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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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000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
7.65 mauser? lol
faith- Zero is the first number on the number line and the last number on the number line, eternity. Energy which is eternal was converted (transpose) to matter, which is the first cause that we have evidence for to date. By energy being eternal it has a value of zero, because energy is eternal, nothing had to be created and we all know that the value of nothing is zero. If you add, subtract, multiply or divide these two values the result is Zero. For example Eternal energy (0) + Nothing (0) = 0. By definition the only thing that in, encompasses everything is God. So it's Eternal energy (0) + Nothing (0) = God (0). Most think that the number line ends at infinity, but the value for infinity is one (1) because infinity has a reference point which is it's starting point it can be divided by it self, given the fact that infinity has a value of I, it is I / I = 1. Eternity on the other hand has no reference point because it has no beginning or end and has to be divided by something other than it self. If eternity value is E, the thing that is other than it self in negative E. So it is E / – E = 0. I hope this helps.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
faith in the land of Ooo
you meant f0ith !!
faith
HOW DID he say that with his throat removed?
I don't even know. ahhahahahaha
Austin, why is it you have time to post dreck and yet are unable to answer questions about your dreams? Pete asked you to explain the meaning of your "visions" (as you call them in your delusional state of mind). Why haven't you done that yet? You keep claiming that dead cats and ABOVE GROUND POOLS !!!! were messages from GAWD. If so, why haven't you told anyone what these messages were intended to do?
Regarding the Viral Wedding Prayer below:
Genesis 2:18
"18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”"
Genesis 2:21-24
"21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."
All Scripture Is From:
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
http://www.biblegateway.com/
Vic,
Then the Bible says "what God has joined let man not separate".
Yep NO DIVORCES for any reasons, but of course that is ignored by Christian hypocrites who are busy picking on gay marriage.
When they're not busy having abortions at the rate of 700,000+ per year in the USA.
Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."
This Lord being the "he" also is flesh and bone is numbered in years being one hundred twenty. Where's this Lord now or who in this Lord's family tree has a generational ancestry going back to this Lord in Genesis 6:3?
how do u spell Z E R O? 0
i am hit
in a clear new england accent
im here for ya
HOW DID he say that with his throat removed?
lookie at thammbo murdock
zero
How is Superman like Jesus? Well, they both perform many miracles. They're both hyped from preachers' pulpits. They both attract a large audience. And, they're both imaginary.
Can Jesus make over 100 million in one weekend?
Ken, unfortunately there just may be enough believer suckers tossing in that much each Sunday at their cult clubhouses.
and this is andrew womack prayer series
learn how to pray
http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1042
You mean there's a trick to praying? You have to know the rules? We have to take lessons? It takes practice? God won't listen unless you do it just right? That's excellent evidence for atheism.
Learn how to prey the gay away.,,,sorry.
uh oh
0
0 b 0
The Holy Spirit is the giver of life. The Holy Spirit is going to bear the truth for every one of us who believes, the Holy spirit has done a work. He gives faith. He provides.
Jehovah Jireh
The only spirit I need is Jack Daniels.
Hey Ken, next time you take that spirit on, Jack Daniels, I hope and pray that God lets that evil door speak to you supernaturally so that you know the devil is there. Which would be a blessing would it not?
Having drink means that the devil is speaking? The devil must talk a lot.
Jack Daniel's, not Jack Daniels. Actually I prefer Scotch spirits. Or Tequila.
adrenaline and endorphin are my drugs
Austin, you believe in ghosts? are you an adult?
To all my nonbelieving acquaintances on the belief blog, all you really need is a reason to believe.
That, and a lobotomy.
I used to think there was one, Rob. Haven't seen the reason for a long time.
The real Tom,
If you use to think there was a reason, then that would be a good place to start. If you ask God, I believe he will provide you with what you need.
I'd believe, if there was a reason. There's simply no reason to believe.
OK rob, the floor is yours. Give us a reason!
@rob.....What makes you think tom needs something?
Athy,
God can give you a reason. Ask him to give you one. No one who believes, holds their belief without a reason.
Ken,
God is the only one who can give you a reason. Tom and everyone else, need a reason to believe. Could anyone believe without a reason?
RB
You are full of sh!t.
Rob you talk in circles. You had chance to convince me and you blew it.
Secular Humanist,
So, you wouldn’t believe, even if you had a reason?
I seriously doubt that you can give me a reason, unless coupled with a lobotomy.
The ol' "Ya gotta believe to believe!" circular bullsh!t. . .
RB
Prove to me Russell's teapot does not exist.
I believe that which compels me to believe. A better paradigm replaces the one that served before.
It was an utter r.uin, and i.rreparable. That f.ruitful valley remains to this day a great lake, or d.ead sea; it is called the S.alt S.ea.
T.ravelers say that it is about t.hirty m.iles long and .ten m.iles b.road; it has no li.ving c.reature in it; it is not moved by the wind; the smell of it is o.ffensive; things do not easily sink in it. The G.reeks call it A.sphalt.ites, from a sort of p.itch which it casts up. J.ordan falls into it, and is lost there.
