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  • Subject: Halo as a Christian Allegory
Subject: Halo as a Christian Allegory

Only in the last decade or so has computer entertainment started to mature into something truly worthy of being considered an art form. To some, this idea is still ridiculous. How could a medium that prides itself on virtual, bloody battlefields and fat, Italian plumbers be an art form? There are many different factors that could play into this argument, such as the very beauty of the virtual worlds themselves or the narratives that are growing ever more complex, putting other mediums to shame. Video games are reaching a point where they are achieving a great level of complexity. Truly, this is the exception and not the rule in the industry, but can't the same be said for Hollywood or the New York Times Bestsellers list? The main point of this article is to point to and flesh out a particular game franchise that is very near and dear to my heart: Halo. I think that looking at an example of a game that can provide entertainment and something more is a way to give validity to the industry.

The Halo franchise is a shining example of how something very mainstream can be something very deep, well made, and rewarding for many reasons. Millions and millions have played this massive property, and yet few have taken into account the subtexts of the story as a whole. I believe that there are many parts of the Halo narrative that point to the scriptures. I would even argue that the developers of the game intended the story as a Christian allegory. Perhaps they used this symbolism to craft an epic story and not as an evangelism tool, but the evidence is there. There is far too much to simply blow off and assume mere coincidence. I've done some research, and I can't find anything on the web that lays these Christian symbolisms out in any sort of a coherent manner, so here is my attempt.

There's no denying that Christ is truly the focal point of the entire Bible. He is the fulfillment of the many Old Testament prophecies and a direct influence (in human form) on the events of the New Testament and its writers. His sacrifice and the salvation it provides is THE reason for the gospel. It only makes sense to look for this Christ-like figure in the Halo universe and you don't have to look far. The Master Chief, the main character and hero of the franchise, fits this description very well. One thing that is often overlooked is the character's real name. We don't know his last name; we only know his military serial number, 117. Thus, he is often referred to as John 117. Prior to the release of Halo 3, the conclusion of the saga, the slogan "BELIEVE" became associated with the franchise. The main character, the Chief, was to be the hope and inspiration for all of mankind as evil was bearing down on them. This is where his name comes into play. This is John 1:17 (note the resemblance to John 117) from the NIV translation: "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
This verse, and thus, the Master Chief's name, is clearly a reference to the saving work of Christ.

So what is he saving us from exactly? Well this is where things get complex, and I may lose some of the less fanatical Halo fans with all of these technicalities. Best start with the name of the franchise, which has religious undertones in and of itself. Halo is named after the many installations (known as Halos) that are scattered throughout the fictional universe. It is discovered relatively early on that they are designed for one purpose: to cleanse the galaxy of a life-ending threat. This threat is called "The Flood." The Flood is a seemingly ancient race of aliens that are parasitic in nature and reanimate those that they slay in battle. They multiply at such an alarming rate that they are basically impossible to destroy entirely, and many civilizations have fallen to them. They are savage and brutal, and operate as a hive mind, linked directly to their "leader", the Gravemind. The Gravemind seems to be a representation of sin itself, and even says so about halfway through the second game. He tells mankind that he is "A monument to all their sins" and his very name seems to point to the idea of death in sin, also known as Total Depravity. He also has certain characteristics of the devil and false prophets/ angels because he often begins his statements with the phrase "Do not be afraid." He often references himself as earth's "salvation" and "peace", which is no doubt a deception. He even corrupts the Master Chief's artificial intelligence, Cortana, at one point, and makes her spew out false prophecies like "There will be no more sadness, no more envy, no more anger." The Gravemind has every intention to destroy mankind through the power of the Flood.
Now back to the Halo installations. They were built by a now seemingly extinct race known as the "Forerunners." The rings, when activated (there are 7 of them, one of many 7s throughout the game) destroy all sentient life within the galaxy's radius, leaving the flood to starve from lack of suitable hosts. Interestingly, the technology of the Forerunners gives the Master Chief and all of humanity a chance to stop the flood, but at a serious cost: death for all (perhaps indicating that we are all headed towards death without a savior?). John the Baptist is often referred to as "the forerunner" in the gospels, so it makes sense that these Forerunners would aid the true savior, the Chief, through their past accomplishments (not to mention the many warnings of the Flood, (a.k.a. sin) that they left behind).

