Despite being panned by critics, the box-office success of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has much to teach us about engaging people in spiritual, moral, social and cultural questions in general – and the Philosophy of Religion in particular.

Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president responsible for distribution at Warner Bros commented on the disconnect between the critics and the fans by offering an explanation that ‘[the film] doesn’t take itself seriously, it’s just an enjoyable afternoon at the movies.’ But possibly there is more to it than that, because there is serious content in this action-packed film. In fact, it is worn visibly on its sleeve rather than hidden in subtleties of imagery and dialogue. The audience are not just offered dramatic fights and vivid explosions, but also clear thought-provoking statements.

So, for example, when the camera zooms in across the crowds in one significant scene, we read the words ‘If you seek his monument, look around.’ OK, so the scriptwriters have borrowed the phrase from the grave of Sir Christopher Wren in St Paul’s Cathedral, but the fact remains that the action pauses for a moment and the audience is given something profound to think about. And perhaps this provides spiritual educators with a lesson and an opportunity.

Clearly most of the audience have not turned out and bought their tickets because the film raises spiritual questions, they have come for the superheroes, and the fights, and the explosions. But the fact remains that the producers have not held back from raising spiritual, moral, social and cultural questions for fear of alienating this audience.

The film is full of God-talk which is very obvious and explicit. Mostly this is in the words of Lex Luthor who is played brilliantly by Jesse Eisenberg (despite being ridiculed by some critics who dismiss him as ‘waxing crazily pedantic, like no one told him he’s not in a Sorkin movie anymore’). For example, in a central scene Luthor carefully and clearly expresses the theological conundrum: ‘if God is all powerful then he can’t be all good, and if he’s all good then he can’t be all powerful’.

In another scene he questions whether the ‘god’ Superman is doing what is good because it is good or deciding what is good because he wants to do it. Any philosopher or theologian will recognise these as two of the key questions of the Philosophy of Religion, which have been well-worked for thousands of years.

The first, known today as the Logical Problem of Evil, dates back to the 4^th Century BC Greek philosopher Epicurus but is best known in the form expressed by the 18^th Century philosopher David Hume who said in his Dialogues ‘Is he [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?’ The second, known today as Euthyphro’s Dilemma, comes from Plato who, in his Socratic dialogues says ‘is the pious [good] loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?’

Neither of these two well-worked questions from the Philosophy of Religion are explicitly named in the film, but they are clearly expressed. So, perhaps a lesson we can draw from the film is to not be scared of raising and exploring such profound questions for fear of alienating an audience. And perhaps an opportunity is to help such film fans to continue to think about these questions as they leave the cinema and return to their everyday lives.

Nick Pollard is co-founder of EthosEducation.org and EthosMedia.org which provide free downloadable resources to help school pupils and the general public to explore spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues through the latest films.