The Legend of Zelda and Theology Quotes

“If goodness and grace are given a chance, they can break the cycle of evil and create new beginnings. Though sin and evil result in fracture and disharmony, nevertheless, two estranged parties may yet reconcile and bitterness may yet be melted away into peace. An evil past does not fatalistically entail an unredeemed future and the faintest glimmers of hope can be fanned into the fullest flames of redemption.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“That, ultimately, is the great theological lesson of Majora’s Mask: the improvement of the soul’s condition towards perfection is as spiritually vital as it is challenging and painful, and we must, through God’s grace, strive for it.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“Tolkien’s final necessary condition for a fairy tale is the joyful, consoling ending of the tale. But the “consolation” of fairy-tales has another aspect than the imaginative satisfaction of ancient desires. Far more important is the Consolation of the Happy Ending. Almost I would venture to assert that all complete fairy-stories must have it. At least I would say that Tragedy is the true form of Drama, its highest function; but the opposite is true of Fairy-story.22 The happy ending of fairy tales Tolkien christens “eucatastrophe” (or, a “good” catastrophe). This sudden “joyous turn” is what we find at the end of so many beloved fairy stories. Cinderella gets to go to the ball when the fairy godmother appears. The frog prince dies and is returned to human form. The woodcutter appears and saves Red Riding Hood. This consoling turn satisfies because it is happy, but also because it is miraculous. It is, in a sense, a “deus ex machina” ending. It provides an escape from the sadness of our own world by way of a kind of divine grace. As Tolkien writes, this happy ending is not mere optimism. It does not say that sorrow and death are unreal. Rather, as Tolkien sees it “the possibility of these [sad events] is necessary to the joy of deliverance.” What the eucatastrophe denies is that evil must prevail. In this way, again, fairy stories reflect a deeply Christian hope. Writes Tolkien, “[eucatastrophe] denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.”23 The incarnation of Christ was, for Tolkien, the eucatastrophic turn in all of human history. And the resurrection of Christ, as written in the gospels, was the happy ending that changed the tragic meaning of the Messiah’s death into something that signified hope and consolation.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“No matter the age, desertions of duty, large and small, happen for the avid gamer: skipping class, dodging chores, neglecting family or even neglecting other pleasures (good food, outdoors, reading books)–all for the sake of “more.” Honest gamers know this nearly invisible line that separates “escape” and “desertion.” And they also know that on the far side of escape, the pleasures of play are often greatly diminished. “More play” does not always render “more pleasure.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“Many bristle at the suggestion that something they do or believe may be considered sinful. While there are a number of specific sinful acts that are clearly pointed out and warned against in the Bible, the concept of sin cannot be reduced to a number of do’s and don’ts. C.S.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“What we have here is a clear glimpse of the profound Christian truth that, by the grace of God, the best of ends can be brought out of the worst of beginnings. If goodness and grace are given a chance, they can break the cycle of evil and create new beginnings. Though”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“From a Christian perspective, God is calling the world back into loving relationship with Himself, and He will use any means possible to accomplish this goal, including, believe it or not, when you boot up your Nintendo Wii.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“But notice that although the history of the Twili people and the Twilight Realm begins with evil, banishment and bitterness, it eventually finds its way to goodness, reconciliation and peace. Midna realizes at the end that goddesses left the Mirror of Twilight in the light world because it was their design that the two worlds eventually meet, a true divine boon. Her bitterness towards the light realm is overcome by the sheer power of Link and Zelda’s virtuous deeds.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“Not only does evil depend upon good, but in this case, darkness depends upon light.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“In the Zelda universe, we see what might be called a refined polytheism of three goddesses. It is polytheistic because there are three distinct deities here, unlike the great monotheistic religions, and it is refined because it seems that these three goddesses are always in harmony with one another, having intentions that are both united and aimed at the good.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology

“The land upon which the goddesses descended –the land that was the locus of the divine activity –came to be known as the Sacred Realm, which can be taken almost as the Zelda version of the Garden of Eden.”
― Jonathan L. Walls, The Legend of Zelda and Theology