Questionable Theology

Superman’s Adoption Was Key to His Superpowers

According to Superman director James Gunn, the latest iteration of the superhero classic is about “an immigrant that came from other places” and centers on a theme of “basic human kindness” that we’ve somehow lost along the way.

Critiquing the comments of a director of a fictional movie about an unrealistic out-of-this-world character might seem like a silly undertaking, especially given all of the other pressing real-world issues unfolding around us. But entertainment has long shaped and influenced culture – and propagandists never seem to grow tired of exploiting long-held brands to try and advance a personal or special interest agenda.

Superman, which stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent, the film’s title character and alter ego of the famed superhero, opens on Friday. The brand has been in the public conversation since 1938 when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster drew and released the first Man of Steel comic.

It all began with the looming destruction of the planet Krypton. Superman’s name is Kal-El and he’s placed in a spaceship as a baby by his father, who is a scientist named Jor-El. The baby manages to escape the doomed plant, lands on earth and is discovered by a “passing motorist.”

In the original strip, Kal-El is dropped off at an orphanage. Readers are led to believe he grows up there as panels of the comic show a grown-up man, now named Clark, lifting furniture over his head to show off his remarkable strength.

Subsequent reboots of the comic further develop the storyline. The “passing motorist” becomes Mr. Kent. Kent and his wife drop off the baby at an orphanage but wind up adopting him. Going forward, it’s clear that the nurturing and teaching of the Kents helped shape and influence the future “last son of Krypton.”

Over the years, some have suggested that the Old and New Testaments helped inspire the Superman franchise, specifically likening Kent to either Moses or Jesus. It’s sometimes pointed out that the suffix “El” in “Kal-El” means “of God” or “voice of God.”

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the strip’s original creators, were Jewish and were said to pull from some Old Testament heroes, but they didn’t have any spiritual agenda in doing so. Stephen Skelton, author of “The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero,” says Siegel’s main inspiration stemmed from the murder of his own father in the depths of the Great Depression and the world bracing for war.

“They were looking for a savior figure they could relate to, they could envision, something to give them hope, inspire them,” Skelton noted.

The vast majority of Americans who enjoyed the Superman comic strip or subsequent radio and television shows of the same name, along with the numerous big screen adaptations of the Man of Steel franchise, rooted for Kent because they like to see good overcoming evil. They like to see the underdog battle successfully against all odds.

Back when the original 1978 “Superman” film was released, The New York Times spoke with Christopher Reeve – the actor who portrayed Clark Kent in the movie. He told the reporter, “Before we started filming, we met with the guys who do the comic books —bright guys. We sat around a table and they said there are two things you have to remember about Superman:

“A. He’s an orphan, and that governs his emotional behavior;

“B. He’s an alien, and what makes him super is he’s got the wisdom to use his powers well.”

Reeve went on:

“The Man of Steel aspect is totally exaggerated. He’s only super because he happens to come from another planet. If he’d grown up back on Krypton he might have been a plumber.”

Reeve was partially right. It wasn’t merely Superman’s geographic location that made him who he was – it was his parents, who instilled in him a moral compass. That foundation allowed him to utilize his powers for good.

That’s the beauty and gift of adoption. Only in real life, boys and girls don’t grow up to become superheroes, but everything else. Children otherwise destined to suffer and struggle in a broken and unsafe environment hit the proverbial jackpot when they’re welcomed into loving forever homes.

Mothers and fathers may not possess otherworldly powers or “leap tall buildings in a single bound” – but they still might be viewed as superheroes of a sort by children they might foster or adopt.

Superman might well come from another planet, but thanks to his mother and father, that planet became home to him. Rather than politicizing the Superman franchise, its director would be wise to highlight how adoption made Kal-El – and how it can also save and make children’s and parents’ dreams comes true.

Those considering buying a ticket to Superman would be advised to read our PluggedIn team’s review of the film.

