in the search for christ figures chris pyle suggests THE RULING CLASS in which
"Peter O'Toole plays a nobleman who thinks he's God" . . . to which
"Byrnes Weir objects:  God is not Christ" . . . which leads don larsson to
comment that "If you believe in the Trinity, both are part of one and the
same!" . . .
 
now i hate to disagree with don larsson but i think that his comment misses the
point . . . whether or not christ and god are one and the same [or even three
and the same] is first of all a matter of theological doctrine probably not
suitable for this listserv; and second and more important, does not address the
current question which is not about christ but about CHRIST FIGURES . . .
 
so far as i can tell the figurative christ is the one who dies for the sins of
others in order to cleanse them of their sins . . . and also so far as i can
tell this is not true of the god figure [as opposed to the christ figure] even
in orthodox christian theology . . . in fact it might well be argued that one
of the reasons for or achievements of trinitarian thought is that it allows the
metaphysical deity [it itself beyond human figuration] to be figured in
three different ways  . .  and when we're discussing the christ figure [a
figure who appears in narrative or linguistic rather than theological
discourse] the difference between these figures is critical   . . . billy budd
may be a christ figure but i don't imagine many will want to see him as a god
figure
 
 
mike frank
 
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