I Have Faith in Thee, Lord: Criticism of Religion and Child Abuse in the Video Game the Binding of Isaac

The game The Binding of Isaac is an excellent example of a game that incorporates criticism of religion. Isaac is a roguelike dungeon crawler with randomly generated dungeons. Both from the perspective of narrative and of game design, McMillen built The Binding of Isaac around the Biblical story of...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Bosman, Frank 1978- (Author) ; Wieringen, Archibald L. H. M. van 1963- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: MDPI [2018]
In: Religions
Year: 2018, Volume: 9, Issue: 4, Pages: 1-17
Further subjects:B Studies
B Theology
B Isaac
B Bible
B criticism of religion
B Catholicism
B Child Abuse
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)

MARC

LEADER 00000caa a22000002 4500
001 1586359371
003 DE-627
005 20210622122312.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 190117s2018 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.3390/rel9040133  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1586359371 
035 |a (DE-576)516359371 
035 |a (DE-599)BSZ516359371 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 0  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)140444246  |0 (DE-627)618393919  |0 (DE-576)318136937  |4 aut  |a Bosman, Frank  |d 1978- 
109 |a Bosman, Frank 1978-  |a Bosman, Frank G. 1978- 
245 1 0 |a I Have Faith in Thee, Lord  |b Criticism of Religion and Child Abuse in the Video Game the Binding of Isaac  |c Frank G. Bosman 
264 1 |c [2018] 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a The game The Binding of Isaac is an excellent example of a game that incorporates criticism of religion. Isaac is a roguelike dungeon crawler with randomly generated dungeons. Both from the perspective of narrative and of game design, McMillen built The Binding of Isaac around the Biblical story of Genesis 22:1-19, which has the same name in Jewish and Christian tradition, but he placed it in a modern-day setting in which a young boy is endangered by a mentally disturbed mother who hears “voices from above” that instruct her to sacrifice her only child. Multiple critical references to Christianity can be found in addition to the narrative: hostile embodiments of the seven deadly sins, rosaries, Bibles, and crucifixes, and unlockable characters, such as Mary Magdalene, Judas Iscariot, Samson, and Cain, who are all depicted negatively in both Jewish and Christian traditions. McMillen's inspiration came from his own experiences with his family, which was made up of both Catholics and born-again Christians. The game describes both the dark creativity and the mental and physical abuse associated with religion. In this article, we analyse the narrative of The Binding of Isaac by performing an intertextual comparison with the Biblical narrative of Genesis 22:1-19. We then analyse the three-fold narrative structure of the game which enhances and nuances the criticism the game directs at religion. 
601 |a Religion 
650 4 |a Bible 
650 4 |a Catholicism 
650 4 |a Isaac 
650 4 |a Child Abuse 
650 4 |a criticism of religion 
650 4 |a Studies 
650 4 |a Theology 
700 1 |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)120112302  |0 (DE-627)640113982  |0 (DE-576)170484912  |4 aut  |a Wieringen, Archibald L. H. M. van  |d 1963- 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Religions  |d Basel : MDPI, 2010  |g 9(2018), 4, Seite 1-17  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)665435797  |w (DE-600)2620962-7  |w (DE-576)348219067  |x 2077-1444  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:9  |g year:2018  |g number:4  |g pages:1-17 
856 |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/4/133/pdf?version=1525348664  |x unpaywall  |z Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang  |h publisher [oa journal (via doaj)] 
856 4 0 |u https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/4/133  |x Verlag  |3 Volltext 
856 |u https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9040133  |x doi  |3 Volltext 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 3046013604 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1586359371 
LOK |0 005 20190117162216 
LOK |0 008 190117||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-Tue135  |c DE-627  |d DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-Tue135 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a ixzs  |a ixzo 
OAS |a 1 
ORI |a SA-MARC-ixtheoa001.raw 
REL |a 1 
SUB |a REL 
SYE 0 0 |a Isaac,Isaac,Isaac,Isaac,Isaak,Komnenos, Isaak,Comnenus, Isaac,Isaac Tzetzes,Isaac,Isaac,Stella, Isaac de,Isaac,Argyrus, Isaak,Isaac,Isaacus,Issak