IRS: Pastors and Politicians Don’t Lose First Amendment Rights in Pulpit

It turns out, pastors or candidates for office are allowed to talk politics from the pulpit.

That’s a ruling that came out Monday from the Internal Revenue Service in a joint motion that seeks to settle a lawsuit filed by the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) and two churches in Texas.

From the IRS filing:

When a house of worship in good faith speaks to its congregation, through its customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith, it neither “participate[s]” nor “intervene[s]” in a “political campaign,” within the ordinary meaning of those words. To “participate” in a political campaign is “to take part” in the political campaign, and to “intervene” in a political campaign is “to interfere with the outcome or course” of the political campaign.

Bona fide communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services, do neither of those things, any more than does a family discussion concerning candidates. Thus, communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted.

The Johnson Amendment, which was added to the tax code in 1954, prohibits 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and churches from campaigning on behalf of a political candidate. Back in 2017, President Trump signed an executive order limiting the amendment’s enforcement.

The lawsuit filed by the NRB and two Baptist churches suggested the tax code was discriminatory towards churches and that the IRS “operates in a manner that disfavors conservative organizations and conservative, religious organizations” when it comes to applying and enforcing the law.

Earlier this spring, Focus on the Family joined fifteen other organizations in supporting the Free Speech Fairness Act, legislation that would basically enshrine into law the essence of what the IRS filed on Monday.

Despite claims to the contrary from its critics, the bill wouldn’t unleash a reckless free-for-all, but would instead allow non-profit organizations and their representatives to comment on candidates or political matters so long as what’s being said is germane to the organization’s purpose.

Responding to Monday’s IRS decision, Kelly Shackelford, President, CEO, and Chief Counsel for First Liberty, stated: 

First Amendment rights don’t end when a pastor, church member or even a political candidate steps on the platform of a church. The IRS weaponized the Johnson Amendment to silence churches and pastors for decades. This is great news for religious organizations, churches, and religious liberty.

The IRS announcement is commonsense. It’s been outrageous that organizations have been muzzled or intimidated into silence, especially when candidates advocate or hold to positions that are contrary to God’s Word.

Pastors who have steered clear of addressing moral issues out of fear that it might be perceived as political should now readjust and reconsider what they say from the pulpit. In fact, ministers have an obligation to share God’s truth and shouldn’t be afraid to proclaim and defend it in the pulpit. Surprisingly but thankfully, the IRS now agrees.

Image from Getty.

Karoline Leavitt, Pam Bondi and the Costly Evangelism of the Cross Necklace

According to Tuesday’s New York Times, the cross necklace is “a hot accessory” that currently resides “at the intersection of faith and culture.”

Historians suggest the practice of wearing a cross as a pendant around the neck dates back to the second century.

Tertullian, a Christian theologian who lived during that same period, called believers in Jesus “devotees of the cross.” That reference is said to have inspired early Christians to embrace and redeem the symbol Roman officials had associated with torturous death, even wearing it to connect with fellow believers and talk about their countercultural faith with others.

Cross necklaces have long been made with various materials ranging from simple wood to precious metals and gemstones.

“As a millenniums-old symbol of Christian faith, the cross would seem somewhat immune to trendiness,” writes Misty White Sidell in the Times. “But cross necklaces and pendants have been in vogue before and may be again as some feel more comfortable embracing their faith and seek community with others.”

The Old Grey Lady points out that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Attorney General Pam Bondi are two high-profile women within the Trump administration who regularly wear a visible cross.

In a statement provided to the Times, Leavitt explained, “My faith is very important to me. It is what gets me through each day.”

Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Representative and Democrat leader in the House, was spotted wearing a cross necklace during last weekend’s budget protest. Sidell notes that Rep. Jeffries grew up serving as an usher at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

That members on both sides of the aisle are wearing crosses inevitably mutes any of the traditional partisan criticism.

Back in 2023, Michael Coan, associate professor of jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, suggested in an interview that crosses can be for everyone. 

