is an overreaction*.


Hollywood knows that there is money to be made from Christians.  They will pitch a movie based on that and pastors are blindly following it.

I totally know that people are capable of making decisions outside of the pulpit, but there are MANY that don't, unfortunately and because of this, pastors MUST be that much more attuned when presenting anything before their congregation, no matter what you or I think about it.

However, we will agree to disagree and keep it moving.  Thanks for posting!


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## Shimmie (Jun 16, 2013)

dicapr said:


> People are overreacting. I have seen movies that have given me pause and made me think of the spiritual rather than the Hollywood glamour the studio is going for. Unless the the sermon is poorly executed not even a child would confuse the imaginary superhero and the Son of God. I thought the movie Signs had a strong spiritual message but it did not make me believe in aliens. My pastor has used examples from popular songs and Yoda to illustrate a point. I would think that a sermon illustrating the great and true stories of heroism and love that can be found in the Bible could encourage kids to put down their comic books and pick up a Bible.



It's the underreacting that has the world in such moral decay.   We cannot afford to be lax or wimpy.   To see Pastors actually agreeing to allow Hollywood producers to direct their sermons, is weakness and submission to satan and not the Holy Spirit.   

What's next?   Oh!  I know!  A gay movie with parallels to Jesus with Hollywood sending graphics to the Churches with a scripted message with validation for Sunday's service...  

Over reacting?    Somebody better.


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## dicapr (Jun 16, 2013)

Shimmie none of what you stated about Hollywood directing pastors is evident from the OP. The pastor was invited to the movie, agreed and was inspires by the theme, and uses it in a sermon. Just like Christian groups were invited to see The Passion and Evan Almighty because if there strong biblical themes. Or should Christians refuse to watch spiritually bases movies on principle?


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## Shimmie (Jun 16, 2013)

dicapr said:


> Shimmie none of what you stated about Hollywood directing pastors is evident from the OP. The pastor was invited to the movie, agreed and was inspires by the theme, and uses it in a sermon. Just like Christian groups were invited to see The Passion and Evan Almighty because if there strong biblical themes. Or should Christians refuse to watch spiritually bases movies on principle?



There's nothing Biblical about Superman.   Not even a parallel.   

This movie is a distortion of Biblical Truth.   The OP is clear, Pastors were given a 'script' to use in their Sunday Service to promote the film as a parallel to Jesus.    

It was only because the Pastor had other plans for Sunday's service that he declined, however instead of tossing the materials, the Pastor chose to keep it and use it at a later time.   He foolishly agreed with the script given to him to be intertwined with Ministry.  

We're either hot or cold for the Gospel, the Truth.  We cannot be lukewarm, leaning towards, or being fence straddlers.    If God be God serve Him... if Hollywood (baal) be god, serve them.   It's one or the other.   

We cannot let Hollywood 'into' our Ministries.  A little leaven leavens the whole lump.   God says, give no place to the devil... Give him 'no' place.  Therefore, superman is not an Altar of God protocol.


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## dicapr (Jun 17, 2013)

Shimmie we will have to agree to disagree. I've had a pastor use Yoda from Star Wars to explain a biblical truth. Just because someone agrees with a suggestion doesn't mean that it is without merit. I've always seen the Old Testament parallels between Superman and the coming Messiah even before discovering the original idea for Superman. I guess that is why I can believe that the pastor read the material and decided for theirselves that it had merit. But I  beginning see that belief in this thread was that the material should not have been uses on principle. It came from an non-Christian source therefore it must be rejected. Reviewing it and agreeing with the pitch should have never been an option according to this thread.


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## momi (Jun 17, 2013)

My pastor taught yesterday on Finding Superman. John 1

The premise being that the world has always looked for hero... Evident by our entertainment. He used Superman, Wolverine, Spider-Man, 300... All as examples of fallible men who may have had a semblance of power but at the end were still powerless to save. 

We are all looking for a hero.... A coming Hero was prophesied to the Jews for over 2000 years - and when He came thy refused to acknowledge Him because He didn't fit the idea or mold they had in mind for a hero. He closed with Biblical and historical evidence of Jesus Christ being the Ultimate Hero/Superman and He alone is mighty to save!

