The Complicated Pop-cultural Legacy of Figura Christi. Mythologization of the Christ Narrative in the Context of Current Christian Philosophy

• Authors: Maciej Jemioł

Abstracts

EN

Reflecting on the many challenges facing Christianity as a religion, and particularly Christian philosophy as a way of thinking in modern, strange and unfamiliar times, one encounters time and again the grim realization that many of such challenges are simplyprovided by the current culture, the cultural sphere. Without idealizing Europe’s Christocentric culture and remembering that it was not homogeneous, we must recognize that it once existed, it was the ruling cultural norm. Today, such norms are indeed very different and vary greatly depending on the geographic region we have in mind and change from decade to decade. After the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, modernity and the postmodern era, we observe that what governs our cultural world today is pluralism more than anything else. But there are still some traces of Christocentrism in our culture and in what it has become during this period, namely popular culture. Among other aspects, research has focused on the analysis of one idea – that of the Christ-figure, which has come a long way from theology to culture to pop culture over the centuries. In this article, I will try to show why this complicated legacy can be seen, at least in part, as a challenge to Christianity in light of contemporary Christian philosophy.

Keywords

EN

Christocentricity; Christian philosophy; Christ-figure; pop-culture; mythologization

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
• Journal: Studia Philosophiae Christianae
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 59
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 119-140

Dates

published

2023

Contributors

author

Maciej Jemioł

• Uniwersytet Ignatianum w Krakowie

• https://orcid.org/0000000336279392

References

• Aguilar, G.K., Campbell, H.A., Stanley, M., Taylor, E. (2017). Communicating mixed messages about religion through internet memes. Information, Communication and Society, 20(10), 1498-1520.
• Allan, D. (2009). Art and the Human Adventure. André Malraux’s Theory of Art. Amsterdam – New York: Rodopi.
• Allan, D. (2013). Art and Time. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Antonelli, E. (2018). Mimesis and Attention. On Christian Sophrosyne. Forum Philosophicum, 23(2), 259-274.
• Barkman, A. (2010). Anime, Manga And Christianity; A Comprehensive Analysis. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 9(27), 25-45.
• Barthes, R. (1991). Mythologies. New York: The Noonday Press.
• Butler, S. (1995). In Persona Christi. Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America, 50, 146-155.
• Campbell, J. (2004). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton – Oxford: Princeton University Press.
• Cawelti, J.G. (2006). The Concept of Formula in the Study of Popular Literature. In: H.E. Hinds, Jr., M.F. Motz, A.M.S. Nelson (eds.), Popular Culture Theory and Methodology. A Basic Introduction, 183-191. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
• Detweiler, R. (1964). Christ and the Christ Figure in American Fiction. The Christian Scholar, 47(2), 111-124.
• Dougherty, C.T. (1962). The Christ-Figure in the Grapes of Wrath. College English, 24(3), 224-226.
• Downing, C. (1968). Typology and the Literary Christ-Figure: A Critique. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 36(1), 13-27.
• Dunn, J.D.G. (1977). Demythologizing – The Problem of Myth in the New Testament. In: I.H. Marshall (ed.), New Testament interpretation. Essays in principles and methods, 285-307. Carlisle: The Paternoster Press.
• Fonari, G. (2021). Dionysus, Christ, and the Death of God. Vol. 2: Christianity and Modernity. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
• Henry, M. (2012). Barbarism. London – New York: Continuum Impacts.
• Jemioł, M. (2021). Embodiment or Immersion? On the Modes of Engagement in Video
• Games. In: P. Janik, C. Canullo (eds.), Intentionnalité comme idée. Phenomenon, between efficacy and analogy, 149-162. Kraków: Księgarnia Akademicka Publishing. https://doi.org/10.12797/9788381385978.02.
• Kozlovic, A.K. (2002). Superman as Christ-Figure: The American Pop Culture Movie Messiah. Journal of Religion and Film, 6(1), 5.
• Kozlovic, A.K. (2004a). The Cinematic Christ-Figure. The Furrow, 55(1), 26-30.
• Kozlovic, A.K. (2004b). The Structural Characteristics of the Cinematic Christ-figure. The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 8(1), 1-71.
• Kozlovic, A.K. (2005). The Christ-figure in Popular Films. Kinema: A Journal for Film and Audiovisual Media. https://doi.org/10.15353/kinema.vi.1090.
• Kozlovic, A.K. (2007). Sacred cinema: exploring Christian sensibilities within popular Hollywood films. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 28(2), 195-208.
• Lach-Bartlik, L. (2015). In Christi figura – z zagadnień języka Apponiusza. Śląskie Studia Historyczno-Teologiczne, 48(1), 87-101.
• Langer, Jr., T.W. (2019). The Gamification of Kings: Teaching Judeo-Christian Kingship Through Final Fantasy XV. Wilmore: Asbury Theological Seminary. https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1422/.
• Levine, A.J., Dale, C.A., and Crossan, J.D. (eds). (2006). The historical Jesus in context. Princeton – Oxford: Princeton University Press.
• Malraux, A. (1960). The metamorphosis of the gods. New York: Doubleday.
• Mohammed, M.A. (2020). Christ-Figure Technique in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: A Case Study. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 13(3), 1141-1152.
• Thompson, T.L. (2005). The Messiah Myth. The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David. New York: Basic Books.
• Ullmann, W. (2010). Principles of Government and Politics in the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge.
• Vatican Council II. (1964). Dogmatic Constitution On The Church “Lumen Gentium”.
• Walsh, R. (2013). A Modest Proposal for Christ-Figure Interpretations. Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception, 3(1), 79-97.

Identifiers

DOI

10.21697/spch.2023.59.A.13

Biblioteka Nauki

39569799