There has been a lot of uninformed commentary on the internet comparing Gaius Baltar to Jesus Christ. The people making this comparison obviously have no clue. Gaius does not represent Jesus, he represents Joseph Smith.
Jesus was the Son of God. Gaius, like Joseph Smith, is just a regular person and not divine himself. Joseph Smith was visited by the angel Moroni on numerous occasions (or so he claimed). Gaius is visited regularly by some supernatural entity that reveals itself as a Cylon model Number Six. Or maybe Gaius is just insane, but the Number Six in Gaius’ head is supposed to represent the angel Moroni who visited Joseph Smith. Just as Joseph Smith received religious instructions from Moroni, Gaius receives religious instruction from Number Six.
Joseph Smith and Gaius were both politicians. Joseph Smith was the mayor of the town of Nauvoo, and he announced his candidacy for president of the United States in 1844. Gaius Baltar ran for president of the colonies (and won too). See the similarities?
Unlike Jesus, who was convicted at a trial and sentenced to death, both Joseph Smith and Baltar managed to evade any serious jail time at their trials. Joseph Smith was killed by a mob, and not by the law. It seems to me that the writers of BSG are also setting up Gaius Baltar to be killed by a mob. Every time he's out in public, the mob wants to kill him.
Of course, the biggest similarity between the prophet Joseph Smith and Gaius Baltar is the polygamy! Joseph Smith had two dozen or more wives. Gaius has a harem of female followers. Jesus never had any wife at all.
Thus we see that Gaius is Joseph Smith and not Jesus.
Comments:
Too right you are on this account!
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posted by : 4/09/2008 10:15 AM
I agree, Baltar seems more like an unwilling prophet. Hopefully he will transform into a less selfish individual as the season progresses.
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posted by : 4/09/2008 3:13 PM
Here's the problem: the religions would need to be reversed. The alleged revelation to Joseph Smith had him teach a vague sort of polytheism to a monotheistic majority. By contrast, in BSG, Baltar, at his muse's insistance, is preaching monotheism to a polytheistic majority.
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posted by
? : 4/11/2008 1:20 PM
Here's the problem: the religions would need to be reversed. The alleged revelation to Joseph Smith had him teach a vague sort of polytheism to a monotheistic majority. By contrast, in BSG, Baltar, at his muse's insistance, is preaching monotheism to a polytheistic majority.Actually, that's brilliant that you spotted that reversal!
Mohammad also had many wives, and he preached monotheism to a polytheistic majority.
Actually, the comments here so far indicate few of the commentators here actually know much about Mormons or Joseph Smith (even if you think you do). Trust me - the comments so far show only a passing familiarity with Mormonism at best.
Joseph Smith did have multiple wives, mostly in secret, but they were wives in at least some sense (even if the marriage ceremonies weren't legal). It doesn't seem like Baltar's many mistresses is any secret, nor is there any claim they are his wives.
Joseph Smith's theology also implied a very vague sort of polytheism, but his rhetoric was always very monotheistic, and he claimed to be a monotheist his whole life. The polytheism comes more from the logical endpoint of some of his more interesting ideas (as well as how later Mormons took up on it).
Anyway, fun discussion.
--Ivan Wolfe
(author of "Why Your Mormon Neighbor Knows More About This Show Than You Do" - an essay in Open Court's upcoming Mission Accomplised or All Frakked Up?: Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy).
Pearls before swine, ye sons of perdition! I am 'The One Mighty and Strong!'.
Baltar is differently Jesus nor do I think he's Joseph Smith, I have many of the same reasons as above so I wont restate them. Also I think after this past episode Baltar not only sees God or an angel from God, but I think the new guy is the devil using Baltar slef-centerness to win over his soul or destroy him or something like like. This is like the cartoons when a character see the good on the right shoulder and the evil on the left. I think will develop into a real interesting story line. Also there is no doubt Baltar is a prophet, I don't think he supposed to be any one specific, but a prophet never the less.
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posted by : 4/13/2008 11:06 PM
I thought I'd let you know about my recent blog entry about
the "Gospel according to Gaius" as featured in last week's episode.
Baltar reminds me more of the main character in Heinlein's "Stranger in a strange land." Perhaps the writers , through this character, are giving a nod to that Hugo Award winning novel.
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posted by : 7/14/2008 3:10 AM
Ive been researching these disc i found in bury in greater manchester,The research as led me to this very interesting person i hated history at school but this guy is very interesting for a start he will prove that joseph smith was just a fraud probably from bury in greater manchester, Read and judge for your self the first ten lines should be enough to get you thinking. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ku3DHWvg4hwC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=17th+century+dr+john+dee+urim+thummim&source=web&ots=fLt5HmyTWJ&sig=lxUiqDhiP6Wm7twNw_e-PLttC7M&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA41,M1 Im still researching i think byron and keats and shelley was involved with this joseph smith. if you read about byron and the others use the names they meantion in a anagram and see what places you get. chris.w from Bolton.
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posted by : 11/17/2008 3:10 AM
Not to mention, Joseph Smith found the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Baltar became a member of the "Quorum of Twelve." Additionally, Joseph Smith had a famous revelation concerning a star called Kolob. "Kobol" is an obvious anagram for Kolob.
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posted by : 6/14/2009 2:28 PM
: 4/09/2008 3:13 PM