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June 14th, 2013
04:05 PM ET
Superman: Flying to a church near youBy 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. (Disclaimer: CNN, like Warner Bros., is owned by Time Warner.) 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.” CNN Entertainment: 'Man of Steel' director Zack Snyder on Superman's Christ-like parallels 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. soundoff (6,545 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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I don't see this working out.
Superman is science fiction.
Christianity is anti-science fiction.
Psalms 37:11
But the meek (humble, rejected the sin of pride) shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
06035 // wne // `anav // aw-nawv' // or [by intermixture with 06041 ]
// wyne // `anayv // aw-nawv' //
from 06031 ; TWOT – 1652a; n m
AV – meek 13, humble 5, poor 5, lowly 2, vr meek 1; 26
1) poor, humble, afflicted, meek
1a) poor, needy
1b) poor and weak
1c) poor, weak and afflicted
1d) humble, lowly, meek
Psalms 41:6
And if he come to see [me], he speaketh vanity (pride of ego): his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; [when] he goeth abroad, he telleth [it].
07723 // awv // shav' // shawv // or
// wv // shav // shav //
from the same as 07722 in the sense of desolating; TWOT – 2338a; n m
AV – vain 22, vanity 22, false 5, lying 2, falsely 1, lies 1; 53
1) emptiness, vanity, falsehood
1a) emptiness, nothingness, vanity
1b) emptiness of speech, lying
1c) worthlessness (of conduct)
Psalms 10:4
The wicked, through the pride (ego = erase God out) of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.
01363 // hbg // gobahh // go'-bah //
from 01361 ; TWOT – 305b; n m
AV – height 9, high 3, pride 2, excellency 1, haughty 1, loftiness 1; 17
1) height, exaltation
1a) height
1b) exaltation, grandeur
1c) haughtiness
"Any pastor who thinks using `Man of Steel Ministry Resources' is a good Sunday morning strategy must have... very little confidence in the power of God’s word and God’s spirit,"
They'd have more confidence in that power if it was more evident.
I think saying "more" might mis-imply there is some evidence already. None in last 13 Billion years that anyone has found yet.
Prayer changes things
Yes, give it a try. Pray for something simple like the decay of a single proton while someone is watching.
you are rotting away before your very eyes and don't even know it
Dot, is the the size of your brain about as big as your moniker? Or is that too generous a guess?
leave it to qu eer bait to worry about that
Welcome back. We all love your posts – like listening to the clock chiming.
Poor dot. It's a shame you are stuck in that closet.
Tom, if I believed I was born a kangaroo, lived my life as a kangaroo, insisted everyone consider me a kangaroo and demanded respect that my ego tells me I'm a kangaroo, will never make it true.
churches are jumping on the bandwagon, nothing more.
There's a difference between "churches jumping on the bandwagon" (which this is NOT), and the advertising firm reaching OUT to a group that they could market to. Sure, for the firm, it comes down to dollars and cents. They're providing an additional resource, but you still have to pay to watch the movie.
Happy Father's Day to all those fathers that had the "courage" to encourage the abortion of their lil one.
Happy daddy's day, your precious one will be remembering you for owning up to be a courageous "man"!
🙁 🙁 🙁
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers who had the "courage" to use family planning (including abortion) to ensure that their children were all wanted and given better lives.
Travis, get your head out of your ass. Abortions, unless you're the one having one, are none of your business. Get a clue. You don't have a say about what a woman does about a pregnancy. If you don't want to increase the number of abortions, then wear a rubber.
Travis: Are you able to get pregnant? Are you going to raise those children or take them in when the parents can't afford to feed them? Are you going to stand by the rights of the rapist instead of the victim who got pregnant by no choice of her own?
Bottom line is you're obviously too ignorant and uneducated to grasp the reality of abortion. You need to suck it up and deal with it, abortion is legal and there is no changing that.
Mute point The real Tom, abortion is murder and it's everyone's business to change the evil of the convenience of disposing of precious souls. Time to praise the courage of young parents to love and care and bring those souls into the world.
Oh, shove it, HS. Nobody's listening to you.
Happy Father's day to all fathers.
Tom, remember ...
Psalms 10:4
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.
