The Gospel According to the World's Greatest Superhero

[Sammy Boy]

For those interested in looking for ways to share their Christian faith to superhero comic fans, this book may be of some help:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0736918124/104-9620906-9035149?v=glance&n=283155

[CDLviking]

There's a whole series of "Gospel According to X" books. I used to have one about the Simpsons.

[mitsuki lover]

The creators of Superman,Siegel and Schuster,were both Jewish so I don't really think they had anything specifically 'Christian' in mind when they created him.
In fact as Jews I highly doubt it.
I think with the exception of The Parables of Peanuts and The Gospel According To
Peanuts that most of these type of books are dubious in theology and theory.
I cringe to think that one day someone might try to catch the anime wave by producing a Gospel According To Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

[CDLviking]

I don't think that they (the books in general) assert an actual religiuos motivation behind the works, but the relation between those works and religion. The creators of Superman may have borrowed from the story of Jesus because they thought it would sell well, and not for any evangelical purposes. I'm not exactly endorsing the books, but just trying to clarify what their purpose is. I really doubt that Superman is going to be a great evangelisation tool.

[Sammy Boy]

mitsuki lover - yes, as far as I know, the author of that book says as much about the creators of Superman being Jewish. In another book "Superheroes and Philosophy", the contributor who wrote the part on Superman mentioned that the creators had wanted to create a Moses-type figure.

What the Superman stories can be used to convey and what the original creators intended may be two different things.

I really doubt that Superman is going to be a great evangelisation tool.

At times in order to reach the unchurched with the gospel we need to start from what they know and work from there. This is why missiologists first learn about the culture that they are in and then use stories or metaphors within that culture to help their target audience understand the gospel message.

The apostle Paul did not quote from the Old Testament when speaking with the Greeks in Athens, but rather used their "unknown god" as a starting point (see Acts 17:16-31).

We can do this in a similar way using superheroes with superhero comic fans. It may not allow us to explain the entirety of the Christian theistic worldview, but most stories used cannot do that. Instead, it works as a spring board from which we can engage in further dialogue with our audience.

[mitsuki lover]

But I should point out that St.Paul was not only familiar with Greek philosophy he used it as much as Hebrew theology in his preaching,so it was only his starting point that was different when preaching to the Athenians.Interesting his problem with the Galatians may have been that the majority of them were neither Romans nor Greeks nor Jews but ethnic Celts,and so had a worldview alien to the Apostle.
The problem with using superheroes as a means to preach the gospel can be that
the purpose can be taken out of hand or out of context and sooner or later both can end up loosing their meaning.
The reason why The Gospel According To Peanuts and The Parables of Peanuts work is that Charles M. Schultz was in fact a Christian so his work was already infused with Christianity and the Christian worldview.They didn't need to be forced on to them by an outside force.

[CDLviking]

At times in order to reach the unchurched with the gospel we need to start from what they know and work from there. This is why missiologists first learn about the culture that they are in and then use stories or metaphors within that culture to help their target audience understand the gospel message.

Perhaps if they are already openly looking at Christianity and just need a door in. The danger I see is if you are talking to a non-believer and you show him parellels between Jesus and Superman, he is more likely to come away with the idea that Jesus is no more real than him, and just an ancient version of a comic book super hero.

[Sammy Boy]

The problem with using superheroes as a means to preach the gospel can be that
the purpose can be taken out of hand or out of context and sooner or later both can end up loosing their meaning.
The reason why The Gospel According To Peanuts and The Parables of Peanuts work is that Charles M. Schultz was in fact a Christian so his work was already infused with Christianity and the Christian worldview.They didn't need to be forced on to them by an outside force.

Perhaps if they are already openly looking at Christianity and just need a door in. The danger I see is if you are talking to a non-believer and you show him parellels between Jesus and Superman, he is more likely to come away with the idea that Jesus is no more real than him, and just an ancient version of a comic book super hero.

I couldn't agree more with the possibility of such dangers. In the end, analogies such as these and any other kinds of methods / tools are just that, no more, no less.

Being able to draw from Christian sources for analogies is definitely a bonus, but were it only "safe" to use such kinds of analogies, many missionaries would be unable to draw from and use the richness of the cultural context around the environment that they find themselves in. There is no perfect culture, but many cultures have beliefs that Christianity can readily affirm (e.g. "humility" in ancient Chinese thought).

Nobody is saying that comics should be given the "upper hand" and used to interpret and make the gospel "fit" in, rather, it should be the other way around. Where the cultural context agrees with the gospel, it is affirmed. Where it disagrees with the gospel, the context is either modified or discarded completely. There can be no compromise to the integrity of the gospel just so it can be more easily accepted.

Christians who have a clear understanding of the gospel will be able to give additional information to his/her audience, such as the fact that Jesus Christ is a real person, and Superman a fictional one. There will never be a 100% match between any culture and the gospel, because all cultures are all within the grip of the Fall, so that's not what this missional model is advocating.

The traditional option has been to equate a cultural expression of Christianity (e.g. European culture) with the gospel itself. History has shown that resulted in non-European people groups being made to answer to European names, wear European clothing, speak European languages, adopt European customs and think like Europeans. A notable exception was Matteo Ricci, but such examples were few compared to what generally went on.

As the gospel is for all peoples regardless of cultural background, it seems only fair to let the gospel be expressed in culturally relevant ways, whilst keeping the integrity and accuracy of the gospel (i.e. rejecting cultural traditions or beliefs that contradict the message of the gospel, where necessary).