God is often conceived as the supreme being and principal object of faith in most religions. He is considered the creator and sustainer of the Universe. He is addressed as Yahweh and/or Jehovah (Latin: Iehova) in the Hebrew Bible, and as Allah in the Qur'an.
God in the Castlevania series
Original series
In the original series, God was not mentioned very frequently; however, He was the one who Mathias Cronqvist blamed for the death of his wife, Elisabetha. After Mathias's wife died, he was supposedly bedridden with grief, although the truth was that he harbored a great resentment toward God. He believed that since he risked his life in the name of God, he did not deserve to have his wife taken from him, especially when the only thing he desired was Elisabetha's safety in return. As a result, he engineered an elaborate scheme to turn into a powerful vampire, claiming that if God's decree was a mortal life, then he should defy it. This was the catalyst for Mathias becoming the vampire the world would later know as Dracula.
Despite all Dracula had done, it appears that God bears him no ill-will, likely out of understanding of Mathias's plight, as Dracula is reincarnated as Soma Cruz to apparently give him a second chance in life.
God's power is felt throughout the series, such as in the ending of Castlevania (N64), in which Rosa is resurrected as a human, apparently by divine intervention.
In addition, the art of alchemy was described as the principled study of God's creation of this world.
Lords of Shadow
In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, God was more prominent. The Brotherhood to which Gabriel Belmont belonged was essentially an order that protected people in God's name. In addition, the main antagonist Satan's true goal was an attack against God. And even though God never appears, He somewhat acts like an unseen observer.
Throughout the game, Gabriel begins to question his faith, but in the end, he sees the truth in God's message in comparison to Satan's goals. He tells Satan that God loves them both and that they only need to ask and they will be forgiven. He rebukes Satan's claim to rule as equals to or above God and for preferring to rule with power and might, rather than offer love and forgiveness. In the end, Gabriel defeats Satan and asks for forgiveness from God.
However, upon learning the truth about the God Mask, and crushed by his failure to revive his wife, Gabriel succumbed to doubts regarding God, especially, upon reuniting with the vampire Laura, questioning how God could allow a child like her, an innocent, to be turned into a creature of the night. His remaining piety and other good qualities are removed once Gabriel allows Laura to turn him into a vampire. Furthermore, upon absorbing the powers of, and defeating, the Forgotten One, Gabriel abandons God, symbolically by crushing his holy weapon, the Vampire Killer, leaving it behind in the dimensional prison that held the gigantic demon.
When Gabriel finally falls utterly into darkness, it later serves to reinforce his belief that God simply isn't worth serving, and that no matter the evils taken down, another would merely take its place as long as evil could flourish in the hearts of men. This existential realization ultimately serves to fuel Gabriel's hatred of God, who allowed such evils to flourish unchecked in the first place and allowed him to suffer just so the greater evils could be undone. Gabriel then resolves to become that evil to counter the other evils while exacting a price for his "protection" by hunting humanity down, becoming a cruel parody of what he once was in order to defy God's will, wishing to remake the world to his image. Despite this, he does not revel in what he has become. In return, God appears to still love and favor him as his chosen one, as he did not take away Gabriel's immunity to holy power, such as the divine incantation explosion, which wiped out the army of the Brotherhood but left him fully unscathed, and even allows this protection to extend to his son, who inherited his immortality, which is likely to ensure he could start Gabriel's path of redemption. In addition, God also resurrected Marie Belmont, who states that she was sent back to help Gabriel, with the resurrection clearly being not only in spirit but also in flesh and not bound to the castle, as she is able to open a portal to Alucard to warn him of the castle's intentions, with God also apparently having blessed her, as her blood is able to counter Carmilla's curse. It is assumed that God's resurrection of Marie is to prove to Gabriel that God never resented him despite all his despicable deeds and he could find happiness with his family. Ultimately, God's plans worked, as Gabriel came to abandon his crusade against God in favor for a family life, no longer wishing to be a thorn in God's side for the sake of his family, although he had not forgiven God.
Castlevania (animated series)
God does not make an appearance in the animated series; however, the religious institution, the Church of Wallachia, claims that all their actions are part of His will, including the burning of Lisa Ţepeş and the attempt to slaughter the Speakers. Later, the Bishop responsible for Lisa's death claimed that his lifework was in God's name, but is faced with the claim that God has abandoned him, for his despicable fanaticism and crimes make Him sick. Indeed, the Church the Bishop belongs to provides no sanctity and does not protect him from Blue Fangs, implying that God considers the Bishop's gory fate well deserved. Later, God's power manifests when a pure-of-heart priest channels it to make Holy Water, then used to turn the tide against Dracula's armies of demons. It's worth noting that God's power is still channeled even if the priest is corrupted or dead, as long he retains consciousness to bless something, as it was demonstrated when Hector resurrected the evil Bishop to bless Braila's river by Carmilla's command. According to Sypha Belnades, the Speakers are enemies of God because they want humanity to work together, with this being the reason they pass down their accumulated knowledge orally instead of writing it down, as they believe this prevents God from destroying their knowledge.
Uniquely among Castlevania stories, the series also explores God from a Sufi Muslim point of view. Isaac claims that God intends to free the demons from Hell, hence that his work as a forgemaster is divine and necessary. He practices his devotion through everything from prayer to self-harm.
See also
External links
- God at Wikipedia