N.umbers 34:12 And the border shall go down to J.ordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the s.alt s.ea: this shall be your land with the c.oasts thereof round about.
D.euteronomy 29:23 [And that] the whole land thereof [is] b.rimstone, and s.alt, [and] b.urning, [that] it is not s.own, nor b.eareth, nor any grass g.roweth therein, like the o.verthrow of S.odom, and G.omorrah, A.dmah, and Z.eboim, which the LORD o.verthrew in his a.nger, and in his w.rath:
Amen.
Ken,
You’re joking, right? The idea is very simple, regardless of the reason that you don’t believe, if you had a reason to believe, you most certainly would.
If you have the opportunity some time you can read the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews. There you will find a lot folks commended for their faith. You will also find, if you go read about those individuals, that each and every one of them had a very good reason to believe. If God reveals himself to you in the way he revealed himself to those folks, you would believe, because you would have a reason.
Sorry rob I don't read fiction.
HotAirAce,
No, you can’t really believe in the first place without a reason. Oh sure, you could get to the point where you could admit God is a possibility without a really good reason, but to get to the point of saving faith, you will need a very good reason.
Luke 17
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.
Ezekiel 3
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
20 Again, When a righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Isaiah 66:24
And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Amen.
RB, The foundation of the bible – the creation myths in Genesis – is known to be false; what would lead you to believe in such a text? Even presuming there were a god, you have no compelling case to support your religion over any other.
Rb has no more "reason" for his belief than there is "reason" to believe in the tooth fairy.
Wh.at is u.p w.ith Hea.venSe.nt's po.sts?
A.men
Secular Humanist,
I am not asking you to disprove the teapot. I am asking you if you would like to see the teapot for yourself. If you saw the teapot, but couldn’t show it to anyone else, would you believe?
If I don't believe some imaginary, unfounded god could will respond, why would I bother asking it for anything?
In Santa we trust,
Creation is one reason that you don’t believe. All you need is a reason to believe. I believe in God. If genesis is literal, I’m ok with it. If genesis is figurative or allegorical, would you be ok with it?
No. I would consider my experience skeptically. If I'm the only one that's hardly verifiable.
And you make ignorant statements.
HotAirAce,
Knowing of all the millions of believers in history doesn’t lead you to at least consider that there could be a God who could respond? You would ask proof from everyone, except the only one that can provide it?
Secular Humanist,
I have had doubts. Doubt has been a great faith builder for me. Whenever I have experienced doubt, God has done something to reaffirm my faith. He was very patient with me, I think he would be very patient with you, too.
Considered and rejected. The number of believers is related to the position of power religion has held for centuries and the generally poor/lower education of the masses. Education is on the increase and religion's power is on the decrease. You want to maintain the status quo but cannot provide the evidence for your delusional beliefs that educated people are demanding.
Robert says: "Knowing of all the millions of believers in history doesn’t lead you to at least consider that there could be a God who could respond?"
Robert, seeing the likes of Austin, Gopher, Chard, HS, faith, dottie, Common Stupidity et al leads me to think that belief does more harm than good.
RB, This is where we get mixed messages from the believers – some say it is literal, some say it it figurative. I don't see how anyone can cling to the former, so presuming the latter. With our current knowledge there is no need for a god post-Big Bang and I would be very surprised that a god put the conditions for the Big Bang in place and then left the universe and potential life in it to chance for billions of years; hence I do not expect to see any evidence of a god. We are long past the ignorance that spawned the superstitions that led to belief in a supernatural being or beings who control human life on their whims – life is just random and uncertain.
@RC
Millions of believers in history!! If you held your arm out from your body and filed the end of your fingernails you would wipe out all of humanity compared to the age of the universe. Perspective, it's a good thing.
Quite right, Robert. A God may come along any day now with the right credentials and a willingness to help our unbelief.
HotAirAce,
Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to reconsider. I will agree that the things someone is taught effects what they believe.
The real Tom,
We all have our own way of communicating. I’m sure each of those posters has endearing qualities, even if you disagree with them on the subject of God.
Endearing qualities? Bwahahahahahahhahhahhahhhahhahahahhahahah (breath) hahahahaha!
In Santa we trust,
Life is random and uncertain, under the sun, as Solomon put it. He tried everything under the sun without God and found it all to be vanity and vexation of spirit.
Secular Humanist from Ohio,
The age of the perceived universe keeps getting pushed older. It wouldn’t surprise me if we detect things even further away when we get the technology to detect further. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to the point where we can’t see the end.
I believe..........in lighting one up
I will believe in god when he gives me a reason to believe in him. He is invisible and undetectable and absolutely irrelevant. God BELIEF certainly does many various things, but never god himself. "God" is just a person's highest ideals wrapped in "personhood."
Tom, Tom, the Other One,
He’s been helping mine for a long time now. He can help yours too.
Actually Robert, reason is why I don't believe.
Capt.
That is interesting and sounds good up until the part about a person’s highest ideals. What little I know about God, I’m convinced that a lot of his ideals never crossed my mind.
RB, Presuming the Solomon story to be true he did not have the benefit of cosmology, genetics, paleontology, etc. Typically rulers had a symbiotic relationship with religion – after all most rulers until a few centuries ago ruled by "divine right".
