I know. You're probably all tired of hearing about him now. He's everywhere. His majestic black fur cascades across your Facebook feeds every minute, bringing his Western Lowland Gorilla greatness to us all. That's right. It's Harambe. Harambe has been made into a meme, an icon, but should we go one step further? Should we make him a god? Harambe does, in fact, have many likenesses to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So, let's look at Harambe as a Christ figure.
1. Both Were Born Amongst Animals
Harambe was born to gorilla parents, therefore by default, Harambe also was born amongst animals. Jesus was also born amongst animals as well. Luke 2:7 says, "and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." Jesus was born in an animal stall, just like Harambe.
2. Harambe Interacted With Children, Just Like Jesus
While Harambe's interactions were not nearly as positive as Jesus Christ's interactions with children, it still is a similarity. Matthew 18:2 says "He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them." This scripture shows Jesus, taking a little child and just plopping this child with a bunch of other people, which is what Harambe would have done with his little child, if given the chance.
2. Harambe was Also Sinless
Harambe was not aware he was sinning. In fact, in the gorilla world, he wasn't. Jesus died sinless as seen in 1 John 3:5 which says, "You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin." Harambe and Jesus both died innocently.
3. Jesus and Harambe Both Died for the Sake of Others
Both Jesus Christ, Son of God and Man, Savior of the Universe and Harambe, beloved gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo have a major commonality we all can't ignore: both died to set others free. In Matthew 20:28 it says, "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Harambe gave his life so a three year old boy wouldn't die from some sort of blunt force trauma to the head. Both scarified themselves for others and we should remember that while properly paying homage to both.
4. Harambe Probably Also Died in the Crucifix Position
We have essentially no evidence of this, but we can absolutely speculate that this is totally a thing that happened.
5. Both Harambe and Christ Have Legacies that Live Past Their Deaths
While Jesus Christ is technically God of all and is not actually dead, his legacy of what he did on earth is pretty far reaching. With approximately 2.2 billion people claiming to at least believe in Jesus and a major religious text featuring his life and death, Jesus is pretty well known. Harambe has made my Facebook feed a lot more gorilla oriented since May 28th, 2016 so basically the same thing.
6. If You Completely Misinterpret Both the Bible and the Harambe Shooting, You Can Make Your Own Dreamworld a Reality
This one isn't hard. Just make Jesus or Harambe act how you think they should have based on your preexisting political and ideological beliefs and you never have to deal with the fact that at points you are wrong.
