Back in 2001 I like most gamers became bespelled by Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved. It was the must play shooter and it set the stage for how all subsequent FPS (first person shooter) games would be made. At the time the plot or narrative was relatively benign, humans in the 26th century wage war against a religious collective of aliens known as The Covenant who are bent on genocidal war. The first installment in what is now the biggest FPS franchise next to Call of Duty, didn't lend much insight on the beliefs of these aliens you spend hours slaughtering. They were elusively depicted as evil radicals who incited war against mankind. In 2004, greater knowledge about The Covenant became accessible through books and the advent of Halo 2. The sequel to the successful Combat Evolved delved deep into the roots of the Covenant's faith and what their overall goal. Gamers discovered that The Covenant is trying to merit salvation by waging war against the enemies of their gods (The Forerunners) and by activating relics like the halos. Here the collective of aliens become closely associated with many religions. However, the closest semblance the Covenant has to any religion is Catholicism. In Catholicism during the Middle Ages, it was popular for Christians to try and merit their salvation through penitential warfare. The most famous of these was the Crusades. Here is can be interpreted that the Covenant is on a crusade to rid the galaxy of the infidels (humans) and seize the relics of their gods.
In Halo 2 the leaders of this alien regimen are revealed to be The Prophets. This reinforces that religion is at the core of the Covenant and that like the Church and Umma (Islam) prophets are leaders and wage war for their faith. In Halo 2, The Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret look very clerical in their robes and their crowns look like futuristic pope hats. The Arbiter who is introduced, is an elite warrior summoned to route heresy and keep the Covenant in balance. He is like the Grand Inquisitor of the Holy Roman Inquisition. By Halo 3, disillusionment sets in and the Covenant is at the edge of oblivion. Faith is not found in the UNSC or the humans except for strong humanism and Greco-Roman trust in technology and heroes like Master Chief (Achilles/Thor). In Halo: The Flood, a book that tells the events of Combat Evolved, a female soldier is about to pray of God of the Bible, but she shakes herself and resolves not to seek his help but accomplish victory by her own strength.
Here I should make mention that the UNSC (United Nations Space Corps.), which is the military monopoly of mankind, has named all their weapons, ships, and projects after Greek gods and Norse mythos. The Spartan Project II, which gives birth to Master Chief if named after the famous Spartans of Sparta. Master Chief himself wares MJOLINER armor, which was the armor of the Norse god Thor. Everything regarding humanity in the Halo Saga has Greco-Roman and Norse nuance. The Covenant in contrast have very religious names, including that their ships are called: Truth and Reconciliation, High Charity, and other names that denote Christianity. Now on November 8th, 2012, Halo 4 will be released. This is technically the eighth installment in the Halo franchise. This time instead of battling the Covenant, Master Chief shall wage war against the Promethean, a servant-warrior class of the Forerunners. Now Sparta shall fight the Greeks, since Prometheus was the god who created fire.
I have come to the conclusion that what Bungie and now 343 Industries has been doing is getting generations of people back involved with Greek & Norse mythos. The principalities (fallen angels) who took the form of Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Minerva, and rest of pantheon of Greco-Roman & Norse gods have returned only in future form. 343 is perpetuating a narrative first wrought by Bungie that makes the Greek gods look like the denizens of technology and creators of great civilization and paints orthodox religion, in particular all monotheistic faiths as dogma and behind the learning curve. I am now certain from examining the Halo Saga extensively (I was a fan for ten years. I read the books and did research. I was a Halonian) that there is an insidious underlining message that is teaching young people to think Greek gods are cool and that anything that offers advanced technology like the Forerunners is worth embracing. It also teaches young people to treat religion as a threat like the Covenant. It is conditioning minds to associate evil with religious groups or organizations like The Church.
It is astounding how tangled the web of the Halo Saga has been weaved. It is so difficult at a glance to see the undertones that flow beneath a epic of such scale like the Odyssey. I was once blind, but now I see. I thought this enthralling universe full of conflict and politics was just some story meant to amuse us gamers. Now I know that all along it has been part of a scheme to make people think monotheism leads to genocide and that Greco-Roman-Norse beliefs and Humanism are mankind's salvation. Halo is a crafty mixed mythology set in space and the future. It is a highly addictive shooter, but beneath the thread of entertainment lies a anti-Christ message and the acceptance of Fallen Angels (the Greek & Norse gods) and their help through technologies to conquer the enemy.
So be warned fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, that not everything is as it appears. Watch over your children vigilantly. Research what games they are playing. The best resources you can use are wiki sites and YouTube to quickly find out what is contained within a video game. May Christ keep us safe in these times, when his enemies are glorified and those who stand for righteousness are persecuted. Stand firm and please consider my observation regarding the Halo Saga. It is not easy for me to come to these conclusions, I was a devote fan of Halo. I stood in line at midnight to get Halo 2 and Halo 3. I owned countless paraphernalia including a full Mark VI Master Chief mask. I played Halo Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo Reach for more hours than I dare disclose. I was obsessed, but now I regret not having seen the deception hidden in Forerunner Terminals. I tried to ignore that I was killing aliens with names and zeal founded in a orthodox religion that had similarities to my own faith. I didn't want to notice that the humans had no beliefs, except their own self-reliance. But as it says in Amazing Grace, "I once was blind, but now I see."
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