Tomb Raider is one of those franchises that used to be popular but has returned for a new generation to experience her adventures. I wasn’t a big fan of the older games, mainly because the graphics just looked so pixelated I couldn’t get my mind around it. I did play a lot of one of the demo CDs (remember those?) that came with a gaming magazine, but that’s pretty much it.
I am way behind in getting around to this new series, and I wanted to finally dig in and give it a try. Beating this game was a lot of fun, even though there were certain aspects I thought could be improved or removed altogether. For example, I felt that there wasn’t a need for so much gore and cussing, but these games like to be “cool” and add that. This is just my opinion, but I think more and more games add more violence or foul language just for the shock value. It’s just there so the younger audience can feel grown up (which is a lie) or for adults that like all of that. I’m not a fan at all, so I hope not to see so much of that in the other games in the series.
Seeing Lara grow as a character throughout the story was my favorite part though. She starts off as an eager adventurer, looking for answers about her father but in the end, she is a hardened warrior who saves the day. As the player, we go on that journey with her while she is trying to survive everything from men trying to kill her, wolves, supernatural changes in the weather, and climbing all over a haunted island.
Searching The Catacombs For Truth
The story carries us through a haunted island, where Lara Croft and her team end up after their ship is destroyed in a storm. She finds her friends as they are trying to figure out how they got there, why there are so many hired guns everywhere and what they are looking for. Eventually, Lara discovers that there is a cult leader as crazy as they stereotypically are portrayed, who wants to resurrect a dead Japanese queen named Himiko. This queen was actually based on a real person who delved into shamanism which is basically black arts or witchcraft. It’s interesting to see how evil and malevolent she was in the game and the movie based on the game, also titled Tomb Raider.
Though I cannot recommend this game for children or those who don’t want to see gore or blood, it has a strong spiritual message that I saw while playing. The motivation behind this cult called the Solarii Brotherhood, Father Mathias, is that he wants to “save humanity”, though he goes around killing many people in the process. He has sacrificed many in an attempt to resurrect her by using the person as a vessel for her soul. It’s pretty crazy stuff, but I found it interesting that he put so much faith in such an evil person who was already dead.
Many people are looking for answers in different ways, even to the insane point to try and sacrifice people to appease a deity. In the bible, sacrifices were done of animals in the holy temple during the times of the Old Testament. Humans though were never offered as such because it was prohibited in God’s word and law. This so-called “priest”, is going against what God commands in His word and is just a wicked person to even call himself by that title.
Humanity wants to worship something or someone. Unfortunately, with so many religions, false idols, humanism (worshipping yourself, in essence) or even atheism that declares there is no God it’s easy to get confused. Just like Mathias who is searching for some kind of hope for this dark world, his mind became distorted and believed a greater evil can resolve the present wrongs that are already present. In reality, Christ who has already overcome satan and taken the keys of life and death from him is the only hope we have.
The Truth And The Way
When you compare spiritual practices or beliefs, Jesus Christ is the only one who is not dead. Mohammed, Buddha, and every other cult leader has died and is buried. You can visit their grave and leave flowers if you like. The Son of God is the only one who resurrected and is no longer on this Earth. Without that one fact, nobody would believe in Him nor be willing to martyr themselves for a lie. Christians are killed for our faith because we believe it until our last breath. That’s because He has been made real to us, a true encounter with God. They do not follow a religion or some tradition that was passed down by their family. If that’s all someone does, then they truly need to seek God for themselves and not rely on someone else’s faith.
Unfortunately for Father Mathias, his perverted dream was not fulfilled and Lara stopped the queen from returning. God’s plans will always come to pass, no matter how bad the situation may seem. This has happened throughout history, and will continue to happen to those that never realize God’s plans for their own lives. Sure, not everyone starts out wonderfully with everything perfect but when we make the decision to lean on His understanding and not our own, then life begins to make more sense.
Even though Lara destroyed the remains of the queen and stopped the storms from raging over the island, many people on that island held onto the belief of a madman. Even if they questioned it, they died fighting Lara Croft’s plot to stop the ceremony from happening. People will give their lives for an ideal, but what if it’s the wrong one? My life is too precious to be wasting it on something or someone that didn’t already pay a price for me to be here. Christ died on a cross, being beaten and whipped, humiliated in front of the Roman crowds and worse, separated from His relationship with His Heavenly Father to pay for my sins. That is an ideal I am willing to live and shape my life around.
I wanted to share below some interesting comparisons I found from Video Games and the Bible. You can find the link in the reference section below. These are bible verses that show how how Himiko is stated to have similar power to God Himself. It’s my opinion, but I think that the producers of the game took inspiration from the bible. Enjoy, thanks for reading, and looking forward to your feedback on what you thought!
Comparing Tomb Raider quotes to the bible
Long ago in ancient Yamatai, there ruled the Sun Queen, Himiko. She had power so god-like that the people of Yamatai not only feared her, but worshiped her. Let’s look at some of those powers now:
She controlled the sun: “They say she commands the sun and the rain [end quote]”
“Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.” (Job 9:7)
“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:” (Amos 8:9)
Confessions of a Solarii #3:
“…Something clearly controls the storms around this island and it will never let us leave.”
Psalm 83:13-15
13 O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind!
14 As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze,
15 chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest.
Solarii (the cult led by Father Mathias) praying to Himiko:
“You are the sun, you are the light, you are the storm that rages at night.”
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)
“We are your children, wait for the day, bring us the dawn, show us the way.”
“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name:” (Jeremiah 31:35)
One conversation between Solarii went like this:
Solarii #1: “The Sun Queen…she’s finally going to lead us off this rock.”
Solarii #2: “So it’s all real? I mean…she’s real?”
Solarii #1:”She is. And nothing is going to stop us.”
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
Father Mathias:
“My brothers, listen to me now. Out in the world, we were nothing. But here…here, we are the Solarii, the Sun Queen’s children. She brought us here for a reason. I know you want your freedom. I know you want to escape this place. But to do so, we must release our Queen. Like us, she is a prisoner. If we can free her, we free ourselves.”
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16-17)
“Himiko, you are the first and the last… Speak to us now!”
[God speaking] “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 22:13)
References
https://www.gotquestions.org/priesthood-believers.html
Tomb Raider (2013) and the Bible Part 1: Himiko
Tomb Raider (2013) and the Bible Part 3: The Solarii
Very good and interesting point of view on the events and story of the game. I agree it is very unnecessarily spiritual and uncomfortable at times as a result, but the gameplay and adventure aspects of it are very good. The sequels “Rise” and “Shadow” are much more focused on adventure and tomb raiding and not so much “horror”. Great article, keep up the good work and spreading the good word, hopefully you’ll be able to write on some current games next.