Robert Brown,
"Knowing of all the millions of believers in history doesn’t lead you to at least consider that there could be a God who could respond?"
If that's the case, you should be believing in the Hindu gods. They have been around thousands of years longer than your guy and probably have had billions more believers over the millennia.
Well, three out of four ain't bad. I'll take it. I'm glad to know that you agree with me that god is irrelevant. Kudos.
Got to go folks, you all seem like very intelligent people and I know you have reasons why you don’t believe, I hope God will give you a reason to believe.
I believe my car will start in the morning.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UV8RM_uEX0o
A couple holding hands like any other!
Yup. And their marriage has just as much chance of lasting as any other.
Aww... what a cute couple!
what a powerful message!!!
Wishing them both eternal Love, Joy & Peace!
And what is it that is SO wonderful and fabulous about remaining virgins until the wedding night? Does it guarantee the marriage will last? If so, post the stats that show so. I would bet that the divorce rate is exactly the same among couples who lived together before marriage and those who abstained.
If you have any sources that show otherwise, post them.
As for me and my house: I've been married for 32 years to the man I met as a teenager. We had s3x long before we were 18 and we lived together for a year before we married. We're still happy with each other. We have fun every day. We are successful and fulfilled.
Remaining "chaste" doesn't guarantee a thing.
The point is that this couple paused to pray in spite of the busyness surrounding them on their wedding day.
A couple that prays together stays together!
@Harry......Obviously you're delusional. Plenty of religious couples divorce everyday.
@harry
You are out of your zone
Take refuge while you can.
Plenty of couples who don't believe have lasting marriages, Harry. Can you find any evidence that proves religious belief makes for longer unions? I doubt it.
Harry you are really nuts to say the least............I have been married for over t32 years and we have never prayed together l
\et alone waste time on prayer !
Oops screwed up...............forget the t in front of 32 and let instead of /et
Science, go to http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/1042
and this is andrew womack prayer series
learn how to pray
No NEED austin it does not work
how is dot doing Austin ...........where is chad ?
listen to this man who is filled with the Holy Spirit teach you about prayer!
Austin I take it then chad is stuck on the front page of the ICR.................funny sh-it ?
I was a virgin as was my wife when I got married at age 20. We also prayed together every moment we had back then. Seven years later she was confessing she was in love with someone else and hated herself and wanted to die because she felt so guilty for wanting to break her vows to God.
Being virgins when you get married does nothing to make a marriage last, and neither does praying together. The statistics remain in Christian families just like everyone else, 50% failure rate no matter what you do.
What does superman and god have in common? Both are made up. yep I can see the religious connection.
Uncouth Swain/Lycidas is above that sort of dreck.
So satisfying to see that I irritated a little twerp.
Common Sense's new handle?
Psssst, your little two-page tantrum states otherwise! Naughty naughty hypocrite : )
<3
A two-page tantrum? Where?
That wasn't a tantrum, sweetie. That was just a mild rebuke. Get your terms straight, dear.
TrT held CS to the mat. Not a crime.
Regardless of whether or not I did any such thing, why should fake US or anyone else be so perturbed? The jackwit asked for it by posting generalizations about atheists and then refused to defend his/her/its statements. What is it that some witless wonder thinks is so awful about my calling him/her/it on it?
On the other hand, I don't really much care what it was the pissed in the little dweeble's cornflakes.
You.
Just.
Got.
Trolled.
Too self-important to even realize it : D Nighty night! But I know you'll be here for at least another 6 hours because you GOT NO LIFE.
I ANGRY TOM I ANGRY!! ARGH SO ANGRY UPSET WANT REVENNNNNNNNNNNNGE CUZ I DID NOT GET LOVE FROM HOME TAKE IT OUT ON INTERWEBZ ANGRY!!!!
TOM TOM DUH PIPER CUNT GOT IT WIDDEW STUPID FEELING HURT ON DUH INTERWEBZ
I seriously doubt it – dumba$$
Wake up you retard, you got trolled as well.
By a fake? Hardly.
Uncommonly Shitty said: "Atheists fear being held accountable for their actions."
And now the little coward is trying to pretend that it wasn't addressing all atheists by making that statement. Makes Bill Clinton's "It depends on what the definition of 'is' is" look like honesty. What a lying sack of poo.
I find generalizations are generally wrong.
Isn't the generalization that generalizations are generally wrong a generalization itself?
Generalizing about the nature of generalizing about generalizations is a generalization and generalizing about anything is generally wrong. Generally speaking.
I tried to warn him/her.
Dolts rarely heed warnings, no matter how prescient.
AWWWWWWWW DID TOM TOM WIDDEW FEELING GET HURT TANTRUM TANTRUM YOU STUPID CUNT
Ahh. I hit a nerve. Yay me.
Athy: generally.
Nope, ya didn't : )
Based on that little tantrum of yours, ya little moron, I'd say it's the other way around.
Hearts and farts, you self-important dolt. Have a delicious, lonely evening! As usual!
Oh, it's the fake US. Good try, honey. US wouldn't bother posting such drivel, sweetie. Is that you, Piddles?