A question for Christian Zelda fans

[Swordslinger-Christan]

I kinda agree to what dakaptin is saying, only I think Zelda is okay just as long as you don't get to into it. But threre are games out there that are not good to play (from my view). Like the game inclave, it looks ok at a glance but if you look into it theres a lot of black magic, and demonic cretures.
p.s. No offense to any one.

 

[creed108]

IN the games link has magic and stuff but all power comes from God but i dont think God would give "a game" magic or power.

 

[thecarlyjean]

i have only played the ocarina of time and it took me 3 years to beat.. and the magic stuff is a tough issue. It isnt like he is chanting spells... he does sword stuff with the potion and is healed by them.... but nothing really spells or witchy.... i want to play all the other zeldas but my parents bought me a ps2 instead of a gamecube... oh well...

 

[Fonzy]

just wanna say welcome.

 

[thecarlyjean]

you really want posts dont you?

 

[PRprince]

Hello, I'm new! Yay, starting a new thread for my first post. I'm so bold. Anyway, I would like to get an oppinion from some of my fellow Christian Zelda fans, specifically Ocarina of Time (though you might be able to help with knowledge from other games). I don't know about you, but while playing the games, I've noticed what might be taken as parallels to Christianity in them. One big example would be that in the games for the original NES, Link carries a shield with a cross on it. Now Ocarina of Time goes deepest into the theology of Hyrule, and they state that the universe was created by three goddesses, one representing power, one wisdom, and another courage. This seems to me a sort of Trinity parallel. One thing that comes to mind is what I call the "Zelda theology verse," Jeremiah 51:15 (NIV): "He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding." Also, the fact that Link has the Triforce of Courage dwelling in him to help him in his task makes me think of how the Holy Spirit dwells in us and gives us courage.

Anyway, I'm not really asking if that's what the game was actually going for, since it would be close to impossible to know the makers' real intent. What I want to do with this parallel is write some fanfiction that could reach a Zelda audience but have Christian lessons in it. Do you think this is too much of a stretch? And how far should I go with it and what alterations or additions might I have to make to the religion to make it work? I think it's a good thing, but I have trouble calling God, "she" if you know what I mean. So to use one of these fine smilies,

i dont really think that the similarity's wer on purpose since the creator of the story of zelda , the triforce,etc was japanese and as u might know there aren't many christian japanese in japan.

its not like in the U.S. or south america or europe where the concept is one that everyone is aware and familiar with.

i think its a good idea to write fanfiction about something u like.
i personally have played/beaten ; link 2 the past, ocarina of time, and majoras mask. and i also really like zelda. but one thing is a kool videogame and another thing is the things of God. and i dont think it wise to try to combine the two.

y ?

well here are some good reasons.

the bible and everything in it is balanced in such a way that i believe any additions to it would be catastrophic [NOTE-1]

another reason is that im a christian but there are alot of confused people in this forum many non christians and many others who claim to be christian but really arent , and dont know which direction there walking. so ur idea would open the doors to even more confusion and misuse of verses, verses taken out of context, and alot other stuff. so confusion is a big factor.

i really like zelda and if u need any help or anything dont hesitate to pm me or something. and btw i hate windwaker, they (in my opinion) sold-out to what the zelda's legend is about. and the graphics look like a nursery program 4 toddlers lol.

and about ur having to be careful because theres alot of teenagers here who think they know everything, ur right. but its bigger than that u find so called ''college students'' trying to debate with kids about stuff 'normal' people their age shouldn't be interested in. and in the process trying to make the kids they are debating with , look stupid, and uneducated so they can exalt themselves.

i mean wat kind of 40 yr old adult would argue about a videogame with a 11 yr old?

anyways they dont realize that what jesus said about trying to exalt urself and being humbled instead applys.

ok thats enough, i talk 2 much =)

ps about the note i left in the beggining, the ony exeption about that is the book of acts, which many christian leaders believe that the book of acts is constantly being written in heaven ith the acts of the church of today. kool hu ?

 

[morningstar2651]

I've decided. I'm making the deities male. Horray for me!

And if anyone has anything against it.... well, write your own story! This is my story!

Well, maybe I would care if you came up with a REALLY GOOD reason for me not to, but I doubt it.

But...what is so wrong with a female God? It's a fictional story.

Wouldn't fan fiction about God be more offensive/blasphemous than fan fiction about a game?

I'm confused...I don't see your logic.

 

[Vulgivagus hagiographus]

But...what is so wrong with a female God? It's a fictional story.

Wouldn't fan fiction about God be more offensive/blasphemous than fan fiction about a game?

I'm confused...I don't see your logic.