This is where yet another Biblical reference comes into play: the Covenant. The Covenant is a unified group of alien species hell bent on activating the Halo installations to bring about "The Great Journey". They are religious fanatics through and through (their ships even have religious names like "Truth and Reconciliation" and "Seraph"), and will stop at nothing to "cleanse" the universe. They ironically worship all Forerunner technology and consider it holy. They are blissfully unaware that activating these rings actually leads to mass extinction and not to true salvation from the Flood. The hierarchs of the Covenant are called "Prophets" (ironically named "Truth" and "Mercy"), and throughout the course of the series they are proven to be corrupt, irrational, and ignorant of the truth about the Halos. It seems to me that the Covenant is representative of the "law" because of their inability to provide true salvation through their endeavors. Because we are saved through faith and not works (remember, the creators of the game tell us to BELIEVE in the Chief) the law is not enough to save us, therefore the Covenant's activation of the Halos is not enough to provide TRUE salvation.

So how does one activate all of the Halos? Via the Ark. The Ark is a giant installation located at the center of the fictional galaxy that connects all of the installations together and can ultimately end all life, and therefore end the flood. This is where the Noahic covenant comes into play. In Genesis, God promises to never again destroy the earth with a flood by taking up a covenant with Noah. The Ark, therefore, is what saves all of sentient life from the Flood by instead destroying everything that the flood could consume. The Covenant wish to activate the installation and believe that this work will truly save them. Just as a belief which relies solely on the law, is not enough to provide true salvation, so is the activation of this false "Ark" not enough to truly bring about peace. The Ark leads to destruction and is not the true way to defeat the Flood (sin). In other words, the Covenant and their crusade is a false and empty one.

So either way, mankind is doomed right? Well, no, of course not, that would not make a very good video game story. Nor would it make a very encouraging life story. The only way for the Flood to be truly stopped is to annihilate the Gravemind himself. Well, it turns out the Chief does just that by descending into the pit of the flood itself on The Ark. This pit is representative of the death that Christ had to go through to be the ultimate sacrifice for out sins. Now in order to fully eliminate the Flood threat, the Chief has to actually perform the work that he was trying to prevent all along: activate the installation (a.k.a. perfectly fulfill the law, or the mission of the Covenant) out of range of mankind and sacrifice himself while destroying the Flood once and for all. So he descends, fulfills the works of "the law" and sacrifices himself in the process, ensuring TRUE salvation for all mankind.

Upon completion of this task, the Chief's last words with his long-time helper, Cortana are "It's finished." Tetelestai, which means "It is finished" in Greek are Christ's final words before dying on the cross. And finally, he says "Wake me when you need me." as he floats in the dark void of space alone. This seems to indicate an eventual "resurrection" of the chief in the future. Just as we think the battle with the Flood and the ensuing explosion was the death of him, we see that he did in fact survive and will one day return again. Lastly, Cortana sends word to earth of what happened to the Flood so that mankind will know that the Chief has done his job and will live on. This seems very representative of the work of the Holy Spirit, pointing to a finished salvation and a still-living savior. The series concludes at a memorial service for the Chief back on earth, as the surviving human race "believes" that he is truly out there. The last thing we see is the inscription "John 117" on the side of his memorial and the screen fades to black, a final reminder of the Chief as a Christ figure.

Whether or not all of that was truly intended by the script writers at Bungie I may never know, but it sure does line up well. Hope this has been eye opening and maybe even a little entertaining. Comments?

  • 08.18.2009 12:24 AM PDT

I am the Arbiter.

Nice work, this must have taken you a long time to write. I deffinatly will be looking through some books to see what i can find relating to this.

[Edited on 08.18.2009 2:41 AM PDT]

  • 08.18.2009 2:40 AM PDT

No battle is decided in a single moment, although in every battle there arise moments of crisis, on which the result depends. - Carl von Clausewitz

No man’s knowledge can go beyond his own experience.- John Locke

How many Ukrainians does it take to change a lightbulb? None, they glow in the dark!

