Created and developed far from Europe and the Americas, and conceived in a country where less than 1% of the populace is Christian, manga could hardly be called out for inaccurately portraying Christianity. It would be silly for calling out mangaka for getting the story of Christ wrong or for presenting the Bible as “just another religion.” Still, manga is full of religious references to God and gods, which presents a great opportunity to discuss matters of spirituality. And that’s the idea behind this new series of posts, Fact Check, in which I’ll investigate some of the claims of anime and manga characters and weigh them against the truth of scripture.
Warning: Today’s post contains massive spoilers for the ending of Heaven’s Feel, the third arc of Fate/Stay Night. Also note that this is taken from Fate/Stay Night: Realta Nua, the all ages adaptation of the visual novel Fate/Stay Night.
The Claim
The following is a conversation between Shirou and Kirei in the final showdown of Heaven’s Feel, English translation courtesy of Beast’s Lair.
Kotomine: “What is good and evil? Are you saying murder is an absolute evil?
…There is no answer from the start. That’s what humans are like. There is no clear answer, and they accept a changing truth. We have no absolute truth from the very beginning.
Humans have both good and evil, and it’s up to you to decide which is which. The start is at zero, and there is no crime in being born. I thought I’d already told you.”
Shirou: “—-Yeah. You said there’s no crime in the baby even if it’s evil.”
Kotomine: “Correct. Humans become good or evil through learning.
A certain scripture mentions that humans are superior beings to angels. Why? Because there are people who know of evil, but do not become evil. It’s different from angels, who only know of good since birth. Humans have evil, but can live as good, so they are superior to angels, who only know of good.
—-And at the same time.
There are rare moments of goodwill shown by evil men. There are bad intentions shown on a whim by saints. The contradiction. The coexistence of good and evil is the Holy Grail that makes people human. Living is a crime by itself, and there are punishments because one is alive. Good exists with life, and evil exists with life.
Therefore—-
—-You cannot inquire about the crime of one who has not yet been born.
There is no existence that is born as evil, that is unwanted by everyone.
It has no reason to be punished until it is born.”
Kotomine Kirei’s claim is this: the unborn are innocent of any evil and can only be confirmed of evil after their birth by considering their thoughts and deeds.
Fact Check
Kotomine’s claim is, at the surface level, quite simple. Yet, as simple as it appears, it is but a drop in a sea of subjective context. First of all, Kotomine is a clear proponent for the idea of moral subjectivity, which is made clear throughout the Fate series. As a corrupt priest, taken in by an apparently quite upright and moral one, he grew up chasing objective morality to discover, to his displeasure, that he could not understand nor feel the purpose of it. Though it seemed to pain him, his only pleasure came from what the world deemed objectively evil, which turned his view of morals completely upside-down.
Additionally, the unborn life Kotomine is talking about in this case is Angra Mainyu, the manifestation of all of the world’s evils. Thus, Angra Mainyu’s rebirth practically guarantees an onslaught of evil upon the world, particularly the death and destruction that Shirou argued outside of the quoted passage above.
With that context ignored, however, what is the legitimacy of Kotomine’s claim? There are some respectable pro-life claims that could be made using Kotomine’s support. Who are we to judge the life of the unborn worthy of being terminated, for example? If we are all creatures made in the image of God, as stated in Genesis 1, who are we to judge a fellow image bearer who has, as Kotomine stated, not had the right to prove his or her righteousness? Of course, according to Christianity, that “proof” does not come in the shape of living a righteous life, but of trusting Jesus Christ as the savior for removing all of our sins and allowing us to re-enter the presence of God.
On the other hand, however, the Bible also makes clear references to the concept of “original sin”: that ever since the first sin of Adam, we are all brought into sin. Psalm 51:5 explicitly states that David (as the presumed writer) was “conceived” in sin. This seems to indicate that, even before we are born, we are inherently sinful creatures.
With Kotomine’s context un-ignored, Angra Mainyu is not the same kind of life as that of an unborn child. As a “Heroic Spirit” (in effect, at least), he lived out a full human life before. He also exists with pure intent to perpetrate evil, unlike an unborn child who cannot be judged at all.
The Grade
Kotomine’s claim receives a 3 out of 10.
Kotomine hits on some points relevant to the question of judging others, particularly in the case of the unborn, that reflects the Christian idea of grace. However, the rest of his statements ignore the fallen nature of humanity and the concept of God’s moral standards, passing off his perverse nature as permissible instead of in need of help.
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Read other posts in our Fact Check column.
