Was Halo fundamentally Christian?

[didactics]

In this yt video what's discussed is the change of leadership in the Halo franchise and why this doesn't seem too promising. She makes some pretty good points, in particular the chief of staff looks like a DEI hire. But I couldn't help but notice what she said near the start of the video, that Halo had some Christian roots. Her reason? well the main protagonist is named John and he's a spartan numbered 117 in reference to John 1:17. But that doesn't really sell it for me. I don't think Halo was ever fundamentally Christian in any significant way. I know there are a lot of references to Christian lingo, but I'm convinced that it was only surface deep and nothing theologically rich in its messaging. Other references I've heard of is "covenant" and "The Prophet" of which their names were Truth, Mercy and Regret. And there is that famous quote from the Gravemind in a Halo 2 cutscene "I am a monument to all your sins."

The second thing I noticed, which in some sense is a good point, is that in a general sense when someone comes along and makes a new product out of a classic and inserts their woke messaging it's disrespectful to the creators. In a general sense she has a point because if someone wants to make a movie that has woke messaging they can create their own thing, instead of adding things to an original story that doesn't seem to fit with the narrative too well. However, and this is more of a nit pick, but her reason for saying Halo shouldn't have made this particular move with the queer agenda (by adding skins that resemble pride on the spartans armor) is because Halo has Christian roots.

That being said, I think her criticism is valid because being overtly woke is something gamers generally don't like even if they agree politically. Gamers generally are more interested in creative storytelling and when certain political elements are introduced poorly it's not going to be received well. Granted, video games aren't the best way to tell a story, as comics and novels do a better job of it, but it still matters to the gamer.

But what are your thoughts? do you have any opinions about how Christian Halo was or wasn't?

 

[ozso]

We'll have to see if 'go woke go broke' plays out once again.

 

[didactics]

We'll have to see if 'go woke go broke' plays out once again.

Yes, exactly! And I imagine there will be some hype initially once their first game releases whenever that is. But something else to consider is what will be gamers opinion 3-4 years after launch. As with Halo Infinite, many disliked that it was feature-wise incomplete, and only now it's starting to feel like something they wanted at launch and that's just speaking about multiplayer. As for campaign content, it seemed to have a lot of potential but there was only one kind of biome in the open world. And that's really the stubborn thing about DEI hires, because it leaves much to be desired. And maybe if they continue down this path, they will go broke. But if not for their preferential hiring, they can jump ship and easily get a new job.

 

[didactics]

But I wanted to make a case for why I thought Halo was not fundamentally Christian. For example, isn't it telling that the enemies are the covenant? or the leaders of this are the prophets? In one sense that sounds like a reference to Christ posing the religious leaders of the day, but do the writers of Halo have a disdain for corrupt religion or is it a message that views negatively any religious establishment in general? More importantly, what is their interpretation of John 1:17? Are their views more or less like that of Andy Stanley when he argued in a sermon that the Christian faith must be “unhitched” from the Old Testament? These are all things to consider, because as far as I know the writers were not openly Christian or stating plainly that they wanted biblically accurate allegory.

 

[FireDragon76]

Actually, Halo contains a not so subtle critique of religion: the Covenant are actually motivated by religious fanaticism and it causes them to misunderstand what things like the Halo ring itself are.

The Halo series is also drawing from pop science fiction, like the Aliens series, or Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers or similar pulp sci-fi war stories. It isn't specifically endorsing a uniquely Christian perspective, and I wouldn't expect it to do so.

 

[didactics]

Actually, Halo contains a not so subtle critique of religion: the Covenant are actually motivated by religious fanaticism and it causes them to misunderstand what things like the Halo ring itself are.

The Halo series is also drawing from pop science fiction, like the Aliens series, or Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers or similar pulp sci-fi war stories. It isn't specifically endorsing a uniquely Christian perspective, and I wouldn't expect it to do so.

Yes, that's a helpful thing to point out. I guess in a broad sense you could say that Halo has Christian roots but as you're saying it's only really criticizing religious fanaticism, think of puritanical. But as far as I know there has not been a popular video game with a lot of theological messaging or else the writers would be clear about it.

