[WolvenLordSoulReaper]

Once I got all the way through the manga; an odd little thought hit me. What if the DeathNote was written to decry religious intolerance? Think about it, many of the criticisms leveled at organized faith, but especially the Christian faiths, seem to be present in the DeathNote manga. I will list them below and people can discuss this further.

#1: A vengeful 'God' who judges in fire and wrath.

#2: Judgment is passed on through a Book of Rules; a.k.a.; Bible.

#3: One could also argue for Ryuuk as a bored mischievous God who drops the Bible into the hands of corrupted humanity just to 'see what would happen'; though not the most widespread generalization of God, this one has its roots securely anchored in society's mind at large at any rate.

#4: The deliberate and malevolent attempt by 'God' Yagami to orchestrate and manipulate events and people so that they are the most favorably moved and operate to his particular likings.

#5: Misappropriated sense of judgment. The letter of the law becomes more important than the spirit of the law; resulting in a damaged sense of justice where any ends is acceptable to reach the means. (That's written that way on purpose; because that's how I feel about it; it reverses priorities.)

#6: Psychotic Acolytes who feel that it is their place to judge the world based of 'God's.'
whims and desires.

#7: Finally, the idea of Light representing God had to be derived Biblically: In the Beginning, God said, 'Let there be Light'. And there was Light, and God saw the Light and was pleased with the Light. (The next allows substitution of Light for Word, as Biblically they are synonymous:-) It the Beginning was the Light, and the Light was with God, and the Light was God:-) Need I say more?:-)

[ravstrike]

Who would L (plus Near and Mello) be in this comparison?

[WolvenLordSoulReaper]

What the hey, I've got all day to play:-) Eh?

[TrisakAminawn]

Hah! I love that! "Light/word...was God"...his name was always so weird it has to have an explanation like that. (I mean, whose brainwave was 'write it as 'moon,' say it as Lie-to?' Sachiko's?) That he had a God complex is nothing new; he announced it in the first chapter, but that that should be an attack on Godhead rather than an exploration of hubris had not occured to me. Well, I doubt that it was written for the purpose of firing at revealed religion, or it'd read differently, but you're right, that could be in there. Religion as psychosis and/or psychological dependency. Also the concept that man cannot be a god without losing his human virtues. Gods, after all, have never, ever been nice. Even gods who like you aren't nice, and if they like you and then you disappoint them you'd be better off never having been born. L thinks really early on 'that would mean Kira's psyche is already on the divine level--judging sinners without batting an eye.'

On the other hand, more than 'god' it would be attacking religion as a social phenomenon. Light is not like 'superheroes,' who also dispense justice outside normal chanels. He does not punish 'those the law cannot reach' but those the law has already uncovered and is reaching for, or has already caught. He chooses his victims from the news media, which is to say--he allows society to judge for him. Those who vet the news chose the people presented as heretics; online supporters he sneers at as cowards gave him his name; and his entire production was aimed at the public, so that the criminals would keep their heads down and his idea of 'good people' would admire him and eventually follow him so that he could rule the world. On the one hand, his path was quite personal and he did it all to himself, but he also allowed his society to create him.

That he did achieve the volume of support he did proves that much. A significant part of the world he lived in wanted someone to act boldly and barbarically against crime, never mind that it was illegal, never mind that his murders themselves hardly ever protected anyone. He was above real-people rules; he wasn't real, but he was a reality. God makes man, man makes god. Kira existed in perpetual relation to a faceless public.

In a sense, the plot of Death Note is a continuous PR war, each stage of which is eventually settled by someone getting killed off. For what does god require man?

Only consistent answer there has ever been is 'to do god honor.' Essentially, god requires man for the same reason man requires man, to validate personal being. Like most people who want to rule the world, Light wanted to feel important. Like many people who join religious movements, his supporters wanted normal human things like group identity, ideological support, identification with a messianic figure, safety from judgement, a chance to party, and the knowledge that you're on the ascendant side. (And an excuse to pound the other guy who opposes your worldview in the face until blood comes out all his major orifices. There are people who join religious groups for that, too, although in contemporary America, at least, they're better off joining a gang. The Thugs and Assassins were religious, though.)

So while Light's position as god is kind of debatable (and the Death Note's position as holy writ pretty shaky; it was a secret belonging of god, and Kira's only real tenet was Obey Me) the Kira Worshippers were definitely a prime example of cult-form religion, which is the normal though hardly exclusive form, and it's not a complimentary image. That slime Demegawa even put himself together as the image of a particularly sleazy television evangelist.

...there, I rambled to great length on that one. I trust you to find my points, whatever they were. Hey...hang on...is there any fandom you forum where you don't author religion threads?

[blatenbroad666]

hmmm...... i never though tit that way but maybe your right, i mean there are alot of connections but i do have a couple of questions, then why is light made out to be the bad guy in the end (forshadowing for the worlds future, maybe in the future everyone blames "god"), why does light kill criminals but "god" doesnt, i mean raito did a pretty good job of killing the crimianls off and striking fear into the hearts of the criminals.
also what is near... i mean he outsmarted "god" so is he the fallen angel?

[dia_de_luz]

Maybe your right. I never really thought about it that way but that's an interesting way to explain it. Might also explain Light's name.

[TrisakAminawn]

The point, I think, blaten, would be broadly that following an evil and/or fallible god is bad, so do your god research well or keep a bit of skepticism mixed into your faith, if 'God' ever wants you to do anything. This also applies to other cult-form entities like rabid nationalism, a la Hitlers' Germany and the Estadounidenses a hundred years ago who kept trying to privately conquer Latin America. And Near would be...Nietzche? Something like that. Inducing God to unmake himself. He's not the rebellious Lucifer because Light was a false god who never ruled creation...wait...hang on. Lucifer Morningstar, 'the Lightbringer....' Hehehehehehehehehe....

Light is the name of God and the Devil.

Hey, Wolven, come back! I feel like a sad little abandoned puppy, or something along those whimpery lines, ya know?