I get why people would be upset with a line of dialog, except for that fact that it really isn't out of character for Jonathan to say something like this if you look back at the full 80 years of Superman continuity and the multiple interpretations of his character. Once again readers are superimposing what they think a character is and how a character acts over what creators across multiple media forms have already put down. Too many blinders on one aspect of the man rather than the whole picture.
Its also important to point out Jonathan's body language in the scene......you know, since this is a movie and we can actually look at body language vice a static picture on a piece of paper. Its obvious in that scene that Jonathan is very uncomfortable with what he's saying. He's struggling to give his son the advice he needs because he's been put in a situation nobody has ever been in before. That's the true genius of the Jonathan and Martha Kent characters. Its not about the values they instill in Clark. Its the fact that they were able to raise him. Look at our society today and all the crap reality and psychology shows that get thrown into our faces and how screwed up many parents and child relationships are. Now take those same children and give them Kryptonian abilities. Yeah, the apocolypse would have occured by now. Parents simply wouldn't know how to deal with that type of kid, many struggle to be parents even with a single normal child. So the true power of these two characters is the fact that they could actually raise Clark when all convention would say it would be impossible to do so (an aspect of their characters the Smallville series explored very well I thought).
So looking at the whole scene we see a Jonathan Kent that's not sure what to do. He's not sure what the right answer is or what is the best thing to say to Clark do make things turn out okay. He might say "Maybe" but he certainly doesn't believe it and that's evident by the fact he turns away from his son, ashamed not only of his comment but the fact that he couldn't say anything better. He's not prepared to deal with Clark's growing powers at first and even if he learns to deal with them and to say the right things why should he think a random stranger would do any better, someone that doesn't even know Clark and doesn't love him the way he and Martha do.
I applaude Synder for this approach to Jonathan Kent. Especially because he's most likely not going to live through the entire film. So because he'll be on screen for such a brief period of time, Snyder needs the audience to have an immediate connection to him, his thoughts, and his feelings as both a human and a father. I think Costner is going to knock that out of the park with his portrayal and that brief scene shows us why. Just by what you see in those brief seconds you feel sympathy for the man and also a bit amazed that despite such difficulties and uncertainties Clark turns out very well under his tutelage and parenting (yes, Martha is in there, but as Jonathan has the line I'm focusing only on him for this comment). This allows him to have a lasting impact on the audience even though he'll not be in scene after scene.
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