THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE WORLD'S GREATEST SUPERHERO

review by

Larry Shallenberger

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE WORLD'S GREATEST SUPERHERO

by Stephen Skelton

(Harvest House Publishers)

BEST FOR: Adults and Teens, particularly fans of Superman and/or comic books in general.

Leaps tall buildings with a single bound and points a generation to Christ? That’s the premise of Stephen Skelton’s latest offering, The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero.

Skelton seems to have an eye for the nostalgic as his previous offerings include “The Bonanza Bible Study” and the “Andy Griffith Bible Study.” Skelton’s passion is to use cultural artifacts from television to point people of this generation to Christ.

In The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero Skelton argues that the chapter of Superman was intentionally modeled by many of the writers in the “Superman Cannon” to be a Messianic/figure. Skelton goes the distance with detailed quotes to show how Superman’s creators—two Jewish teenagers, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster—borrow from their religious heritage’s stories of Samson and the coming Messiah to create a secular “American Messiah.” Skelton also documents how the creators of the “Superman: The Movie”, “Superman II”, and TV’s “Smallville” had an awareness of the parallels between Jesus Christ and the Man of Steel.

Skelton spends the rest of his book outlining these parallels and the common ground that his two Supermen share with sections entitled “Origins”, “Mission, and “Destiny.” In each section, Skelton provides painstaking detail to show how Superman is a “parable” of Christ.

The fact that Skelton is a genuine fan of the Man of Steel shines throughout this book.  It’s apparent this is a labor of love for him, and not a “hacked” product to be released just in time for the release of this summer’s Superman Returns. And it’s Skelton’s passion for the story that allowed him to unearth some arresting details that build his case that the parallelism between Superman and Jesus isn’t merely coincidental.

For example, Skelton reveals that Clark Kent’s earthly parents were originally named Mary and Joseph before Superman’s publishers required that that connection between the Gospels and the cartoon not be so obvious. With reverence for both Jesus and Superman, Skelton offers such an overwhelming catalogue of comparisons that it’s impossible to miss the creative intention of many of Superman’s creators. Causal fans of the Superman will enjoy his exposition of the “Death of Superman” story of which only the most devoted fans will be aware.

However, I felt that Skelton frequently strained to build his argument that Superman is a fictional type of Christ. For example, Skelton labors for a few paragraphs attempting to show how a Biblical Greek word “krypton” helps us understand the spiritual allusions of Superman’s home plant Krypton. Odds are the similarities between the words are a simple coincidence. Later, in another sidebar, Skelton tries his hand at linguistics and points out the “Kent” in “Clark Kent” uses the same consonants as the Hebrew word for “Christ.” Again, Skelton presses too hard to make his point. Why torture the story for a few extra thrusts when logic doesn’t allow it? His documentation of how the director and writers of “Smallville” intentionally infused their contribution to the Superman story is evidence enough of the messianic themes in Superman.                

In spite of its shortcomings, The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero still makes a great gift for the comic book fan in your family. It’s also a valuable book for children or youth pastors looking to build a summer curriculum series that ties into Superman Returns. Skelton should be praised for attempting to find common ground between pop culture and Jesus.

FAMILYFANS RATING: B

IF MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY LIKE THIS BOOK, THEN YOU MAY WANT TO TRY…

• What’s a Christian to Do with Harry Potter? Connie Neal/ Waterbrook Press

• The Superman Bible Study by Steven Skelton

• Johnny Grav & The Visioneer (available only online at FAMILYFANS.com)

--LS