Why do authors use the literary technique of a Christ-figure in their piece?

For example Melville protrays the main character in Billy Budd, Sailor to be a Christ-figure. What is the point of doing this? Why does he use the allusion when he was in no way religous? Thanks ahead!Why do authors use the literary technique of a Christ-figure in their piece?
It makes the character appear great and god-like. As a Christ figure they are seemingly untouchable so if they do fall it will be very dramatic.Why do authors use the literary technique of a Christ-figure in their piece?
Mary Shelly wasn't a greek pagan, yet she referenced prometheus.








Religions are often well known and deal with a lot of the big questions, thus it is easily to refer, allude, and borrow from them in a literary piece, adding a bit more depth to the writing, for people who are acquainted with that culture. It doesn't matter if the author believes it, just that his audience is steeped in it.
The reader is disposed to sympathize with Billy, who certainly


doesn't deserve the punishment he receives. What better way to do that than to purposely liken him to Christ?
I'd like to know where you got the idea that Melville 'was in no way religious': the majority of his books contain references to Christianity! Take ';Moby Dick'; for example, in which he seems to imply that Ahab, in pursuing revenge against the whale, thus brings down his entire crew with him. He seems to be suggesting that revenge, rather than forgiveness, is not always the best way to make amends - a very Christian idea.





That aside, I am not insisting that Melville was a Christian. What child could fail to be comforted by the presence of Aslan in the ';Chronicles of Narnia';, by C.S. Lewis, even without recognising - at least consciously - that he alludes to the figure of Christ? I myself am not religious, though some Christian ideas, like forgiveness, appeal to me as a reader.





In other words, making references to religion does not necessarily mean that the author must therefore be religious; it may be that the author finds the idea appealing, or considers it the perfect means for conveying a character and his or her situation. Sometimes an allusion helps to capture a reader's attention by introducing some familiarity; and often it is an author's way of ensuring that we treat the themes of the work seriously.