... and I did put a Superman tablecloth and cups on our refreshment table. Lol


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## Shimmie (Jun 17, 2013)

momi said:


> My pastor taught yesterday on Finding Superman. John 1
> 
> The premise being that the world has always looked for hero... Evident by our entertainment. He used Superman, Wolverine, Spider-Man, 300... All as examples of fallible men who may have had a semblance of power but at the end were still powerless to save.
> 
> ...



  Good message, momi.   Your Pastor didn't place Superman as a Jesus parallel or equal comparison.  He made it clear that there is only One God, Jesus Christ.


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## Shimmie (Jun 17, 2013)

dicapr said:


> Shimmie
> 
> we will have to agree to disagree. I've had a pastor use Yoda from Star Wars to explain a biblical truth. Just because someone agrees with a suggestion doesn't mean that it is without merit.
> 
> ...



  Yes we do disagree.   I can't even wrap my brain around the comment bolded above.   I've seen the Superman movies and never once did I nor do I now, see any parallels with Jesus.    

The devil is such a Master deceiver.   I could never bring the Holiness of God down to such a level.   That's just plain disrespectful of who God is.  

Here's a parallel:   Comparing superman to Jesus is like calling a Black man, 'Boy', in spite of all that he has accomplished as a real man, only with Jesus it's 70 times 7 times worse.     Where's the Blood that superman shed for our sins?  Where is the Sceptor of Righteousness?  On whose 'right hand' is superman now sitting?


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## sweetvi (Jun 17, 2013)

Shimmie

I love that picture of those two!  Thank you for the link  I never saw the others and was wondering about their story

I honestly can admit that I stared at it for a good five minutes! the love that radiated from them and the union created by God...wowww


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## Laela (Jun 17, 2013)

Agreed, that's not the same thing as what's being discussed in this thread....




Shimmie said:


> Good message, momi.   Y*our Pastor didn't place Superman as a Jesus parallel or equal comparison*.  He made it clear that there is only One God, Jesus Christ.


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## Shimmie (Jun 17, 2013)

sweetvi said:


> Shimmie
> 
> I love that picture of those two!  Thank you for the link  I never saw the others and was wondering about their story
> 
> I honestly can admit that I stared at it for a good five minutes! the love that radiated from them and the union created by God...wowww



  Real Marriage Begins with God


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## blazingthru (Jun 18, 2013)

I believe this is another ploy of Satan to distract and confused Christians. I have always been a fan of superheroes, to me its just entertainment. I don't have a collection nor am I fascinated by them. I grew up with superman and the others however, I never identified them with Christ or anything biblical or spiritual related and its a sad, sad, sad world when a pastor opens his doors to this nonsense and preaches anything related to them from the pulpit. Satan is working hard, he knows his time is short and this really is nothing new he has been reaching into churches from the very beginning. http://youtu.be/Cu4gXrLqiIA
here is a movie all about it. I think I am going to buy it.


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## dicapr (Jun 18, 2013)

Shimmie said:


> Yes we do disagree.   I can't even wrap my brain around the comment bolded above.   I've seen the Superman movies and never once did I nor do I now, see any parallels with Jesus.
> 
> The devil is such a Master deceiver.   I could never bring the Holiness of God down to such a level.   That's just plain disrespectful of who God is.
> 
> Here's a parallel:   Comparing superman to Jesus is like calling a Black man, 'Boy', in spite of all that he has accomplished as a real man, only with Jesus it's 70 times 7 times worse.     Where's the Blood that superman shed for our sins?  Where is the Sceptor of Righteousness?  On whose 'right hand' is superman now sitting?



Shimmie


You are so passionate for the word that you are reading way too much into my statements. Instead of asking me to clarify you simply put words into my mouth and further go on to rehash your point. 

The parallels in Superman and the Messiah are ideas that an only son is sent to earth to show mankind the way we should live and save us from ourselves. We all know we need a Savior. Even our imaginations and fantasies cry out for a savior. However we are fortunate. We have a loving God who did send his only son.  Not only did he redeem us from our sins he showed us how to live. It is as simple as that. You can draw comparisons without making something equal. 

So many times Christians have a knee jerk reaction without asking for an explanation. I never said that the story of Superman was an archetype for Christ. Parallels means that they have similarities.


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## Shimmie (Jun 18, 2013)

dicapr said:


> Shimmie
> 
> 
> You are so passionate for the word that you are reading way too much into my statements. Instead of asking me to clarify you simply put words into my mouth and further go on to rehash your point.
> ...



