Wow.
That was a great read. Though I don't think Silent Hill and Angelology are actually intertwined within the game (anymore), now I have no doubts that this very subject was a strong influence on the creation of the first Silent Hill. Though they kind of retconned the cult a little bit in the later games, and turned Dahlia into a bit of a rogue agent (for whatever reason), the cult from the first game when put in this subtext actually makes sense. Since Red Sect/Yellow Sect, Xuchilbara/Lobsil Vith, and any of the other numerous reveals about the cult in the later games were not even an idea in their infancy at the time of the first game, this definitely gives me some food for thought.
Another interesting thing about relating Silent Hill to Angelology is that the entire game becomes a character study of religion, as opposed to just an observation of 'some crazy cult'.
"Seraphim, their very name means ardor and are in charge of maintaining the presence of the Source of the Whole of Existence within the physical worlds. They are the guardians of the various universes."
I was personally more interested in 'Maintaining the presence'. Without them, there are no physical worlds, no various universes. The word 'Ardor' is also very interesting. It is derived from the Latin word for Burning, or Heat (Sacrifices by burning to the Angels of Ardor would make sense, no?). A sudden or transitory warmth of feeling. I take this to mean 'A feeling or thought so strong that it overtakes you' (even if it applies to a
good feeling), which is the basis for the otherworld. It also means 'Sexual Excitement', which would help explain the sexual subtext present in the alternate reality of the Seraphim.
"As the first humans awoke and looked around, the only “number†they knew was ONE. Each person perceived one self, one Sun, one Moon, one meal at a time. One was the number of the age.
As humans became more evolved, and looked out into the Universe, they began to perceive Duality. There was night and day, summer and winter, male and female, good and evil. As ages passed and philosophies developed, there was yin and yang. Now TWO was the number of the age, and working with that concept brought people to the idea that, where there is two, neither of the pair can exist without the other. On a planet with no night, there is no meaningful day. In a world without evil, there can be no good."
This entire passage just
reeks of the Order's later beliefs. Look back at the entirety of the song 'Sun'.
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
Though the passage begins with 'People had nothing', that is literally impossible. Therefore, you can take 'Nothing' to mean 'One'. People had nothing
but self, and that's all they could perceive.
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 those two people.
Now, the theme of Duality begins to creep into the passage. Not only did God create two, God was born from two. I'll have to look up any particular religious significance (aside from the obvious) of the serpent and the reed, but from here it almost looks like God was born from the presence of Good and Evil.
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.
God created beings to lead people in obedience to her.
Now, here comes the true connection to the quote. Two becomes the number of the age. People can now perceive the concept of two.
The red God Xuchlibara
The yellow God Lobsil Vith
Many Gods and Angels
Finally God set out to create paradise,
Where people would be happy by just being there.
It's funny, God created two Gods. Perhaps to handle duality; One good, and one evil. Perhaps to take advantage of people's perception of things.
From here, Sun becomes a song about the fall of God, and the need to worship him for his return (!). As such, it kind of loses relevance to the original quote. Even so, up to this point, it's a very strong parallel of fundamentals.
"RED
Passion, strength, virility, health, physical longevity, protection, defense, attack, energy, victory. Angels of fire, mars, Aries, Leo (scarlet), Scorpio (deep red)"
I'd say that those are some pretty admirable characteristics. Worthy of worship, even. I wonder if that's exactly how the Order perceives Xuchilbara...It's worth giving some thought to.
Though I have absolutely no problem with you posting that in this thread, I think it's more than deserving of it's own thread. It is very interesting in it's own right, and I think more people should have a chance to see it.