- 12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 1: Cardcaptor Sakura - 12.14.2018
- 12 Days of Otaku Christmas, Day 12: Merry Christmas from Hatsune Miku - 12.25.2016
- Secret Santa 2016: Tsuritama - 12.24.2016
“This seems to indicate that, even before we are born, we are inherently sinful creatures.”
Which must mean that sin isn’t an action at all. For everything an unborn child does is merely what’s necessary for survival. Our instinct is to think sin must be tied to action, however…which is interesting. The relationship between the two states isn’t spectacularly clear. I’m inclined to think that sin is actually a kind of malaise or illness which leads one to commit sinful actions or think sinful thoughts.
Pardon me for answering without actually referencing anything (so I may be totally off-base), but that seems to be a pretty good way of understanding it. It’s a complicated topic after all.
My claim would be that we are born hopelessly unable to NOT sin, but the grace of Jesus Christ gives us the ability to persist and then to resist its grip over us in the future.
My immediate thoughts, for what they are worth.
Thanks for reading!
A certain scripture mentions that humans are superior beings to angels. Why? Because there are people who know of evil, but do not become evil. It’s different from angels, who only know of good since birth. Humans have evil, but can live as good, so they are superior to angels, who only know of good.
Meh, the author of that never read the verse that talks about how the angels rebelled against God. Yes, angels are “good”, because they are before the glory of God, our Heavenly Father, right there for all eternity. Yet, we can see that they have the OPTION of turning against Him. You see it in Genesis 4 when the angels came to Earth and slept with human women, which is blasphemous to God. Also, Lucifer took a third of God’s angels and left Heaven, which in turn are the demons that exist today.
That was something that stuck out to me personally, just wanted to throw in my 2 cents (or half dollar 🙂
Yes, many Japanese writers like to proof-text for dramatic effect (since most of their target audience doesn’t know any better anyway). Some of what you said is also up to interpretation (existence and or nature of angels and demons), depending on your denomination, etc.
Thank you for your input, though! Very insightful!
Yeah I agree, different denominations will say different things. I’m non-denominational, though I might be classified in the Pentacostal/Charismatic bunch, but whatever, the bible is clear on the demonic and angelic forces that exist, though I agree too with the Japanese writers will reference certain things fully knowing their audience won’t understand where the source is coming from. Or at least take the time to look it up.
[…] I wrote about Fate/Heaven’s Feel in Charles’ column, Fact Check: http://beneaththetangles.com/2014/11/03/fact-check-heavens-feels-immorality-of-life/ […]
Assuming you are talking about Kotomine:
Kotomine is twisted, but he’s fundamentally different from other humans.
He couldn’t seek out help from other humans, like priests, but perhaps he could’ve sought help from God.
But given his position and years working as a priest, he has likely tried but developed an ambiguous disbelief in God after years of serving Him, yet receiving no means to become un-twisted.
Even if his faith had not wavered, he would likely, then, perceive it as God’s will that he was born twisted, and that his perverse nature was permissible, as God had intended it that way.
Assuming you are talking about Angry Mainyu:
Angry Mainyu is literally the embodiment of all evil. There is no way for such a thing to be helped and have its “perverse” nature change, except by God.
Naturally, then, Kotomine would see it permissible that it existed if it had the will to, and had no means of becoming “good” except by God’s will, as it was still an “unborn” creature with no sense of “good” or “evil” that could still be blessed by God, in his eyes.
What I think is important is understanding the why for Kotomine’s reasoning and actions. Sure his argument is flawed but the story’s not trying to use him as some twisted point against being pro-life.
Kotomine needs to believe this evil being has a right to live, that there’s hope for it– because he needs to believe he himself has a right to exist and that there is some hope somewhere for him.
He’s fully aware of his own sadism and cruelty, he loves and enjoys it, but he also knows that it’s wrong. The thing that’s fascinating about Kotomine is that while he’s a corrupt priest, his beliefs in scripture are not a lie. He actually is a god-fearing man in his own sick way, and it’s because of that he knows he’s doomed. By his own knowledge and beliefs, he’s damned to hell, because he’s never once felt love, or charity, or remorse for sins, or any joy outside of hurting and destroying others. He’s a born psychopath, but one who believes in God nonetheless.
For a time, he relishes in his own twisted desires, but there at the end with Angra Mainyu about to be born, he’s looking at it, seeing himself, and wanting this literal personification of evil to manifest all, with the hope it may pick a different path from its nature and prove to him that even he may be saved. It’s insanity taken to the furthest extreme, with the fate of the whole world put on the line just to satisfy one man’s desperation.
So it’s not a surprise that his logic isn’t totally sound. It’s bent through the lens of a complete madman in priest robes.