And the news got worse. It appeared that there was this whole other person Jesus Christ whose birthday a lot of people tended to confuse with mine. I was personally outraged. It was a long time before I forgave the Lord for that.

Ava Gardner
About This Quote

The author, Kurt Vonnegut, said, “And the news got worse. It appeared that there was this whole other person Jesus Christ whose birthday a lot of people tended to confuse with mine. I was personally outraged. It was a long time before I forgave the Lord for that.” What this quote is referring to is what we call “the Messiah Complex” today.

The Messiah Complex refers to the desire of many people throughout history to be seen as a messianic savior who will bring about a new era in human history. When people feel they have been chosen by God to perform certain actions, it becomes easy to feel entitled and superior to others who have not been chosen or chosen differently. The Messiah Complex can lead us into self-righteousness and arrogance.

In this quote, Vonnegut is describing his own reaction when he was initially confused about his birthday being on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. He was upset when he found out there were so many people in the world who thought he had a different birthday than he did. Both Vonnegut and Christ suffered from the Messiah Complex when they were in their time, but unlike Christ, Vonnegut realized his mistake and apologized for it later in life.

Source: Ava: My Story

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  1. I'm here to tell you, there ain't much forgiveness in that old-time religion. That particular savior was a mean son of a bitch. If you sinned, honey, he was going to get you, no doubt about it.
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  3. I wish to live to 150 years old, but the day I die, I wish it to be with a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.
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  5. Maybe, in the final analysis, they saw me as something I wasn't and I tried to turn them into something they could never be. I loved them all but maybe I never understood any of them. I don't think they understood me.
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