The Sirens of Titan essays

The Sirens of Titan essays Throughout the novel, there are events and characters which have definite parallels in modern world religions such as Christianity. The trials and tribulations of Malachi Constant, and perhaps even other characters in the novel, and the story of Jesus as laid forth in the bible seem to possess similar aspects. Before delving into the specific areas which may contain parallels, perhaps it would be best to consider what the areas in the novel are being compared to: Jesus and his life. Roughly twenty years ago, a movement began in the religious community in which theologians and historians alike began an attempt at separating the "historical Jesus" from the Jesus found in the bible. What has slowly become apparent is that the Jesus found in the bible is much different than the actual man. In essence, what is seen in the bible is an image of Jesus, rather than the real Jesus. This concept of image vs. reality in religion is also reflected in The Sirens of Titan. But who c! reates this image? In the case of Jesus, religion was the force which began to interpret his life and present him as something other than he was. In The Sirens of Titan, a similar image-creating force continually appears where one would instead expect to find the "God" to Malachi's "Jesus"; religion is substituted for God in the novel. As presented in the bible and the Catholic church, Jesus was the son of God. He was the wisest of men, capable of walking on water, healing the sick, blessing the lives of men and guiding the way to eternal happiness in the kingdom of heaven. Sent to earth to preach the word of God and help men learn to lead better lives, he willingly suffered, even gave his life, for mankind's sins so that man may be forgiven in death and allowed to enter into God's heaven. Yet, consider the source of this information for a moment. These are not the words of Jesus himself, but rather interpretations of Jesus by those who followed him. A v...