01363 // hbg // gobahh // go'-bah //
from 01361 ; TWOT – 305b; n m
AV – height 9, high 3, pride 2, excellency 1, haughty 1, loftiness 1; 17
1) height, exaltation
1a) height
1b) exaltation, grandeur
1c) haughtiness
Nicely written commentary!
Need more faith based movies that carry a positive and meaningful message.
Why? What do you think having more "faith based movies" is going to do for society?
The inspiration of the series is drawn from the greatest super hero of all times. Over the centuries, it continues to touch the lives of billions who have been blessed in knowing Him.
The key message of hope is what men need, that message of hope is found only in The Lord Jesus Christ.
No, it isn't. There are billions of people who don't believe. They don't see a "need" for a deus ex machina. Don't make up crap.
Yes! We don need more. Praise God!
People find hope in any/all religions.
People also find hope in their families or in their professions.
I don't need your fairy tales in the bible.
Jesus said to stay humble for a reason.
Psalms 37:11
But the meek (humble) shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
06035 // wne // `anav // aw-nawv' // or [by intermixture with 06041 ]
// wyne // `anayv // aw-nawv' //
from 06031 ; TWOT – 1652a; n m
AV – meek 13, humble 5, poor 5, lowly 2, vr meek 1; 26
1) poor, humble, afflicted, meek
1a) poor, needy
1b) poor and weak
1c) poor, weak and afflicted
1d) humble, lowly, meek
Psalms 41:6
And if he come to see [me], he speaketh vanity (pride of ego): his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; [when] he goeth abroad, he telleth [it].
07723 // awv // shav' // shawv // or
// wv // shav // shav //
from the same as 07722 in the sense of desolating; TWOT – 2338a; n m
AV – vain 22, vanity 22, false 5, lying 2, falsely 1, lies 1; 53
1) emptiness, vanity, falsehood
1a) emptiness, nothingness, vanity
1b) emptiness of speech, lying
1c) worthlessness (of conduct)
Psalms 10:4
The wicked, through the pride (ego) of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts.
01363 // hbg // gobahh // go'-bah //
from 01361 ; TWOT – 305b; n m
AV – height 9, high 3, pride 2, excellency 1, haughty 1, loftiness 1; 17
1) height, exaltation
1a) height
1b) exaltation, grandeur
1c) haughtiness
Like other fictional characters created before the 60s, Superman's powers are ridiculous in light of modern science.
How ironic that they would hold him up as being like Jesus, another ridiculous fictional character.
But they like the 50s imagery that Superman started with and expanded upon during the Cold War, it fits right in with their fantasies of a simpler life of 'clean christian living' or something equally delusional. Santa would be proud.
very well said!
😡
😡
😡
u mad tho
Only for the new members of this blog:
JC = Superman? Give us a break !!
Actually, Jesus was a bit "touched" and any super powers were only in his head. After all he thought he spoke to Satan, thought he changed water into wine, thought he raised Lazarus from the dead etc. In today's world, said Jesus would be declared legally insane.
Or did P, M, M, L and J simply make him into a first century magic-man via their epistles and gospels of semi-fiction? Most contemporary NT experts after thorough analyses of all the scriptures go with the latter magic-man conclusion with J's gospels being mostly fiction.
Obviously, today's followers of Paul et al's "magic-man" are also a bit on the super odd side believing in all the Christian mumbo jumbo about bodies resurrecting, and exorcisms, and miracles, and "magic-man atonement, and infallible, old, European/Utah white men, and 24/7 body/blood sacrifices followed by consumption of said sacrifices. Yummy!!!!
So why do we really care what a first century CE, illiterate, long-dead, preacher man would like or dislike, bless or curse, do or not do?
New members? Are you an old one? Do you remember the old days before the internet?
Why pay 2 see the movie, when u can watch 4 free in church? Btw, the snacks suck!
Why see the movie when it is obviously just another pile of crap?
Sponging bad snacks and worse movies sounds like some bottom of the barrel style of living there, chief.
I, personally, find it interesting that it appears WE have to use "superman" to preach about God & our savior? Are WE that desperate? ME thinks so! What ever happened to those good old sermons, you know, the ones that left you with a good feeling? Today we are more likely to hear about "personal & political" views during a sermon! OUR faith is tested everyday with all the scandals with churches! OUR beleifs are being tested, in that, churches are "changing" their beleifs & teachings, to step up with modern times? Doesn't that make YOU wonder if they actually knew what they were telling us was only personal opinions?
