Theoretical Undertakings – Part 1: The Birth of God

Posted by Lobsel_Vith on August 18, 2006 in V.3 | ∞

EDITOR’S NOTE:: We here at SHR would like to welcome Lobsel_Vith to our staff department. She is dedicated to bringing you a wide range of ideas and theories about Silent Hill that have arisen throughout the community that attempt to better explain the underpinnings of the series. While all theories are the opinion of various individuals but not everyone, they make for an interesting read and it is our hope great conversation and debate can be generated.

Ever since the dawn of humanity mankind has been fascinated with the unknown. There has been interest in higher powers for instance. The world of Silent Hill is no different. For plenty of fans of the game there has been no greater question than “Who are the Silent Hill Gods?”

In this multiple part series I will do my best to shine light on the religion and mythology of Silent Hill as well as it’s deities. For this session I have chosen to write about the original birth of God, as portrayed in the myth paintings.

Author’s Note: Silent Hill is such a fun game and part of this fun is figuring out what everything in the game means. This type of art form is called theorizing and it’s been used since the dawn of time. Everything you will no doubt see in this article and future articles are in fact theories, unless stated in game, or by one of the game’s creators.

Part 1: The Existence of Man Before God

In the beginning, people had nothing.
Their bodies ached, and their hearts held nothing but hatred.
They fought endlessly, but death never came.
They despaired, stuck in the eternal quagmire.

It is not uncommon for mankind to be portrayed as evil, hateful creatures in religions. This one is no different. Before the God was born humans and earth existed along with the solar system. The humans appear to be immortal, because although they fight endlessly death never comes to them. For them being unable to die, to escape from that awful existence is the eternal quagmire.

Why are these humans immortal? The mockery of their existence suggests that their immortality is not a gift from any God. There is also a strong idea that during the origins of man before the God there was only one world. There is another theory that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Since the human soul is energy it cannot cease to exist. If there are no other realms during the origin of earth and mankind then there is nowhere for the soul to go. Instead it remains inside of the human body awaiting for yet another blow to the body.

Part 2: The Birth of The God

A man offered a serpent to the sun and prayed for salvation
A woman offered a reed to the sun and asked for joy.
Feeling pity for the sadness that had overrun the earth
God was born from these two people.

At some point during the existence of mankind the people must have started worshipping the sun as a source of energy and life. The Book of Lost Memories found in Silent Hill 3 states that the main deity is a sun deity. This fact is driven home when the Birth painting reads and depicts a man and woman offering gifts to the sun and requesting things. Something happens that was thought impossible. Somewhere there was a deity that felt pity for mankind, and was born from the man and woman.

The gifts that the man and woman offered are symbolic. Both of these objects appear in several religions and cults and articles of importance. The serpent is a symbol of wisdom, rebirth, and salvation. The reed is a symbol of devotion.

Why did the man offer a serpent?

To best understand this theory, we the players must consider that over time the humans started to see themselves as Gods. Given that the humans were immortal this idea isn’t far fetched. We should also consider the idea of serpent worshippers as related to the sun worshippers. The serpent worshippers worshipped the esoteric, the light within themselves. This inner-light or esotericism was also said to be wisdom, and this was reflected manifest as the sun in the sky. That is to say that man saw the inner light within himself as the sun in the sky. As the sun is seen as they symbol of life and energy, the serpent is also seen as the life giver, the giver of wisdom, and the giver of rebirth. Much like the sun the serpent is also seen as the creator.

The man offers a serpent to the sun. That is to say that the man offered his inner light to the sun. He prays for salvation, or for mankind to be saved. The serpent is a symbol of salvation. Since the man offers his inner light symbolized by the serpent then it is possible to believe that the man saw himself as the savior of mankind.

With only the man nothing happens. As is the law of nature a female must be present to create life. That brings us to…

Why did the woman offer a reed?