What I meant by saying I'm using male dieties is that I'm going to use God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit how we know them in real life.

The reason for writing the story at all is to expose truths about Christianity through a ficticious setting. This probably isn't the best example, but think of the Left Behind series. They're fiction, but they use real Christianity in them to show how God affects our lives. I'm doing that only using the imaginary setting of the Legend of Zelda games. It's just catered to a different audience. There are people out there that would never pick up a modern setting book like Left Behind but would be able to connect better with their familiar hero in a familiar fantasy world. (Weird idea, but true. If you're a fan of a certain genere, why go reading other generes?)

It does make sense. It's reatching people that might not normally wouldn't read a Christian story. We all have our own people we feel called to reach.

 

[SoC]

I'm writing this in response to what I've read in only the first page, so don't flame me for being late.

First off, it's a game. A freaking game. As much as I love the Legend of Zelda (enough to have a personality named after Link, do a comic using the first game's sprites and write my own fan-fiction - all of which can be found on my site), it's only a game.

Secondly, it was not intended to parallel Christianity. How do I know this? I've researched it some. Here's a few things to think about.

- There are three goddesses in OoT. In other games they refer to "gods." This is called polytheism, the worship of many gods.
- The setting is medeival fantasy, so there's bound to be some religious undertones in it.
- The Triforce is a spiritual artifact of power. God has no need for anything like this.
- The gods of the series are not very caring, IMO. The whole story of Wind Waker is that as Gannondorf was escaping his seal, instead of striking him down or just sending a new hero, they flooded the land. I could see doing that if the whole land was filled with evil (ala Noah's Ark), but for one man?
- I don't remember where to find it, but I once found an article that detailed the similarities between Japanese religions and the symbology in the Legend of Zelda games.

That said, I still enjoy the game for what it is. It is a game, made for entertainment. I don't believe it should be used for evangelism, but if you can make it work, more power to you.

As for writing the fanfic, go for it. I'd personally question changing the elements of the story to make it more Christian-like, but it's your story, you decide that.

 

[LovingMinistry]

Yep, enjoy them for what they are. LOVE the Zelda series. Fave would still be Link to the Past...

Zelda 1
- The cross on the big and small shields (this could just be symbolic of the crusaders of the dark ages)
- Gannon is called "Prince Darkness" (satan maybe?)
- Then there's Faeries (more mythical stuff)
- A book of Magic (doesn't look like a bible)

I'll see if I can remember/analyze the rest.

GOD Bless.

 

[Breetai]

i have only played the ocarina of time and it took me 3 years to beat.. and the magic stuff is a tough issue. It isnt like he is chanting spells... he does sword stuff with the potion and is healed by them.... but nothing really spells or witchy.... i want to play all the other zeldas but my parents bought me a ps2 instead of a gamecube... oh well...

If you're still cheacking this thread...

Give Dark Cloud 2 a try(or the first one).

 

[Shaun_the_reborn]

Well I am a huge Zelda fan and I've heard that mentioned a numbe rof times. your right when you say it wasn't intended I am sure of that but you can definetly get some religious stuff out of it weather it's how it was intended or not you can think of it how like. The only problem I see is comapring the triroce peiceis teo the holy trinity would mean you saying Link represent one part, zelda represents one part and then Ganondorf represents one part which wouldn't be a good thing seeing as how he is supposed to be the ultimate evil

 

[Sonsglow]

x

 

[Vulgivagus hagiographus]

I like your thinking, Sonsglow! Actually, I wouldn't bee too surprised if the three goddesses was not Biblically inspired since three interconnected dieties is a popular device in fantasy stories. I agree with your look on Ganondorf though. I've always looked at Ganon and Ganondorf as different characters, Ganon being a sort of Satan and Ganondorf being someone who quite literally "gave his soul to the devil."

That's actually a really good point with the Gerudo symbol. I think that it was actually controversial that they used that and it was changed in later editions of the game. I have a different theory why they used that symbol, but I'm not quite sure if it's appropriate to post on a Christian site....

 

[SoC]

http://www.zeldauniverse.net/main.php?page=article34
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/main.php?page=article35

These two articles show where the triforce symbol really came from.

I'm sorry, but as I said before, there is no connection between my favorite Nintendo game series and the Bible. Japanese culture is way to much into new age and Bhuddism to be linked.

That said, some of the imagery is based on medieval times, where there were lots of crosses and such around because of the Roman Caothlic church. That is more likely to be where the "links" (to the Bible and Christianity - not the main characters) come from.

 

[Vulgivagus hagiographus]

Thanks for those links, SoC! They were very interesting. That site also had some other good articles too.