Chomp Chomp bible thumpers.
Discovery Channel – Prehistoric New york
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj0cP3A9FFc
When you can't think for yourself thank God for Youtube !
.hey brainless (dot)...............think of The King James version as Humpty Dumpy Sat on the Wall another classic fairytale from England.
June 12, 2013 — To World War II soldiers, "The White Cliffs of Dover" was a morale-boosting song that lifted spirits in dark times. To geographers,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130612133050.htm
Science, I like it! More snacks for the movie?
ron50.................thanks ...popcorn good snack.
It is a comforting joy to see the churches of America in every community testifying to the Truth of Christ and the joy of Christianity !
Isn't it a lie to testify to something you can't know the truth of? Personally I don't enjoy hearing lies, even lies about your Christ.
Try looking outside your cave at a few American communities. Churches abound, their spires towering over all the towns and cities of this great land proclaiming the Truth of Christ until the Lord returns. That is Joy !
03576 // bzk // kazab // kaw-zab' //
a primitive root; TWOT – 970; v
AV – lie 11, liar 3, vain 1, fail 1; 16
1) to lie, tell a lie, be a liar, be found a liar, be in vain, fail
1a) (Qal) liar (participle)
1b) (Niphal) to be proven to be lying
1c) (Piel)
1c1) to lie, tell a lie, tell a lie with, deceive
1c2) to disappoint, fail
1d) (Hiphil) to make a liar, prove to be a liar
Hu & tallu,
My point is that even Hawking admits there is evidence of intelligent design. He then says there is no creator. But he does see evidence for a creator (and within his specialty).
So there is evidence.
jboom, it's just speculation once you go past the solid horizon in physics knowledge, which he would be doing in speculating about events before the Big Bang. Speculation is not proof of anything but that it is one person's speculation about something.
He has no math to back him up on that stuff or we'd hear about it, don't worry. We aren't that close to a GUT yet.
And without a GUT, there can be no reaching past it into the Big Bang and how it happened. It's just impossible as things stand in physics at this time. He spoke of gravity, yet has zero data on what causes it or how it works while mentioning it is a key part of the Big Bang – quite shaky ground there. No evidence yet, but I'm sure you'll tell yourself that it's out there somewhere and keep clawing at the door to get out. Hawking is brilliant, but without solid data to go on, even the most brilliant can only come up with shaky hypotheses that are not at theory level of credibility.
Hu,
I agree with all you said. He has no data. However, even a GUT, though it might explain our BBT, would not explain matters of existence or non-existence of a Creator. As you said, such is beyond the realm of the physical sciences. Although I would leave room for the possibility of signatures within the physical realm as evidence of a creator. Consider the SETI project. How will they know whether they have received intelligent radio signals? Or beter yet, how will they know they *might* have received intelligent radio signals. And can that same mathematical processsing be applied to matters on earth or elsewhere?
Now you're just being ridiculous even beyond the dreams of avarice. Enjoy the sound of crickets as I move on....
Hu,
SETI is a well known project where scientists are collecting radio signals from outer space. Those signals are constantly being analyzed looking for any possible signature from some intelligent source. This project was featured in the movie "Contact" starring Jodie Foster.
Well known mathematical techniques are employed to analyze the data to classify the signals. Signals come from remnants of Big Bang, quasars, etc. Nothing intelligent found yet. But my point is that there does exist a science, a well respected science, to discern the difference between intelligent and non-intelligent design of these signals.
Several scientists have applied this same math technique to the DNA sequencing and more to determine whether an argument might be made that DNA sequencing in the most primitive of cells shows clear signs of intelligent design.
It has all the elements of good science research. Same as SETI.
Search SETI on wikipedia
SETI started in 1984, has over 50 researchers and is funded in part by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Researchers make use of Hubble Telescope and others.
jboom: That is a gross misinterpretation of what this brilliant man said.
"God did not create the universe, the man who is arguably Britain's most famous living scientist says in a forthcoming book.
In the new work, The Grand Design, Professor Stephen Hawking argues that the Big Bang, rather than occurring following the intervention of a divine being, was inevitable due to the law of gravity.
