Jurassic Jesus?

Jurassic Park is not where you expect to find Jesus or the Gospel in general. In fact, Generro who is Catholic gets the most famous scene of being eaten by the T-Rex. However, I have discovered a new interpretation. It is Alan Grant (initials Adonai which means Lord in Hebrew and G for God, which is interesting because Spielberg is a Jew and the Jews pray Deuteronomy 6:4 which says, "Hear O Israel, The Lord (Adonai) is God, The Lord is One.") represents Jesus in the film.

Alan Grant first appears after the opening scene with Muldoon and the Raptor and Generro meeting with some diggers. Grant is found in the desert, The Wilderness, just like Jesus (Luke 4:2). There Grant gets his ministry, for John Hammond comes calling and tells him to go to Jurassic Park. At first Alan is not fond of children, which does not fit well with a Christ allegory, because Jesus said, "let the children come to me, for such as they belongs the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 19:14). But wait before you decide the allegory ends. For Alan Grant ends up having to face the devil himself, The Tyrant Rex.

While Generro runs to the water closet to save himself, something Christ would not do and employs Mary to save himself, Generro I realize now is not Spielberg poking fun at Christianity, but rather it is critique of  religious people who say they have principles but drop them to save themselves or do not live by their beliefs. In fact Jesus shares a parable that Generro and Alan Grant fit into! He says, "A Father had two sons and asked the first one to help him in the field, but that son said no, the Father then went to his second son and asked if he would help in the field and he said yes. But at the end of the day the first son who said he wouldn't help was in the field working and the son who said he would help wasn't there to help. Which did the will of the Father?" (Matthew 21:29-31). Alan is that first son who said he would not like children or help them, but ends up helping the children and Generro is the religious other son who is with the children and says he would help but when the moment came Generro abandoned the children. For Jesus also said, "there is no greater love, than for a man to lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13). Alan Grant does this by being the first one to step into the rain and face the Rex to save Alex and Tim. It is there that Alan picks up the cross and responsibility for the children. Generro because he was unfaithful son, ends up devoured by the devil who symbolized by T-Rex. For in Matthew 24 and 25 Jesus talks about the faithful and unfaithful servants and he says that the unfaithful shall go to the "The worthless servant shall be thrown into the outer darkness and the place of the gnashing teeth," (Matthew 25:30) which takes another meaning in Jurassic Park, because Generro does literally go into the darkness of the Tyrannosaur's mouth and is gnashed in the teeth of the T-Rex!

After saving Lex, Alan finds himself needing to rescue Tim from a tree. Lex panics and shout "He left us! He left us!" She is referring to Generro who fled the children in the car and tried to save himself in the bathroom. Alan Gran'ts response is like God, "But that's not what I'm gonna do." In fact the Lord says, "I will never leave you or forsake you," (Hebrews 13:5) which is mirrored by Grant's words. Grant reassures Lex that He's merely going away for moment to save her brother. Here is where Alan transforms in to an allegory of Adonai/Lord and Jesus. He climbs the tree, a symbol possible of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which leads to death. Alan and Time escape the branches and broken car's fall; play on words, for it was by Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that Adam and Eve fell from grace and Alan like Jesus has to save Tim which represents us sinners on the tree, for Jesus died on a tree to save us all and so Alan going up into the tree could be an allegory of Christ's sacrifice for us.

I would like to point out something important about Alan helping Lex and Tim. At the time Lex and Time's parents are getting divorce, which means likely they are not seeing much of their father. So for a man, a father figure of sorts to step up to the plate and take responsibility for them is what they needed most in this horrific scenario on Isla Nublar. Alan Grant doesn't know it yet, but he is healing those two children by his actions and in process is growing fond of what he at first detested.

Alan and The Kids find refuge in a giant tree, this time the Tree of Life, because there only Brontosauria are about and they mean no harm and act as sentinels (seraphim or angels) that would warn Grant and the children of any carnivores approaching. On the morning they have some fun with one of these behemoths and Lex gets sneezed on, which Tim says, "God bless you," one of the few actual affirmations of God in the film.

Later Alan, Lex and Tim find themselves on a field with galloping Gallimimuses. Hiding beneath a large long (a cross perhaps?) they are protect and hidden when the Tyrant reemerges and devours one of the Gallimimus. Alan then leads the two children to safety. But Grant and the kids go from the frying pan into the fire as they come to the Rex Paddock where they begin to climb the electric fence and in process Ellie puts power back on, shocking Tim. Alan then does CPR, and breathes "the breath of life into" Tim who comes back from the threshold of death. He again is a great analogy of Christ! The Lord in Eden breathed life into Adam and here Alan is doing the same for Timmy.

When come to the conclusion of the allegory, where these vicious demons known as the Velicoraptors hunt Lex and Time in the kitchen. Just as they prevail and escape the threat, Lex and Time find Alan armed with a shotgun (power) and they go to the control room to restore power, yet another allegory, The Control Room being like where God resides and can fix the hacking evil people and powers do. There Lex turns everything back on and systems are restored, but the raptors are still in pursuit. Finally in absolute peril hanging on the "dry bones" (Ezekiel 37:-141) of the dinosaurs in the Visitor Center, Alan, Ellie, Lex and Tim fall and are in the clutches of two raptors when the T-Rex comes roaring in and devouring the little devils which reminds me of the verse that says, "evil will destroy (slay) the wicked, the foes of the righteous will be destroyed" (Psalm 34:21).

Finally Alan and the kids are with the rest of the helicopter flying away into the heavens. Alan now looks down at both Lex and Time who are fast asleep in his arms and smiles, reminding me of how the Lord looks at us as He holds on to us. I know my allegory or analogy is stretch but I see a Biblical message in the actions and character of Alan Grant. He put the safety of Lex and Time before himself and even kicked a raptor in face, putting his own body in harm to keep the creature away from the children. So while I thought Spielberg was trying to make digs at Christianity in Jurassic Park, I realized that within the JP is Jurassic Jesus, that Alan Grant is an allegory of Jesus or at least represents the Lord in character.

 

 

Addendum: 1:29/2015

 

I was talking with another Jurassic Park friend and fan. We were discussing the Brachiosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. It donned on me that the Brachiosaurus represents the mercy and majestic side of God and T-Rex represents the regal and righteous (justice side) of God! Who would have thought that within these two titans there would be an allusion to the Almighty!