“If you have Jesus on it, it becomes a crucifix,” he said. “That’s a different story. For some people, it can mean redemption from suffering. To pagans, it can mean the four directions. It can represent elements of fire, water, earth and air. It’s a symbol that resonates on a global plane.”

While Professor Coan is correct that Christ being on a cross makes it a crucifix, something Catholics often display, evangelical believers feature and wear an empty cross as a symbol of Christ’s victory over death.

It’s true that different people can interpret the cross differently, but Christians can feel comfortable wearing a cross and allowing it to trigger productive and faith-filled conversations.

But it’s one thing to wear a cross and a whole other thing to live a life that rightly reflects its profound meaning and charge to us as followers of Christ.

John Stott, the late Anglican pastor and theologian, rightly observed, “The cross calls us to a much more radical and costly kind of evangelism than most churches have begun to consider.”

Costly evangelism means that as believers who stand up for Christ, we should be willing to lose our reputation, sacrifice our comforts and resources, and even be at odds with significant cultural majorities. It means to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). 

Good for Karoline Leavitt, Attorney General Bondi and anyone else who unapologetically wears a cross, not for the sake of making a fashion statement, but instead as a proclamation of their Christian faith and an invitation to others to join them on the greatest adventure from here to eternity.  

Image from Getty.

Christian Families Should Serve More than Healthy Food at Dinner

Studies have long established the importance and benefits of family mealtime. 

In fact, even secular social science has routinely found that families who regularly eat together raise and produce children who perform better academically, socially, emotionally and even spiritually.

Family therapist Dr. Anne Fishel, who co-founded the “Family Dinner Project,” was a guest on Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education podcast and stated:

I could be out of business if more families had regular family dinners, because so many of the things that I try to do in famxily therapy actually get accomplished by regular dinners. There have been more than 20 years of dozens of studies that document that family dinners are great for the body, the physical health, the brains and academic performance, and the spirit or the mental health. And in terms of nutrition, cardiovascular health is better in teens, there’s lower fat and sugar and salt in home cooked meals even if you don’t try that hard, there’s more fruit, and fiber, and vegetables, and protein in home-cooked meals, and lower calories. Kids who grow up having family dinners, when they’re on their own tend to eat more healthily and to have lower rates of obesity.

You’d expect an Ivy League academic to focus on nutrition and physical health. And cultivating and developing a child’s social and emotional IQ is a critically important benefit of eating together as a family. 

Yet, as Christian parents, our goal should go well beyond those important measures and extend and expand into the spiritual and cultural areas of life.

Are we raising children who are aware of what’s going on in the world – and more importantly, are we equipping them to process and interpret events from a Christian worldview?

Over the past year, Focus on the Family has devoted significant resources to a forthcoming documentary titled, “Truth Rising.” It’s a joint project with our friends at the Colson Center and it features beloved author, theologian and culture critic Dr. Os Guinness along with John Stonestreet on a worldwide touring looking at the pressing issues facing us today.

In many ways, it’s a follow-up to Focus on the Family’s The Truth Project, which featured the engaging and informative teaching of Dr. Del Tackett. 

“All the great civilizations of the past can be found in three places,” Dr. Guinness observes in the film, which will be released this coming summer. “They’re in ruins, they’re in museums, or they’re in history books. Great though they were, they rose, and they declined, and they fell. They lost touch with the inspiration that made them what they were.”

Does that sound like too heavy duty for dinnertime conversation with children? Wise moms and dads know how to reduce the complex down to the simple. Kids don’t want lectures, but they do like to be challenged. They’re hungry to have their parents translate the world for them.

Mealtimes with children should be fun and lighthearted, but we waste precious time if we reduce the entirety of the conversation to the trivial and the mundane. As my late friend Jim Downing liked to say, there are three levels of conversation: trivia (like weather and sports), gossip (people), and ideas. Talking about ideas and principles is the highest form of conversation. 

Classic Christian principles include love, compassion, forgiveness, character, integrity, generosity, humility, patience, and self-control.

