Religion is bad, M'kay?

[VargasVermillion]

snip

In the grand scheme of things there is no good or evil, only reason we have such perceptions is how our society is currently built, you would be a fool to assume it couldn't possibly change to something you or I would perceive as 'wrong' or that the world is black and white. Fairness isn't real either.

[Kaiser-Ace]

In the grand scheme of things there is no good or evil, only reason we have such perceptions is how our society is currently built, you would be a fool to assume it couldn't possibly change to something you or I would perceive as 'wrong' or that the world is black and white. Fairness isn't real either.

There is no Good nor Evil in this world. Only thinking makes it so.

- William Shakespear

[Nialle]

the other big theme in FF games is the enemy always being the more technology advanced nation. At least in FF6, FF7 (Shinra) and FF14

That trope was literally invented by Tolkien (along with the Fantasy genre itself) in LoTR. So much of fantasy as a whole still copies his concepts, that it shows up in a lot of places to this day.

[adn]

Why does Square-Enix consistently portray organized religion as evil?

Because for the most part, organized religion IS evil. At best it's a tax evasion scam that milks gullible people for money, at its worst in history it has been used as groundwork for genocide. The benefits of organized religion scarcely outweigh its negatives in most cases. Organized religion has been constantly abused by individuals and organizations throughout history for their own personal gain, to this very day (the GOP). [Please note that I'm not talking about religion in a general sense, only ORGANIZED religion.]

I'm not going to go deep into this but the Japanese have an ENTIRELY different perspective on organized religion than Westerners do, and there is a lot of history and culture you have to understand to see why it's set up as an easy punching bag in Japanese media. Cults are also a big problem in Japan (google Aum Shinrikyo; they're not the only ones, either.)

I mean if you want to get fussy about ideology, the Garleans are basically a caricature of a stereotypical EVIL TOTALITARIAN EMPIRE as well, complete with a hilariously evil looking emperor. What's S-E got against totalitarian regimes with comically evil-looking emperors?

[IoannesBellator]

Because for the most part, organized religion IS evil

How bigoted! Not different from what Westboro Baptist Church and Chick Tracts say about the Catholic Church. Perhaps you're ignorant of organized religion's history beyond the molestation of boys, punchlines, and Cultural Marxist revisionism. The Roman Catholic Church had been the West's only real religion- Paganism has NOTHING but songs, stories and superstitions, the Catholic Church influenced whole kingdoms and laid the foundation to the scientific method- what is evident is resentment & envy gussied up with sophistry of rationalism; Paganism divided people: Europe would have been sent back to the Iron Age if it weren't for Christians who unified pagan tribes and stabilized Europe- even in Japan- the Japanese would still be routinely slashing their guts and abandoning the old and the young to die in the mountains if they weren't introduced in the Meiji Era to a Judeo-Christian morality.

[IoannesBellator]

religion IS evil.

Also: Evil according to what standard? Good feelings? Either all religions are the same, or they are different; But all religions cannot be true at the same time, because they teach many things completely opposite from one another. So if there is no objective truth, then the opinion that all Organized Religion is Evil is as valid as Organized Religion is Good, and it all boils down to your feelings and opinions that change from one time to another. But then, if there is Objective Truth, then Organized Religion is only as evil as the people who abuse this concept, and so it can be as good as the best. So far, I have not seen Square Enix show the best of religion, because they have not experienced real religion. (No "No True Scotsman" fallacy here- that's a fact.)

[IoannesBellator]

As far as I could tell the science-loving, atheistic Garleans are modeled after the USSR. They murdered so many people for daring to believe that "The People" or some surrogate for the supreme earthly power they revere will be judged by God, and those who want power to control people even at the individual level HATE the concept of someone above them, but then a society comprised solely by these people cannot last because there's no real faith, no forgiveness, no redemption, and no truth in the sort of natural materialism those sort of people subscribe to, and so no ultimate meaning beyond the self-deceptions they lose themselves into. If you want proof, look at how long the USSR lasted: and look at where China and Japan, both overwhelmingly secular, are headed into, demographically speaking.

[IoannesBellator]

I mean if you want to get fussy about ideology, the Garleans are basically a caricature of a stereotypical EVIL TOTALITARIAN EMPIRE as well, complete with a hilariously evil looking emperor. What's S-E got against totalitarian regimes with comically evil-looking emperors?

If I didn't believe in God nor in His Church, I WOULD object to the portrayal of Garleans as being offensive; there are many people who think that there's nothing wrong with engaging in realpolitik- that was the mentality that launched World Wars: It wasn't because Jesus told them to make war, but because of the mindset that there is no Heaven nor God; all you have is this Earth and its limited resources, and you should be as brutal as possible to get what you want, even at the individual level- it's the other person's fault that they lost out and they deserve to lose, and you to thrive and pass on your genes for no other purpose than it being embedded into your genetic code.

[IoannesBellator]

That trope was literally invented by Tolkien (along with the Fantasy genre itself) in LoTR. So much of fantasy as a whole still copies his concepts, that it shows up in a lot of places to this day.

Well, think about it: Who is a bigger danger, the idiot caveman like myself who believes in God and his holy plank and nail, or the really intelligent atheist who does not believe in any objective morality and is armed with nuclear and biological weapons? Obviously the smarter one thinks they know what's good for everyone, and has the capacity to enforce their ideology onto everyone. I'm being the caveman here, trying to push back as hard as the world pushes me.

[IoannesBellator]

There is no Good nor Evil in this world. Only thinking makes it so.

- William Shakespear

Just because Shakespeare said it, doesn't mean it's true. Othello is a cautionary tale about what happens when black men get together with white women; Merchant of Venice says "Jews should convert to Christianity, no matter how right they are." do you still wish to quote Shakespeare or conveniently pick what suits your agenda? That's what Islamic terrorists do, and if it's all the same to you, then let me do it with the Bible and you should not be shocked.