In his 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking had seemed to accept the role of God in the creation of the universe. But in the new text, co-written with American physicist Leonard Mlodinow, he said new theories showed a creator is "not necessary".
The Grand Design, an extract of which appears in the Times today, sets out to contest Sir Isaac Newton's belief that the universe must have been designed by God as it could not have been created out of chaos.
"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," he writes. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist.
"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."
In the forthcoming book, published on 9 September, Hawking says that M-theory, a form of string theory, will achieve this goal: "M-theory is the unified theory Einstein was hoping to find," he theorises.
"The fact that we human beings – who are ourselves mere collections of fundamental particles of nature – have been able to come this close to an understanding of the laws governing us and our universe is a great triumph."
Hawking says the first blow to Newton's belief that the universe could not have arisen from chaos was the observation in 1992 of a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun. "That makes the coincidences of our planetary conditions – the single sun, the lucky combination of Earth-sun distance and solar mass – far less remarkable, and far less compelling as evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings," he writes.
Hawking had previously appeared to accept the role of God in the creation of the universe. Writing in his bestseller A Brief History Of Time in 1988, he said: "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we should know the mind of God.""
The article that was taken from is: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/02/stephen-hawking-big-bang-creator
The only thing proven here, jboom, is either your lack of reading comprehension, or your willingness to lie. If you insist on behaving like a dishonest fool, don't be surprised when people treat you like you deserve.
tallu,
"dishonest" ?
Read my post again. How is anything dishonest? I invite anyone to read Hawking's book. He is quite clear on the matter. I did not hide that he is not persuaded. But one cannot deny that he devotes nearly a full chapter describing it. Nothing out of context there.
As far as SETI. Don't take my word for it, read it for yourself. Wiki it.
"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," he writes. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist.
And science findings support this? Get informed. His own peers are embarrassed. He's stepped out of the realm of science and into metaphysics/philosophy.
BTW, I never said Hawking was a believer in God. Read my original post clearly. Your remark does not refute anything.
Bottom line: Hawking devotes nearly a chapter showing the vast evidence for intelligent design. Its not proof. And Hawking clearly is not persuaded by the evidence.
Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Hebrews 1:3
Amen.
punishment? That's a Dante thing.
u'll be glad 2 no, jesus loves u
Wrong again! That makes, let me see....carry the nine.....something like 23,493,229 times today already. That must be a record.
Actually that's a slightly less than average day for faith.
I heard Fox doesn't allow comments anymore. CNN is sort of debating whether to do the same thing from the looks of things.
so, y can't murdock refute the new testament? y write it? who wrote it? 4 what reason?
did it just appear?
amazing account of god man. who could have imagined such a story and y? plenty of people in power in the day would have disputed everything inaccurate, but no one did.
Can you see anything right now?
if you can see anything, how does the light get past your neck?
Signed, Curious Hu
Fu/i>ck this shit! There is no God that would ever give a Philadelphia flying fuck about the likes of any of you. You absolute shit heads put your father, no the father you wish you had but don't, together with a fairy prince and got something you thought would just love your sorry asses like no one else ever would can or will. It's a dream you pathetic pukes. When you die you'll be scared shitless. You probably won't know who you are or why you hurt so much or why you can't can't breathe or fucking whatever and then it's all going to be so absolutely over that it will be like you were never born at all. Fuck you. There is no one and nothing that cares. Thanks for listening. I just thought you needed to know.
No, tell us how you really feel. Don't be shy. We have cookies for you! 😀
Yes, cookies and a tall glass of warm milk is just what toad needs.
And a hug.
And work on your HTML tags.
I think its funny how the people that dont believe in Christ get so upset when he is brought up. Atheis are like gays or any other special intrest group....A very small percentage that makes a lot of noise. There are over 2 billion Christians in the world, that is 1 in every 3 people on the planet or 1/3. That number is growing every day.
I can guarantee you toad that we will all be scared sh^tless when that time comes but to shut yourself off and say F the world man why take out your frustration on a post. We are all incapable of doing it right but that doesn't mean that there aren't good and bad people on both sides.
So now they're sick and tired of waiting for their original superman, (Jebus), so they go out and get another myth.
Very very smart.