Batman is an atheist Superman reflecting the spirit of our times
Finally, Tom King, the writer of Batman 53 responded to the claims that Batman is an atheist.
“Lot of people saying Batman 53 (which I wrote) shows Batman is an atheist. That’s not how I read that comic. But I don’t think my reading of it is the most important one.
Anyway, I hope you read the whole thing for yourself and decide for yourself.”
“I hope you read the whole thing for yourself and decide for yourself” : You can read it and take your own meaning. That’s very post-modern. You can have your own meaning.
Batman, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Spider Man, Superman…they all reflect the way modern humans view themselves to be. We can take our destiny into our own hands; we can defeat and even destroy God, gods, Satan, demons on our own; we can defeat death; like Black Panther we can defeat Satan on our own, we can give our own meaning and existence to our lives.
In fact, the first Superman was created based on Nietzsche’s Superman who murdered God and gave himself his own meaning, purpose, morality and destiny to his existence.
There is nothing new about this philosophy. It started in the Garden of Eden, when Satan tells Adam and Eve, ‘You shall be like gods’. Satan told our first parents, ‘Don’t listen to God. You can take matters into your own hands and can be your own gods’. That is the most powerful temptation every man and woman encounters at least once in his or her life: I want to be my own God.
But we should realize that this old lie of Satan leads men and women to a life of emptiness and to the pit of hell after their earthly existence. Jesus said, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that cometh out of the mouth of God’. We need the Word of God more than every other thing in this universe.
‘I am my own Superman’ philosophy has been wreaking havoc all around us. Self-centeredness, violence, school shootings, drugs, opioid overdose, euthanasia, depression, suicide, loneliness they are all the fruits of this philosophy. Satan told Adam and Eve, ‘You shall not die’. Now we know that is one big lie. As we leave God of the Bible and make a superman out of our own will, we only embrace death, both physical and spiritual.
‘Man shall not live by bread alone’: We should realize that our most important need is to listen to the Word of God. Lord Jesus was the physical manifestation of the Word of God. He is our Lord, Savior and God.
Black Panther actually defeats Satan in one on one combat. Are you kidding me? You will never be able to defeat Satan on your own except through the power of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May God help our generation to come to its senses to realize it’s need for God and Savior Lord Jesus Christ. May it realize that it cannot be its own superman without God. It’s most important need is to humble itself and listen to the voice of God.