*Sources of screenshots are listed in their respective file names.
2 months ago, I began recording a playthrough of BioShock Infinite–noting what (if any) Biblical parallels I found along the way. Below, you’ll find highlights from a few of these episodes.
To watch the rest, feel free to click on the embedded videos or visit the linked BioShock Infinite and the Bible playlist.
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I’m pretty sick at the moment, but I’ve emerged from my wall of tissues and hacking coughs to recap the first episodes of BioShock Infinite and the Bible–look forward to more highlight articles and Biblically-focused videos in the future!
Part 1
·13:02: A sign hanging in the lighthouse found in BioShock Infinite’s opening states “From Sodom shall I lead thee.” Biblically, Sodom and Gomorrah are not only the cities destroyed in Genesis, but ‘types’ or symbols of the world with its corruption, sin, and wickedness. The same could be said of Egypt and Babylon. (Revelation 11:7-10, Ezekiel 16:46-51)
Part 2
·00:01: In many ways, BioShock Infinite may be the most “Christian” game ever made–particularly if judged by how much Scripture it uses, draws from, or references. However, as you advance through the game, you begin to realize the Biblical ideas depicted and conveyed have been twisted into something unrecognizably…horrible. I can’t think of another word to describe the difference between the faith it shows and one that is Biblically-based and sound.
·00:49: This segment continues the examination of Sodom in the previous video, as both a concept and example of wickedness. (2 Peter 2:6-8)
·02:04: When Israel would rebel or sin en masse, Judah (the other part of the country) would often begin to do the same to an extreme degree. So much so, that it would make the people of Israel feel justified in comparison. (Ezekiel 16:51-52, Jeremiah 3:6-11)
·06:32: Another sign in the lighthouse states “To thine own land shall I take thee.” Particularly within the context, this mirrors God’s promise to Israel when they would fall into sin and subsequent slavery–a return. He would always bring them back to their physical and spiritual home. (Jeremiah 30:3)
Part 3 (The Ironically Named One)
·10:19: A poster seen upon entering Columbia (a flying city and the setting of BioShock Infinite) reveals the first of the game’s many, many depictions of Comstock as a God-like figure:
“Father Comstock – Our Prophet”
·10:39: Entering Columbia shows ‘Pilgrims’ the following message: “Why would He send His Savior unto us, if we will not raise a finger for our own salvation? And though we deserved not His mercy, He has led us to this New Eden [Columbia]. A last chance for redemption.” This is followed by the view of an enormous mosaic built in Comstock’s honor headed by the words: “And the Prophet shall lead the people to the New Eden [Columbia].” Scripturally, Eden also refers to Heaven, or the New Heaven and the New Earth promised in Revelation–a bright future, a final rest, and an even better restoration of the paradise we fell from in Genesis. (Isaiah 51:2-3, Ezekiel 36:33-36)
Part 4
·00:01: This segment continues examining Eden as a direct scriptural parallel to Heaven/the New Heaven/the New Earth/Paradise. (Revelation 2:7)
·01:09: This segment confronts the idea in the previous video about needing to “…raise a finger for our own salvation.” (Romans 3:9-11;19-28)
·05:07: A sign referring to Elizabeth (who, similar to Comstock’s comparison to God, is known as the “Lamb” and a Messianic figure) in The Welcome Center of Columbia says “The seed of the Prophet shall sit the throne and drown in flame the mountains of man.” (Daniel 7:9-11)
“The seed of the Prophet shall sit the throne and drown in flame the mountains of man.“
·07:53: A Pilgrim in The Welcome Center reaffirms that Columbia is analogous to a New Eden–heaven on Earth:
Booker: “Excuse me! Where am I?”
Male Pilgrim: “Heaven, friend. Or as close as we’ll see till Judgement Day.“
·08:52: More art of Elizabeth, the Lamb of Columbia, mirroring that of religious works about the birth of Jesus.
“The Lamb: The Future of Our City“
·09:54: BioShock Infinite’s baptism sequence.
Preacher Witting: “And every year on this day of days, we recommit ourselves to our city, and to our prophet, Father Comstock.“
·11:49: Cries of “Praise be to the Founders!” around the baptismal site are the first indications that the people of Columbia do not only worship the “Lord” or Comstock himself, but the Founders of America itself–Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin.
“Praise be to the founders!“
·13:45: Preacher Witting baptizes you in the name of “…our Prophet, in the name of our Founders, in the name of our Lord.” This is a clearly different trinity than the one described in passages such as Matthew 28:18-20.
Look out for more videos, recaps, and content in the future!
Video Games and the Bible 