Well written, good job man. I may not have agreed with everything you said but you backed it up flawlessly and unmarred with discrepancies.

  • 08.18.2009 4:10 AM PDT

Plekpedia - The most epic site in the history of ever.

I agree. I never thought about the "It's finished." part. Nice job.

  • 08.18.2009 7:47 AM PDT

Posted by:ScubaToaster
Posted by: HipiO7
This man, this man right here put it so eloquently that I actually cancelled my own 2000+ word long post.
/slow clap for respect


:)
The person who said participating is important, not winning, obviously never won anything.

The part you talk about the......


*Gets Eaten By Shak*

  • 08.18.2009 7:49 AM PDT

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME GROUP INVITATIONS

The Halo REACH Script (post thoughts in thread)

Writing Lead of Whisper Studios. Check out Heron!

Look... I'm on bungiepedia!

In terms of when the Religions showed up and also the way that the factions act within Halo... I always paralleled

God = Precursors
Jews; Jesus, Noah, etc. = Forerunners
Christians = The Covenant
Muslims = Humanity

The Covenant-Human war parallels the Crusades, with the Covenant (Christians) trying to re-take Forerunner relics from the humans.

[Edited on 08.18.2009 8:07 AM PDT]

  • 08.18.2009 8:03 AM PDT

Five years older and wiser
The fires are burning, I'm fire, never tire
Slay warriors in the forests, and on hire

*clicks save thread*

Epic

  • 08.18.2009 8:04 AM PDT

Nice job never really noticed any of that it surprised me though wont take it that the covenant are christians because id feel bad after killing a grunt.

  • 08.18.2009 8:35 AM PDT

Plekpedia - The most epic site in the history of ever.

Posted by: MLG Cheehwawa
In terms of when the Religions showed up and also the way that the factions act within Halo... I always paralleled

God = Precursors
Jews; Jesus, Noah, etc. = Forerunners
Christians = The Covenant
Muslims = Humanity

The Covenant-Human war parallels the Crusades, with the Covenant (Christians) trying to re-take Forerunner relics from the humans.


Wait, you're meaning to say that Halo is anti-Christian? From what I read on Halopedia, it appears as though you're wrong.

[Edited on 08.18.2009 9:53 AM PDT]

  • 08.18.2009 9:44 AM PDT

"Once Bungie takes over the world, The Marty Army will take over Bungie and then we'll really have some fun."
-Marty O'Donnell

"Condemnant quod non intellegunt."

Make Bungie.net More Enjoyable: Read & Follow

I read the entire thing, and I must say that it was very well thought out. I could honestly write a book about this, since there is just so much to analyze and examine, but what I just read was a very interesting interpretation of Halo's story from a very different perspective. I admire your efforts.

  • 08.18.2009 10:06 AM PDT
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Nah.

Biblical alegories are pretty much inevitable. Even atheists have to try pretty hard to avoid them.

  • 08.18.2009 10:55 AM PDT

That's interesting. I'm not entirely convinced of the anti-Christian allegory in Halo, but hey, that's what forum threads are for right? I could see the Forerunners as a possible God figure, though. But there's the problem that they're extinct and wiped out, which isn't very God like. However, I failed to notice until just now that the monitor, Guilty Spark, often refers to the Chief as a Forerunner, or more specifically, the Reclaimer. Which would seem to indicate a specific tie to the Forerunners, even a "son-like" tie that Christ has to God. And the Chief would therefore be reclaiming the ability to be saved, by activating Halo. Of course, that's a false salvation, but he does end up bringing true salvation, so there are some flaws with the allegory in that case. Interesting stuff, though. Might have to do a rewrite after I hear some other unique ideas.

  • 08.18.2009 11:12 AM PDT

Thanks for the encouragement, everybody! Regardless if all of this lines up perfectly or not, I'm happy to see some interest from the Halo community. Certainly not everyone will agree with this and not everybody who plays Halo is a Christian, but there's no denying that the Christian faith is a big part of the American culture and makes its way symbolically into many forms of media. Keep those eyes open in future Halo installments and beyond!

