Father of God (spoilers)
Posted: 10 Mar 2006
This is just one of my speculations. This isn't one of my essays that attempts to explain as thorough as possible. But, hopefully, it will prove interesting nevertheless. As always, spoilers for all games. Do not complain.
I have been rather curious about the notion of the Man who was partly responsible for birthing the God with the Woman, as depicted in the myth paintings that you see in the oratory of the church. We've had two games, Silent Hill and Silent Hill 3, that dealt with the Mother of God side of the story, but never was the Father of God side explained. As a matter of fact, the idea of the Man seemed largely irrelevant. If Dahlia could impregnate the Holy Woman through magic, what exactly was the point with the Man, that is the Father of God?
It's rather difficult to imagine that the God was conceived by biological means. That is, for the lack of a better way of phrasing it, I don't think the Man had sex with the Woman that got her pregnant with the God. No, the idea of being impregnated with God should have been devised by another way.
Speaking of Dahlia's magic to impregnate Alessa, I had began to wonder if the Father of God is actually referred to as the Conjurer. In Silent Hill 4 -The Room-, Walter Sullivan was the one Conjurer to summon the God through the 21 Sacraments.
Such an assumption seems to have merit when considering the fact that you find a memo in Wish House asking for the progress of Walter and if Alessa had been found yet. It seemed to me that as long as God was born, it didn't matter which way they summoned her. That is, as we're inferring that the memo was written by someone in the Sect of Valtiel (Jimmy Stone to George Rosten, most likely), the notion of which way the correct way is to birth God would be unnecessary. The Sect of Valtiel would have only needed to focus on Walter's progress as he becomes the conjurer.
This suggests to me that perhaps the cult wanted both Walter Sullivan as the Conjurer and Alessa Gillespie as the Holy Woman. The Conjurer would, instead of using the Mother Stone, use the Holy Woman to descend God. Only when this happens would God truly be born.
We've fought a form of God several times throughout the series, and each one of them was defeatable. This has been a means of confusion to those who thought that God would have had to be almighty, instead only too weak to be defeated by a mere mortal. People have suggested that this was the side-effect of the Aglaophotis or that she was born from the wrong vessel. Although these are likely possibilities, we also have to consider that in the Bad endings of Silent Hill, Harry defeated Alessa/incubator whom hadn't been subjected to the red liquid nor born from the wrong vessel. Had the birthing process been incorrect from the start?
There is of course one other thing that might suggest that the Conjurer is acting in part of the Man. The myth painting tells us that the Man offered a snake to the Sun while the Woman offered reed. When Walter performs the Ritual of Liberation (or Holy Assumption), he uses the artifacts of the White Oil, Black Cup and 10 Hearts of those who have sinned. Now, in the context of the Silent Hill series, the snake is mentioned one other time besides the myth painting. And that is the Obsidian Goblet from Silent Hill 2.
If this is true, we can also speculate the reason behind the opposition that went between the Sect of Holy Woman and the Sect of Holy Mother: the Sect of Holy Woman believes that the Woman is more important (the Man was just a Conjurer and any woman can be a Conjurer assuming that she were taught the proper lessons), where as the Sect of Holy Mother believes that the Man is more important (the Woman was only a vessel, and anything, even a stone can be used as a vessel; this is even suggested in Play Novel). Is this what the opposition was all about? Consider that Dahlia (a woman) was the head priestess of her faction, who used to kidnap girls, and that the priests that were associated with the Sect of Holy Mother were all male. Certainly, the children that were mentioned to have lived in Wish House (which was associated with the Sect of Holy Mother, by the way), were all male as well (Walter himself, Bob, John, and also Sharon Blake's son).
Just something to think about.
I have been rather curious about the notion of the Man who was partly responsible for birthing the God with the Woman, as depicted in the myth paintings that you see in the oratory of the church. We've had two games, Silent Hill and Silent Hill 3, that dealt with the Mother of God side of the story, but never was the Father of God side explained. As a matter of fact, the idea of the Man seemed largely irrelevant. If Dahlia could impregnate the Holy Woman through magic, what exactly was the point with the Man, that is the Father of God?
It's rather difficult to imagine that the God was conceived by biological means. That is, for the lack of a better way of phrasing it, I don't think the Man had sex with the Woman that got her pregnant with the God. No, the idea of being impregnated with God should have been devised by another way.
Speaking of Dahlia's magic to impregnate Alessa, I had began to wonder if the Father of God is actually referred to as the Conjurer. In Silent Hill 4 -The Room-, Walter Sullivan was the one Conjurer to summon the God through the 21 Sacraments.
Such an assumption seems to have merit when considering the fact that you find a memo in Wish House asking for the progress of Walter and if Alessa had been found yet. It seemed to me that as long as God was born, it didn't matter which way they summoned her. That is, as we're inferring that the memo was written by someone in the Sect of Valtiel (Jimmy Stone to George Rosten, most likely), the notion of which way the correct way is to birth God would be unnecessary. The Sect of Valtiel would have only needed to focus on Walter's progress as he becomes the conjurer.
This suggests to me that perhaps the cult wanted both Walter Sullivan as the Conjurer and Alessa Gillespie as the Holy Woman. The Conjurer would, instead of using the Mother Stone, use the Holy Woman to descend God. Only when this happens would God truly be born.
We've fought a form of God several times throughout the series, and each one of them was defeatable. This has been a means of confusion to those who thought that God would have had to be almighty, instead only too weak to be defeated by a mere mortal. People have suggested that this was the side-effect of the Aglaophotis or that she was born from the wrong vessel. Although these are likely possibilities, we also have to consider that in the Bad endings of Silent Hill, Harry defeated Alessa/incubator whom hadn't been subjected to the red liquid nor born from the wrong vessel. Had the birthing process been incorrect from the start?
There is of course one other thing that might suggest that the Conjurer is acting in part of the Man. The myth painting tells us that the Man offered a snake to the Sun while the Woman offered reed. When Walter performs the Ritual of Liberation (or Holy Assumption), he uses the artifacts of the White Oil, Black Cup and 10 Hearts of those who have sinned. Now, in the context of the Silent Hill series, the snake is mentioned one other time besides the myth painting. And that is the Obsidian Goblet from Silent Hill 2.
If this is true, we can also speculate the reason behind the opposition that went between the Sect of Holy Woman and the Sect of Holy Mother: the Sect of Holy Woman believes that the Woman is more important (the Man was just a Conjurer and any woman can be a Conjurer assuming that she were taught the proper lessons), where as the Sect of Holy Mother believes that the Man is more important (the Woman was only a vessel, and anything, even a stone can be used as a vessel; this is even suggested in Play Novel). Is this what the opposition was all about? Consider that Dahlia (a woman) was the head priestess of her faction, who used to kidnap girls, and that the priests that were associated with the Sect of Holy Mother were all male. Certainly, the children that were mentioned to have lived in Wish House (which was associated with the Sect of Holy Mother, by the way), were all male as well (Walter himself, Bob, John, and also Sharon Blake's son).
Just something to think about.
........don't worry....I'm thinking............. 
nevermind, i bow to the face of wisdom