Indeed I am passionate for God's Word, and I'll be honest, I'm not passionate enough, but I'm surely headed there.   What does it profit me to agree with (gain) the whole world, and risk losing my soul?  

I've come too far in my faith to lose the Gift that God has given me.   I've paid the price of what it takes to get to where I am in Christ Jesus, I'm not losing to appease someone's disapproving opinion.     It's my faith that saved my son's life, kept my former husband alive past the years that the doctors gave him.  He lived to enjoy his grandchildren.  

I can tell you so much more my 'passion' for God's Word has done to save far too many lives, marriages and souls.   And it's God and only God who gets the full credit and the glory.  I'm just the vessel He's been able to use....and my passion is of Him and the power in it. 

To say that Superman is a similarity to Jesus, is lying.  The life and Ministry of Jesus is just that, His Life and Ministry and there is nothing to compare to that.   Superman is a fictional character, there is nothing about his life similar to that of Jesus.    

Unfortunately, no everyone knows this and to say that the two are similar brings a compromised view of the wholeness of Jesus.   It's Jesus, Ride or Die and none other.   Leave superman to the movie theater and out of the Church, unless the actors playing in the movie come to the Church, leaving superman behind and falling upon their faced in total awe and worship of God only, no wedge of anything or anyone else in between.   

I'm not trying to be offensive nor am I trying to put words in your mouth.   But this is serious business.   satan is out to weaken the Church and the faith of those who dwell therein.   

We are called to be steadfast in the faith.   If we bring in comparisons to Jesus, it takes souls off course, staggering between total commitment to Jesus, with many falling into an abyss of no return.  It's just that serious.

And you think I'm too impassioned?  I've only scratched the surface.  And it's God who gets the glory.  Not Shimmie....


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## dicapr (Jun 18, 2013)

Shimmie

I see nothing wrong about being passionate about the word- except when passion overrides the ability to see and only leaves reaction.  I never said you were too passionate. But you have decided to twist my words. I will leave this conversation because some of the allegations you are making are highly offensive even though I know that you don't mean to be. But as humans we sometimes are so busy fighting shadows we miss the real war. I have tried to point out what what I mean by my statements but you are hung up on a single phrase and can't get passed that.  In had forgotten why I stopped participating in religious conversations with people and your response has reminded my why. When anyone comes to a conversation or discussion with the position that I am right and everyone else is wrong it is a pointless endeavor. You will continue to put words in my mouth, speak harshly of my faith in Christ, and not even try to address the actual conversation I am having. Once before I had left the Christian forum because it was not good for my spirit and now I will do so again. I don't mind people disagreeing with me but I can't deal with the default low blow that my faith is more than or better than yours if we disagree.


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## Shimmie (Jun 19, 2013)

dicapr said:


> Shimmie
> 
> I see nothing wrong about being passionate about the word- except when passion overrides the ability to see and only leaves reaction.  I never said you were too passionate. But you have decided to twist my words. I will leave this conversation because some of the allegations you are making are highly offensive even though I know that you don't mean to be. But as humans we sometimes are so busy fighting shadows we miss the real war. I have tried to point out what what I mean by my statements but you are hung up on a single phrase and can't get passed that.  In had forgotten why I stopped participating in religious conversations with people and your response has reminded my why.
> 
> When anyone comes to a conversation or discussion with the position that I am right and everyone else is wrong it is a pointless endeavor. You will continue to put words in my mouth, speak harshly of my faith in Christ, and not even try to address the actual conversation I am having. Once before I had left the Christian forum because it was not good for my spirit and now I will do so again. I don't mind people disagreeing with me but *I can't deal with the default low blow that my faith is more than or better than yours if we disagree*.



Di, no one is attacking you, nor your level of faith.  Is it not 'your' posts/your words which have been 'belittling' the faith of those (especially mine) as being 'over reactive' and blind?  

I've made it clear that it's the issue of Hollywood being allowed into the Church with their theory of comparing superman to Jesus and Pastors going along with it.   

I'm really sorry that you were offended, but let's be honest, the 'default low blow upon one's faith came from you and continued, such as those who disagree with the superman comparison to Jesus are too passionate, blinded, etc.       You were never personally addressed.


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