Superman and Jesus??

Superman as a parable or point of reference for Jesus? That's what our friends across the pond would like us to think. According to Helen Cook, head of post-graduate teacher training in Religious Education at Sheffield Hallam University, there are many parallels between Superman and Jesus that will give 21^st century teenagers a point of reference. "Children aren't brought up to go to Sunday School any more and find it difficult to think about abstract concepts such as God and predestination and films give them an insight," she says according to the February 4, 2006 London Daily Telegraph.

If what I remember of 1^st century history is correct, the philosophers Paul encountered at the Areopagus weren't brought up to go to Sunday School either. Nor does it appear from the account given in Acts 17 that he had great difficulty in getting them to understand the abstract concept of God. Perhaps that is because of his worldview in general and his perspective of anthropology in particular came from the starting point of God and His revelation rather than human reason.

According to Romans 1, every human being is "pre-programmed" by the Creator with a knowledge of the Creator, a sort of instinctive recognition that there is a God somewhere. The natural response of fallen man to that knowledge is to deny it and try to believe in no God, or distort it and believe in a false God. It really makes sense, doesn't it, that our Creator would make us with the ability to comprehend at least a few things about Him and His existence?

So what was Paul's strategy? Find some character in Greek or Roman drama who could provide that frame of reference for the philosophers? No, he found the precise evidence in their own culture that showed they truly did think there was a real God not of their own making as shown by their temple to The Unknown God. They had the sense of the real, their attention was mis-directed by sin to focus on the wrong object. Paul began at Genesis and identified the proper object of their worship, the true God that they all knew existed but really didn't want to acknowledge.

If we are made in the image of God, then we have an ability to comprehend a certain amount of truth about that God. Whether teenager or old-ager, child or adult, we need to follow the model of Scripture and present them the truth first. If after the truth is established we need to bring in analogies for further application, fine. But I really don't think we can come up with any more effective method of evangelism than the Author of both us and the Gospel has already given.

By His grace,
Sundoulos