about plotting to arrest Jesus. The Big MC does let himself be captured. Although the "bible story" has been done before (The Matrix) I don't think I want a sacrificial ending.

If they do do it, they better do a damn good job, because I'd rather be part of the ending instead of watching it. Anyone else agree? or think I'm stupid and should just shutup because I'm retarded? (I know that ones coming) :P

Something else to note is that to the religious leaders Jesus was considered a fanatic in His day. He constantly criticized these religious leaders for making the religion more about rules and laws than realizing who He was and what was important.

Jesus made it clear that He was what mattered most. He saved humanity from sin and a religion of nothing more than rules by dying on a cross...self sacrifice.

John 117 (Master Chief) will presumingly save humanity through dying himself- self sacrifice.

Case in point: Jesus fought against a religious "cult", John 117 is fighting a religious cult; Both give their lives to save humanity.
(But, obviously Jesus rose from the dead- and that's one thing our Halo hero can't do...)

As for a sacrificial ending, I think it would be awesome. If this is true, my love of Halo will grow because I like the thought of a game having something more meaningful behind it than just a made-up story. Of course, this would need to be done in a way that wouldn't ruin the story for those who do not Believe.

At the same time, I'm sure Bungie (and the writer, Joseph Staten) wouldn't have created a story and similarities to the Bible if they didn't fit in the story and make sense.

But, this all depends on how it's done.

There is so much to think about in terms of this theory, I think it's time we study a little more of Jesus life and see if anything else correlates. Then we might find some more answers.

Community Manager
GearHeads: Always running above 60 FPS~Nothing Less. -carr

You are right about all the referencing.  There are allusions to all sorts of literature, the Bible being one of the most heavily used.

I believe that this is the Bible Verse they were referencing:

From Revelation (written by John)

1:17
    And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, F8 "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way."

have a feeling he will die.  God i am so tempted to look at the ending on youtube but i will wait

Halo really is a lot deeper than most people give it credit for.

Second GT: extrateresticle

That is such an awesome tag line. I watched a leaked video of someone showing Halo 3 multiplayer and some Forge and listening to the background music was almost depressing. I really love Marty O'Donnnell. No game has better sound- period imo. It captures and inspires you to be a part of the epic adventure.

I love the depth this game has if indeed it correlates to the Bible- How could we find out for sure? I guess we'll have a lot better idea after we've beaten the game...

Community Manager
GearHeads: Always running above 60 FPS~Nothing Less. -carr

I found Bioshock to be more deep than the Halo series has been.  It's not-so-subtle religious themes (Covenant, Prophets, John, etc.) and cliche dialogue/plot are too much for me.  Bioshock was great because nothing was shoved down your throat.  The player could find as much or as little to the story as they chose.  But to each his own, I can't wait to shoot up some more elites with 4 people online!  7 days, 4 hours, and 35 minutes for me!

I'm feeling California and looking Minnesota.

Here's a little levity from the biblical considerations, but where the heck does the MC hide that grenade so the Brutes don't take it off him?  I mean, the "Believe" commercial is amazing and the "Monument" is over the top, but no one questions where the heck MC gets that grenade to begin with.  

Also, I certainly hope that this amazing battle we have been witness to is not the finale of the game cause there is no evidence of the Elite or Flood.  

I'm expecting more story and more surprises.  

Ready to finish all the Fights!

is reminding me of the gears official forums with that MFenix fiasco for some reason...

I just changed my sig, I think you'll like it sweety ;)

I looked up Genesis 17, (1:17), and that is the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his only son, in exchange for the eventual thriving of his descendants.  The possible "sacrifice" of master chief for the salvation of the human race kinda fits.  Just a thought.

Second GT: extrateresticle

I haven't been to sunday school in a while.

Second GT: extrateresticle

that Bungie has the balls to "sacrifice" the Master Chief.  We all know that the marketing agency that was hired to create this brilliant onslaught of Halo 3 advertising didn't know of Bungie's plans for Master Chief nor the ending of the trilogy.  Or do they?  Can we believe that a firm hired to promote H3, a multi-million dollar selling franchise, would not provide any parameters on what they can or can't do?  Come on, Gearheads!  John 117 can possibly be referred to the Biblical verse that he is the "First and the last..."  The print ads that have been circulating in practically every gaming magazine states, "A hero need not speak.  When he is gone, the world will speak for him."  The Museum ad plays homage to John 117 by speaking about him with reverance.  I seriously doubt that the marketing firm that was hired to hype up H3 didn't know a darn thing about the ending or how the final installment of the series would end.  I believe that Bungie has always tried to separate itself from other developers to maintain an "edge" in both respect and storytelling in its games.  If Bungie does indeed kill off the Master Chief, they're going to show everyone, gamers and competing developers alike, that they've got some huge balls!  In addition, by killing off the Master Chief, it qualifies that notion that it's not a one-trick pony.  Imagine, the company's homerun hitting MVP gets axed!  That sends the message that nothing is sacred.  Rather than continually milk the Halo franchise (concerning the Master Chief) to death with bi- or tri-yearly installments, let's go out with a huge "Bang!"  Bungie is subtly telling its followers/fans/gamers that the end is near.  It's similar to the ending of the Matrix where Neo is ultimately the saviour that must sacrifice himself so that mankind can survive.  Take a page from the movie, 300, where King Leonidas sacrifices himself to make a point (the last Spartan standing).  All of those Spartans gave up their lives to prove a point that they would rather die as free men than be enslaved. Leonidas gave hope and symbolism in the deaths of those 300, in order to instill bravery to  the masses to continue the fight.  These two movies although one is loosely based on history, provide solid examples on the fate of humanity's leader, the Master Chief.  Bungie's storytelling leads itself to John 117 serving as a messiah of sorts by converting his very own enemies, the Elites, to see the error of their ways and join him in his crusade to save not only mankind, but life throughout the entire universe.  This can't end up in a "Hollywood" ending because Bungie would lose credibility there.  Personally, I can't stand the typical "Hollywood happy ending."  As much as we want the Master Chief to ride off into the sunset to fight another day, the only way that he can come out of this is through "self-sacrifice."  Damn, we've only got eight more days to wait until we "Finish the Fight!"  I...Believe.

