*Note: there is an audio version of this article:
UPDATE: GameStop’s pre-order incentive for this game is a pack of TAROT Cards. Coincidence?
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In Isaiah 5:20 it says:
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
Let’s look at a few ways this series is calling what is evil-according to the Bible-good:
Corvo Attano:
Corvo Attano is the main character of Dishonored. Corvo translated in Portuguese actually means raven. Turn to Genesis 8:7:
“And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.”
Now, let’s see who else goes “to and fro” through the earth according to the Bible:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8)
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:7)
So here we see the hero representing the devil.
The Heart:
There is a mystical item in the game called The Heart. It whispers secrets of the game world into Corvo’s mind. It beats faster when facing runes (items that when collected upgrade Corvo’s powers), helping him locate these objects. In general, it’s seen as a useful and “good” tool.
Let’s see what the Bible says about the heart:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.“(Genesis 8:21)
“For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.“(Acts 28:27)
The Outsider:
The Outsider is a being described as “part devil, part angel, and entirely ambiguous.” He is also the source of all magical power in the game world, and is worshiped by some of the population. He burned his mark into Corvo’s hand, giving him supernatural powers.
The quote describing him as “part devil, part angel, and entirely ambiguous.” identifies him as Lucifer. Lucifer was once an angel, but is now fallen and known as Satan or the Devil:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12)
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:9)
Supernatural Powers:
Corvo’s supernatural abilities such as Possession, Windblast, etc. can be compared to the “power and signs and lying wonders” performed by the antichrist or “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2:
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12)
Video Games and the Bible 