  • 08.18.2009 11:23 AM PDT
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“To say more would spoil be it’s overall its a game that needs to be played.” - Aristotle

Theorists long before this day have been trying to discover the number of parallels between the bible and Halo, and the majority of us admit that we aren't even close. Ironically, two of the biggest theorists ever to work with biblical parallels have posted in this very thread.

While I don't necessarily know if I can ever mend the broken and fractured Rainbow Theory, as there are many strong improbabilities with the design, it was a very good representation of a possible literal "rainbow" in the Halo universe. Even the newest of the threads about it have been locked, but if you're interested you can view it here anyway.

There are a fair number of similarities between Halo and religious text, but I don't really know if they're meant to just be spice, to add flavor and provoke thought, or if they actually mean anything. Hell, we might not ever know.

  • 08.18.2009 11:26 AM PDT

Wow...that's a really interesting and well thought out theory. I'll have to run over it a few more times before I can really absorb it. In the end, I think that theory matches up very well with the Christian allegory. It again equates with the Forerunner technology as parallel to Old Testament law, which the Convenant are living by and trying to fulfill for "true salvation" (The Jewish faith?) and doesn't provide REAL salvation, because "No one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands." (Romans 3:20), faith in "the savior" is necessary for salvation. Anyways, thanks for opening my eyes to that, Lord Snake.

  • 08.18.2009 11:40 AM PDT

I'll have you know
that I've become
Indestructible!

*sniff*, I thought I was the only one! (no I didn't)

Makes me very happy to see other members that can come up with this sort of quality work and recognize the connections. MLG, Lord Snakie, good to see you guys out here.

Good read!



[Edited on 08.18.2009 2:20 PM PDT]

  • 08.18.2009 2:12 PM PDT

I'll have you know
that I've become
Indestructible!

I tend to view the finite events in Jesus' life and ministry to not actually translate into -single- finite events in the Halo story, but they tend to reoccur.
What you said in your post makes sense, but a few years ago I thought (before halo 3 came out, after beating halo 2) that the Master Chief had already fulfilled the death role, as he left Earth unexpectedly, destroyed Regret by taking him to the grave, escaping the grave, ascending to the Holy City, and his second coming to Earth is seen as a descent from the sky.

Nonetheless, I've recognized it myself with the "it is finished" statement (as well as a couple other points I cannot for the life of me remember)...

The Arbiter was tortured in a crucifixion pose on behalf of the failures of those in his fleet, and he declared himself dead.

The Arbiter also behaved like Saul/Paul in Halo 2, when he went forth and slaughtered those who used to be under the law of the covenant, but learned the truth about Salvation; later helping those who know the Truth.

Also, Master Chief destroys the grave in a similar fashion to how it is described in Revelations; in a lake of fire, and as a second death. If you remember, we/he pretty much turned High Charity into a nuclear furnace (more or less), forcing the flood to exodus to the new halo (and was destroyed there, too).
Sorry, now I'm just spewing.

Again, top notch!

  • 08.18.2009 2:30 PM PDT
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“To say more would spoil be it’s overall its a game that needs to be played.” - Aristotle

Posted by: IceWeasel
MLG, Lord Snakie, good to see you guys out here.

Good to be back into the theorizing world. Cheeh's been keeping busy in the Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Reach forums, but I've only had the Precursor/Flood theory in the Halo 3/Universe to keep me busy. I'm glad there's a dedicated forum for this stuff now. Although Cheeh doesn't come around as often as he should....

Also, make the count of theorists who've mashed the biblical connections of Halo to death that have posted in this thread "3".

  • 08.18.2009 2:53 PM PDT

Why do people in ship mutinies always ask for "better treatment"? I'd ask for a pinball machine, because with all that rocking back and forth, you'd get a lot of free games.

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words - "mank" and "ind". What do these words mean? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.

Didn't Frankie say that Halo is based off of many religions?

  • 08.18.2009 5:19 PM PDT

I'll have you know
that I've become
Indestructible!

