Stories of our Lives

Three Christs


Three Christs tells the story of an extraordinary experiment that began in 1959 at Michigan's Ypsilanti State Hospital, where Dr. Alan Stone treated three paranoid schizophrenic patients who each believe they are Jesus Christ. Dr. Stone pioneers a simple, yet revolutionary treatment: instead of submitting the patients to electroshock, forced restraints and tranquilizers, he puts them in a room together to confront their delusions. What transpires is a darkly comic, intensely dramatic story about the nature of identity and the power of empathy.






Watch Trailer

Read the Review from The New York Review of Books


Discussion Questions


  1. What motivated Dr. Alan Stone to study schizophrenia in his three patients?

  2. In what ways did the relationship between the four men change?

  3. Does this movie make you think differently about Jesus of Nazareth? Why or why not?

  4. In what way do you think it’s possible to understand someone else’s delusion?

  5. Is there a character or scene or a line from the movie that struck you?

  6. Does the movie remind you of any biblical stories or texts or any other classic literature?
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