The title I have chosen for this post is both provocative and stolen. It is provocative because of the mixture of Christian eschatology and pop culture -- the return of Jesus Christ, our Lord and the latest movie featuring America's greatest pop icon -- Superman. I have intentionally chosen this title because many of the reviews of the new film Superman Returns have remarked on its Christian themes. It is amazing that an organization like CNN would pick up on some of the Christian themes that are present in the Superman mythos. CNN does not have a positive history of positively presenting Christian theology no matter what its medium.

I mentioned that I have stolen this title for my blog posting. Guilty as charged! I snagged it from ChristianityToday's leadership blog -- called Out of Ur. They recently posted a review of Superman Returns called, you guessed it, The Second Coming of Superman. the purpose of their posting was make the point that, in Superman Returns, we have a movie that features Christian values and themes without the often over-rich marketing that "Christian films" get. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy films like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Passion of the Christ, etc. But I don't necessarily enjoy the way such films are marketed. The media has often treated Christian films much like kibbles thrown to a rather noisy and bothersome puppy.

Now, I will admit I'm rather biased when discussing Superman. After all, I've devoted part of this blog to the Superman Returns marketing effort. But, when you filter out all of the various political and social spins placed on the Man of Steel, you are looking at a fabulous moral character. Now, while Superman holds only a dim candle to Jesus, I have always looked up to Superman. Superman is an amalgam of high moral character, altruisms like truth and justice, and positive American nationalism known as the American Way. While a being such as Superman might have a definitive right to boast of his Kryptonian origin and the powers conferred by that heritage, Kal-El chose to identify himself as an American and to live his private life as an American citizen. What's not to like?

So, if you're looking for me over the next several days, try looking in a theater. That's probably where I'll be.