Adi Shankar on his FB page:
"I have never been one to run away from controversy, and so I’d like to address the minor one that’s come up concerning Castlevania. That being said, I do not view my statement as being the final authority on the issue. In fact, the whole point of art is to spur this kind of conversation.
The criticism, in sum, is that because Season 1’s primary antagonist is a Bishop, the show is anti-Christian. Or, for a slightly more refined view, it is not anti-Christian, but anti-Church. On both counts I disagree.
I admit that Season 1 of Castlevania was unapologetically critical of the Bishop and his henchmen. But they are not the religion’s only representatives. Those of you who have seen Episode 4 know that Trevor Belmont teamed up with a priest who was ordained in a church, and had that priest consecrate holy water for use in the fight against Dracula’s demons. And what’s more—the holy water actually worked. I hardly see that as being anti-Christian or anti-Church.
Personally, I am not a Christian, but I have several very close friends who are. And the point of Castlevania was not to be pro-Christian or anti-Christian. The point was to show that the world is not always a simple good vs. evil. There is nuance. The particular nuance being shown through the Bishop and his henchmen can perhaps be best summed up in the words of Jesus Christ himself: “Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
In other words, don’t be a hypocrite.
This sort of criticism against hypocrisy—especially against those in power—has a long history in the arts. Here are some examples from two of literature’s great luminaries, both of whom lived in the same period Castlevania takes place (the Late Middle Ages)—and both of whom were, by the way, believing Christians:
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Pardoner and Summoner (i.e. clergymen) are unambiguously portrayed as greedy, wicked, and corrupt.
In Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, many “clergymen, and popes and cardinals” are found in the fourth circle of hell. The eighth circle of hell holds three popes. An archbishop and a friar are found in the ninth circle. And, of course, at the very center of hell, one of Jesus’ original twelve apostles (Judas Iscariot) is being chewed up in Satan’s mouth.
Finally, I’d like to address those who were not bothered by seeing Castlevania’s corrupt clergy. If you watched the show and just nodded your head and thought, “Yeah, Christians are all a bunch of hypocrites,” then you missed the point. Instead, my hope is that you would respond in the same way those original twelve apostles did when Jesus stated one of them would betray him. They did not look around the table and begin pointing fingers, instead they looked inwardly and asked, “Is it I?”"
https://www.facebook.com/bootleguniverse/posts/1952400991660192
VS
"Throwing Them To Lions Was Probably More Fun
PUBLISHED AUGUST 18, 2009 BY WARREN ELLIS
Three news stories within a couple of days of each other, as captured by Religion News Blog, caught my eye.
Somalia Islamic Militants Behead Four Christian Orphanage Workers. India Hindu Militants Attack Christian Training Meeting. And Rash of Attacks on Christians Reported in Sri Lanka.
The latter headline doesn’t mention the antagonist religion involved. Turns out the attacks in Sri Lanka have probably been orchestrated by… Buddhist monks.
I’m sure it’s just a fluke… or, perhaps, just a topslice of a largely unreported phenomenon that’s only just met my awareness. I mean, we expect missionaries to meet nasty endings and all. But the speculative-fiction writer in my head kind of spins up to speed when greeted by a set of news stories like this: I think you could argue that none of these places have been particularly well-served by Christian forces in the past, and it’s tempting to conceive of a sudden worldwide purge of the Christian disease from all the crevices it invaded. All other religions turning on Christianity at once. I, however, am an atheist, and I think all religions are criminal insanity to start with, though, so…
Anyway. Interesting, I thought."
www.warrenellis.com/?p=7666