My father would often bring home multiple newspapers each day. He and my mother would tear out articles for us to read. We’d then discuss them over dinner. It made us feel like we knew what was going on in the world. It wasn’t just an exchange of information but an exercise in processing the ideas being communicated.

It’s understandable that Christian parents want to shield and shape news for young and impressionable minds. We need to do so on an age-appropriate level. Just keep in mind, though, that if you don’t talk about something, there’s a good chance a teacher, neighborhood friend, or media outlets are shaping your child’s opinion of the subject.

Family mealtimes are not only important bonding times – they’re also fleeting opportunities. Talk with any parent who has already raised and launched their children. They often look at the empty chairs around their table. They not only wish they were still being filled by their now-grown children, but they often wish they had better utilized that time when their sons and daughters were seated there.

Family dinners won’t solve every problem – but they sure help make the inevitable problems and challenges more manageable for both parents and children.

Don’t Wait

God urges patience all throughout the Bible. In fact, the Apostle Paul seemed especially attuned to its importance.

Writing to the Romans, the great evangelizer reflected, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (8:25). Later in his letter he urged, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (12:12).

Christian believers have been waiting for two-thousand years for the return of the Lord.

But lately, even Christians seem to be deliberately waiting to make critical decisions that might well demand action instead.

Back in 1970, the average man in America got married for the first time at the age of 23. For women, it was 21. Jump ahead to 2020, and it was nearly 31 for men and 28 for women.

Delaying marriage is driven by a myriad of factors including career ambition, financial considerations, and, of course, the skyrocketing rate of cohabitation. Tragically, more and more young people don’t see any need to get married at all. To them, it’s burdensome relational bureaucracy – a piece of paper that needlessly locks them in and complicates their life.

But there are plenty of even conservative Christians who simply see marriage as something they think they’ll eventually get to – akin to a bucket list trip to Europe. It’s not that they don’t want to ever get married. It’s just that it’s not a priority.

God calls everyone to walk a unique path, but if there is a nonchalant spirit surrounding the issue, young people might want to reexamine their priorities.

Speaking on a Focus on the Family broadcast, Dr. Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary, said:

Marriage is not a lifestyle option. Marriage, unless you were given the gift of celibacy, is not something you should look forward to at some point in your life when you think you’re ready for it and you’ve made partner in the law firm and you have this much in terms of material gain and you think you’ve reached this point of personal maturity.

There is a formula in Scripture that is an expectation and that is, that adulthood equals marriage without the gift of celibacy. Adulthood equals marriage. Obviously, that is not the definition or the formula honored in this society.

Marriage was created by God. If it’s important to Him, it should be important to us. It’s foundational. It’s patterned after His relationship with His bride, the Church.

Of course, men and women should be discerning and choose their mates wisely, but the problem with waiting to get married once you’ve found someone you love is that it’s very possible to wait too long. In time, it might become too late.

When it comes to getting married, don’t wait.

Another area of concern centers on a couple’s decision to wait to try and have children. In 1970, the median age for a first child for a woman was 21. It’s now 27.

Once more, bringing a child into the world is an awesome responsibility and glorious blessing. But it’s not uncommon for many couples to wait for the very same reasons many delay getting married.

Yet, if God has greenlighted you to get married, He’s also greenlighted you to have children.

Sadly, many couples who have waited to try and start a family are discovering that they’ve waited too long. Nearly 1 in 5 women in the United States are experiencing infertility. The older a woman is, the more difficult it becomes to conceive and carry a baby to term.

The Psalmist proclaims, “Behold, children are a heritage of the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (127:3). Why would you want to turn down a blessing from the Lord?

When it comes to getting married, don’t wait.

When it comes to having children, don’t wait.

Waiting on the Lord is much different than waiting on opportunities that He places before us.

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow let alone next year or ten more.

When it comes to warmly and enthusiastically embracing God’s blessings, don’t wait.