The funny thing is I haven't played video games since the release of Halo 4 but recently I've found it interesting to listen to popular YouTube channels that review Halo games to get a sense of what gamers' feelings are about future Halo titles. I guess when I came across this particular video that I shared here, it was more of a nit pick about something she brought up. She was using an example of 343 industries adding armor skins that resemble pride colors as reason for Bungie to be offended by, assuming they would not like it being the Christian company they are supposedly. But honestly, I don't think they would be offended. Only if they are pushing the pride stuff too much, I can see how former Bungie wouldn't like it from a business perspective.

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Christian roots based on one reference that doesn't really follow with the game's theme? No.

Most likely softening the FPS game shooed away the "hard core" fans who like First Person Shooters.

 

[FireDragon76]

Yes, that's a helpful thing to point out. I guess in a broad sense you could say that Halo has Christian roots but as you're saying it's only really criticizing religious fanaticism, think of puritanical. But as far as I know there has not been a popular video game with a lot of theological messaging or else the writers would be clear about it.

It's not really a critique of their zeal for religion, but religion itself. The Covenant see reality through their religious notions, instead of having scientific curiosity.

 

[RileyG]

We'll have to see if 'go woke go broke' plays out once again.

Keep politics out of games!

 

[FireDragon76]

I just watched the first few minutes of the video... to painful to finish.

John 117 is the name of a character that is a clone. It's pure coincidence it's also a Bible verse.

I'm straining here to see Halo as necessarily being in favor of Christianity (particularly young kind of Christianity), unless you somehow think Christianity is nothing but teenage/young adult male power fantasies. Some of the actual underlying themes in the game critique religion as superstitious.

 

[RileyG]

I just watched the first few minutes of the video... to painful to finish.

John 117 is the name of a character that is a clone. It's pure coincidence it's also a Bible verse.

Yrying to see Halo as being in favor of Christianity is stupid, unless you somehow think Christianity is nothing but teenage/young adult power fantasies. Some of the actual underlying themes in the game critique religion as superstitious.

I've never played Halo.

Isn't it a shooting game?

I doubt it would be religious, then.

Just my opinion.

 

[FireDragon76]

I've never played Halo.

Isn't it a shooting game?

I doubt it would be religious, then.

Just my opinion.

Yes, it's a sci-fi shooter. It's based off alot of pop culture and Hollywood sci-fi tropes. And it tends to be overhyped by its fanbase, that's always been the case.

 

[RileyG]

Yes, it's a sci-fi shooter. It's actually only somewhat above average, as far as shooters go, and is based off alot of pop culture and Hollywood sci-fi tropes.

Never been a fan of those type of games.

Although, I did play the James Bond 90s game on the N64 growing up.

 

[FireDragon76]

Never been a fan of those type of games.

Although, I did play the James Bond 90s game on the N64 growing up.

That was another popular shooter, even more influential than Halo in many ways.

I played the original Wolfenstein growing up. This is going to date me, but I played it even when it wasn't even a 3D game. The 2D action stealth adventure game in the 1980's was much better in terms of storytelling. I remember it was the first home computer game where the characters on the screen actually talked to you over the computer's speaker... and they were speaking German too...

 

[RileyG]

That was another popular shooter, even more influential than Halo in many ways.

I played the original Wolfenstein growing up. This is going to date me, but I played it even when it wasn't even a 3D game. The 2D action stealth adventure game in the 1980's was much better in terms of storytelling. I remember it was the first home computer game where the characters on the screen actually talked to you over the computer's speaker... and they were speaking German too...

That’s fascinating! I love retro games and retro media!

(I was born in 1995, and I hope that comment doesn’t offend you. I grew up in the 2000s)

 

[ozso]

That’s fascinating! I love retro games and retro media!

(I was born in 1995, and I hope that comment doesn’t offend you. I grew up in the 2000s)

That cuts me to the quick, you whipper snapper.

 

[RileyG]

That cuts me to the quick, you whipper snapper.

Lol! It boggles my mind some of my coworkers were born in 2006 or 2007.

 

[ozso]

Lol! It boggles my mind some of my coworkers were born in 2006 or 2007.

Okay, boomer.

 

[RileyG]

Okay, boomer.

Lol. I’m a millennial, it’s true time goes faster as you get older, it’s frightening

 

[ozso]

Lol. I’m a millennial, it’s true time goes faster as you get older, it’s frightening

Time goes by faster in retrospect. If you're looking forward to a certain date, like if you're eagerly looking forward to Christmas day, then the passage of time still crawls. But also when you're out and see Christmas decorations, it seems like last Christmas was just a week ago.