The reed in mythology and cults is a sign of devotion and fertility. On one hand the woman could have offered the reed to the sun and asked for joy hoping for a child. However, if the sun is the physical manifestation of the man’s inner light then the reed would appear to be a symbol of devotion. The man has offered his esoteric self/the serpent to the sun. The man has the seed, and all that is needed is a vessel. According to the laws of nature the vessel must be a female. By offering the reed the woman has shown that she is devoted to both the man and the sun. The woman devotes herself to the man and the sun and asks for joy. The term joy in this case means happiness. Could the thought of birthing a child bring the woman joy? Perhaps the woman wanted mankind to have joy in a bitter world.

The Birth of God

Now that we know what the serpent and reed represent we can further understand how the God was born. The man offers his inner-light to the sun and prays for salvation. The woman devotes herself to the sun and the man. With a new found energy the man places his manifest into the woman’s womb. The woman then gives birth to the God.

The Reign of God

Salvation

God made time and divided it into day and night.
God outlined the road to salvation and gave people joy.
And God took endless time away from the people.

The God is born, although the painting depicts that she’s descended down from the heavens. She is draped in a red dress, and surrounded by more red cloth. This red cloth appears in all the paintings, and could very well symbolize the inner light of man. It also symbolized the God, or the sun manifest.

The first thing that God does is make time and divide it into day and night. She then marks a path to salvation and gives the people joy. The humans have now been given happiness, and a path in which to follow. The God also gives the humans death.

Why does God look this way?

A common belief about the Silent Hill games is that the Gods are only the delusions of those who summon the God. During the God’s first birth the God is unique. She looks like nobody else in the Myth paintings, (save for Xuchilbara) since there is no image to stem an illusion from it seems that this is the true form of the God in her human incarnate form. Her hair and dress is red symbolizing the sun. She is after all the human incarnation of the sun after all.

Creation

God Created Beings to Lead People Into Salvation unto her
The Red God, Xuchilbara
The Yellow God, Lobsel Vith
Many Gods and angels
Finally God set out to create paradise
A place where people would be happy just by being there.

For some reason the God decides that she needs to create other beings to lead people to her. She creates the Red God, Xuchilbara and the Yellow God Lobsel Vith. Xuchilbara looks the same as the God only smaller. Go back and read the section about the serpent and the man. The man’s inner light was manifest as the sun. Since this is the case then it becomes clearer about why Xuchilbara looks like the God. Remember the concept that energy cannot be created or destroyed? The same concept applies here. The God has taken the man’s inner light and formed it into that of the deity called Xuchilbara. Because the man’s inner light is the sun manifest then it makes sense that Xuchilbara is the physical incarnation of the man’s inner light, and because the God is another manifest of the man’s inner light then there in explains why Xuchilbara and the God look the same.

What about the Lobsel Vith? I will explain who I believe best fits the role of the yellow God in a later part. If Xuchilbara is the manifest of the man’s inner light, then suppose that Lobsel Vith could be the manifest of the woman’s devotion. In the creation painting we can see Lobsel Vith pointing at a book. This is a parable of the Sefer Raziel, the book of magic written by the archangel Raziel that was to serve as a guide to lead Adam and Eve home. This of course will be further explained in the article about Lobsel Vith.

The God then decides to create paradise where people will be happy just by being there. In many religions the idea of the head God creating a place for his/her followers to be happy is not an original idea.

The Death of God

Promise

But there God’s strength ran out, and she collapsed.
All the world’s people grieved this unfortunate event, yet God breathed Her last.
She returned to the dust, promising to come again.

It must have been the creation of many deities, or maybe the God was partying too hard. The fact is that one-day while creating paradise she collapses. Obviously people saw this because in the painting the people are surrounding her and crying. There is the possibility that the God’s spirit went back into the heavens, instead of to the “dust”

Faith

So God hasn’t been lost.
We must offer our prayers and not forget our faith.
We wait in hope for the day when the Path to Paradise will be opened.

This scene here appears to be from a later date from which God was born and died. Here we see three people, a man and two women who are standing in front of a hole very similar to the whole in SH3. The man appears to be reading from a parchment and pointing down at the hole. In the center right in front of the hole is a woman wearing a white cloak and white hood. Could this mysterious figure actually be Alessa? I will explore this in the article about the Yellow God, Lobsel Vith.

Next up I will explore the deity that is Xuchilbara, the Red God. Until next time folks this is Lobsel Vith signing out.