Posted by: Top_Gun_2021
Didn't Frankie say that Halo is based off of many religions?

Maybe he did. And that's fine, the OP made concession for that.

Christ Butcher said the story is pretty much an Allegory to the Bible.
ciber: How did you get the idea for Halo?


chris butcher: [...]
as far as the story, it can be looked at as a biblical allegory. the parallels are stronger than you probably realise, because nobody outside of bungie has more than a corner of the big picture. and we only have two corners. :(


Marty O'Donnell also said in an interview
Well we are religious guys, I think a lot of the religious stuff in Halo comes from Jason Jones, and the imagery is all him and he likes to fit it into the Halo story.

  • 08.18.2009 5:33 PM PDT
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Ah...It feels so good to see that in the midst of all the Halo haters insisting that the Halo story is little more than a cliched tale of aliens versus humans, some people agree that Halo's story really is fantastic. I'm not sure if I agree with everything you said, but I definitely agree with you that Halo is a great example of how video games are becoming an art form. I'm definitely saving this thread!!! Once again, congratz!!!

  • 08.18.2009 5:36 PM PDT

I'll have you know
that I've become
Indestructible!

Posted by: Lord Snakie
Posted by: IceWeasel
MLG, Lord Snakie, good to see you guys out here.

Good to be back into the theorizing world. Cheeh's been keeping busy in the Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Reach forums, but I've only had the Precursor/Flood theory in the Halo 3/Universe to keep me busy. I'm glad there's a dedicated forum for this stuff now. Although Cheeh doesn't come around as often as he should....

Also, make the count of theorists who've mashed the biblical connections of Halo to death that have posted in this thread "3".

The only recently theorizing I've done got locked in the ODST forum. Granted, my language wasn't exactly clear, and a bit inflammatory if you didn't read it in the nature that I wrote it.

99% of my time at b.net in the past year has been keeping an eye on the Brothers in Christ group.

  • 08.18.2009 5:36 PM PDT

Hey, guys, it's great to hear encouragements and criticisms, not to mention some new ideas. I especially like the Arbiter as Paul view point. He was a character I was really having a hard time placing, but I had definitely noticed some of his more Christ-like appearances, like the crucifixion for example. I've also had a hard time placing Cortana and some of the gibberish that he's always spitting out (rather annoyingly) in the 3rd game when she's linked with the Gravemind. Also, I'm having a hard time placing the Forerunners, because they seem to be in favor of the "false" salvation of the Halo installations, which doesn't seem to be terribly God like. In the end, I think we have to recognize that nothing is going to be a PERFECT Christian allegory, but it's fun to hypothesize.

  • 08.18.2009 5:50 PM PDT

I'm delicious.

I thought everybody realized this. Not to say it's a bad thread. Good work, well written.

[Edited on 08.18.2009 6:07 PM PDT]

  • 08.18.2009 6:07 PM PDT

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME GROUP INVITATIONS

The Halo REACH Script (post thoughts in thread)

Writing Lead of Whisper Studios. Check out Heron!

Look... I'm on bungiepedia!

Posted by: Pokezilla Linked
Posted by: MLG Cheehwawa
In terms of when the Religions showed up and also the way that the factions act within Halo... I always paralleled

God = Precursors
Jews; Jesus, Noah, etc. = Forerunners
Christians = The Covenant
Muslims = Humanity

The Covenant-Human war parallels the Crusades, with the Covenant (Christians) trying to re-take Forerunner relics from the humans.


Wait, you're meaning to say that Halo is anti-Christian? From what I read on Halopedia, it appears as though you're wrong.
I believe it shows how a religion (namely Christianity) changes from its roots to its most modern adherents. For example, the Covenant follow a religion based around the Forerunners (Old Testament/Jews/Christ/Noah), but the Covenant have mistranslated a small detail, so their whole religion is technically false, and they misunderstood what the Forerunners were trying to do.

And like the Muslims who believe that the Jews in the OT were actually followers of Islam whose stories were muddled by the sands of time, the Humans in Halo are actually the Forerunners (Old Testament/Jews/Christ/Noah).

  • 08.18.2009 6:24 PM PDT