A new Superman movie has just come out. Which means one thing. Pastors everywhere are prepping sermons full of Superman references.

If you hear any of these examples used in a sermon this weekend then congratulations, your Pastor is truly competent at taking culture and stretching anything so it is about Jesus. We love using popular culture as the go to topic when we can’t think of an actual sermon to preach (or blog to write about).

So here’s a small checklist to see how late your Pastor left his sermon preparation this week.

Both Jesus and Superman….

..can see right through you.

Yeah you might think you can get away with looking at porn at 3am without getting caught and maybe you will, but let’s be honest God sees everything. Yeah everything. Think about that for a second. Superman’s x-ray vision power are clearly a metaphor for the way Jesus can see right through us when we’re up to no good. Like the old great aunt we all have, they can tell. They just can. But the point still stands, Superman and Jesus know what you’re up to. So stop looking at porn.

..were adopted.

You remember that part of the Gospels when Joseph and Mary were looking for Jesus, scared witless that he had been kidnapped by Lex Luther but then relieved to find that He was just sitting listening and talking to the Rabbis? Then they told Him off and Jesus yelled “You’re not my real Dad” before running off in a dramatic cliffhanger ending when the credits started rolling. I think it was Luke 2 or something.

.. had great alteregos.

It must have been really annoying for Superman to have to build tables and chairs when he knew he could just use his mind to whip up a lovely mahogany dining table and chair set. Just as Jesus would have to pretend that He didn’t know ultimate truth and yet would work as a journalist daily trying to discover what was truth. Yet nobody really knew who they were. Although they did show glimpses of suspicious activity like when Clark Kent would hide in a phone booth for a couple of hours every time a huge disaster occurred. Or when Jesus, you know healed people who had been sick their whole lives or walked on water. Inconspicuous type of stuff though.

..had Russell Crowe as their Father.

Ok maybe that was just Superman but come on there is no one as bad ass as Russell Crowe in Gladiator. And God is pretty bad ass. Plus Russell Crowe is about to appear in a movie as Moses and he was tight with God. That’s good enough for me.

So there you have it, not since Jim Carrey’s realization that Finkle was Einhorn has there been such a mind blowing twist. Jesus is Superman and Superman is Jesus.

Why not come up with your own Superhero/Biblial characters comparisons.

Next week, what the Hangover series tells us about the ‘real’ Jesus.