David French & Russell Moore: Superman Isn't Just a Movie, He's a Mirror of America

Good Faith

News, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

5 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is Superman Woke—or Just Wonderfully Human?

Can a superhero cut through the world’s chaos better than a political debate or another sermon? New York Times columnist David French and Christianity Today editor-in-chief Russell Moore explore why Superman still strikes a cultural nerve—especially in the age of outrage and “wokeness” debates. From his immigrant origins to the often-overlooked theme of adoption, they unpack how James Gunn’s 2025 reboot revives timeless questions about identity, belonging, moral courage, and kindness. This conversation is more than capes and kryptonite—it’s a surprising, thoughtful, and even fun look at the stories shaping who we are.

(00:00) - Exploring the Resonance of Superhero Myths

(07:24) - Fun That Connects To Deeper Needs

(10:10) - A Jewish Immigrant’s Myth

(15:40) - Exploring James Gunn’s Superman 2025

(23:06) - Is Superman Woke?

(27:04) - Kindness as a Countercultural Value

(34:11) - Parenting With Superheroes and Morals

(51:09) - Credits

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Russell Moore’s article Why Superman Matters
David French’s column Kindness Is MAGA Kryptonite
J.R.R. Tolkien’s On Fairy Stories
J.R.R. Tolkien’s eucatastrophe (an essay)
C.S. Lewis’ “True Myth”: The Myth That Became Fact
C.S. Lewis’ Reviews of Lord of the Rings (veil of familiarity)
Grant Morrison’s Super Gods
Official Trailer: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Sonny Bunch’s article How to Decide If You Want to Watch ‘Superman’
A short interview with Superman’s creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (video)
Übermensch Explained: the Meaning of Nietzsche’s ‘Superman’
The Times interview James Gunn: Some people will take offence at my new Superman
Read Deuteronomy 17:16-17 (NLT)
Social Commentary in The Office
Wonder Woman vol. 5 Annual #1 Batman & Superman share their real names (video)
Relevant Magazine: What the Superman Backlash Says About American Masculinity

Transcript

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0:00.0	of course Superman is an immigrant always has been and yet somebody who is thoroughly American and the fact that we're at a place right now where we can't see that those two things can fit together is maybe the kind of darkness the Superman mythology was meant to Pierce.
0:40.5	Welcome to the Good Faith podcast where friends who follow Jesus help each other make sense of the world.
0:46.2	I'm Good Faith's director of content. D.T. Sloughman, Curtis Chang is off this week.
0:55.7	Listeners, thanks to the new film from director James Gunn, we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of what's being called the summer of Superman.
1:01.6	I think it's fair to say that comic book superhero stories are uniquely American expressions of the fairy stories or fairy tales beloved by both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, stories that may, in fact,
1:10.3	point us toward what Lewis referred to as
1:12.6	the true myth. Our collective affinity for superheroes is a topic I've lectured about at
1:18.5	Asbury University and one that's recently taken center stage and articles written by my two
1:24.7	guests, New York Times columnist and good faith founding friend
1:28.5	David French and Christianity Today, editor-in-chief and my very own Sunday school teacher
1:34.9	here in Nashville.
1:36.5	Dr. Russell Moore.
1:38.2	Wait, I did not realize that, D.T.
1:40.1	I did not realize that.
1:41.2	Oh, yeah.
1:41.5	Oh, okay.
1:43.1	Outstanding. Yeah, yeah, no. I mean,. Oh, okay. Okay. Outstanding.
1:44.8	Yeah. No. I mean, you know, if also wants to bring revelation into Superman, so be it.
1:50.2	Well, there's plenty I can bring.
1:52.8	But at any rate, guys, welcome back. Welcome back to a good faith podcast.
1:57.1	And we'll get into James Gunn's Superman film and some of the cultural narratives surrounding it in a few minutes.
2:03.4	But I want to start the conversation with the superhero genre itself.
	...

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