Breakin' Bs off!!! Wooohhh!!!

has much discussion about this very topic. You can find various interpretations of Master Chief here: http://halosm.bungie.org/story/masterchief.html

Be sure to check out the rest of the site for info on the other characters. It's almost crazy how in depth people get, but very intriguing.

"The creatures were friendly and could see in four dimensions. They pitied the Earthlings for being able to see only three." -Slaughterhouse-5

Myth is a wonderful means to tell the story of the Heart.  Jesus himself used myth in the form of parables.  

Who among is has not been touched in some way by the story of the "Prodigal Son".  We All hope that when we screw up royally, that there is Grace for us (by God, our wives, children, friends).  We don't deserve it, but we hope for it anyway.  Myth allows those types of stories to be told.  And the wonderful thing is that although the Bible is the most misunderstood book in the world, it is really more wonderful than we ever can imagine.  All that you hope that God is, He IS.

Now on to Halo.

Papi, you bring up a very interesting topic of discussion.  I haven't even read the follow up posts yet.  I will in a bit, because I am very interested in everyone's take.  I have read all the Halo books (and the Bible a couple time ~ and many sections, many times) and my opinion is that so far, all of you are right.  :-)

I will chime in with John 1:17   "For the law was given through Moses, but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ".

He is my personal interpretation and my Halo related one.

Everyone tries to obey the Law and we all fail (including Moses - he didn't even enter the Promised Land).  And fail and fail, until we give up and say that we are not religious.

But we hope that deep down there is a Hero.

In the story of Halo,

Mankind's very existence is being threatened by evil.  No vast armada of spaceships and soldiers have been able to even make a dent in the Covenant.  Planet after planet is glassed.  Then comes Master Chief.  Hope beyond hope.  And how is it possible for one man to turn the tide??

When you have nothing left but hope, you either die or you believe.

I choose to believe and live.

What do we choose to believe?  

That Love is real.

That we were made in love, by love, to love and be loved.

So brothers....   Bring on Master Chief!!!    

Spartan - John 117

He is the myth of the One that deep down we hope really Is.

"I do not tell lies, but I am a savage".

While I admit that the references are eirily similar and frighteningly acurate in their depiction of both biblical and Haloical(not a word I know) I also "believe" that this depth and relation to a actual historical script in the story is an absolute must if Bungie and Microsoft plan to make a successful motion picture in 2009.

Think about it. If Bungie and Microsoft would not have had this marketing push and depth of story in this edition of the franchise the movie would fall fatlessly flat reaching out only to the actual gamers themselves. A movie isnt successful when a few hundred thousand gamers see it. It is successful when it reaches the mainstream audience and millions go see it.

Honestly, with the kind of story that is shaping up for Halo 3, the cinema giants that are Touchstone(Buena Vista), Miramax(Buena Vista) and Peter Jackson are sure to deliver a movie going expierence for all to enjoy.

We are all anticipating the game in just ONE WEEK! But I myself am egerly anticipating the film of a lifetime that is TWO GRUELING YEARS away.

1st John 1:7   "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin".

The Great thing about Halo 3 is that we don't just "watch" Master Chief, like in a movie or by reading a book.  We get to BE Master Chief.  And because of Co-Op (4 players) and multiplayer for that matter, we get to do this Together.

In the Bible, the Promise of God is that we Believe the Good News that Jesus is our Savior, that we Receive Him, His Spirit and His/God's Love into our Hearts.  So we don't just "Watch" our Hero, but Our Hero Lives in us and becomes All that He is In us and even Through us.  Believe it or not, This is becoming my experience.  None of us are better than anyone else.  There is only One Hero / One Master Chief.  However, once we decide to Join the "game", we get to enjoy All that It Is.

"I do not tell lies, but I am a savage".

awesome posts Kanai and Thumb!!! I think you've both hit the nail on the head in many ways...

Kanai, you perfectly described Master Chief being the "hope" that we all want there to be (and his correlation to Jesus in that way) as well as just how deep this story is.

Thumb, you extended what Kanai said by saying not only is this a deeper, more meaningful story but it has to be to be a major motion picture. While I would love an awesome action movie about Halo, and awesome action movie with Lord of the Rings type depth would trump it by far.

Perhaps the guys at Bungie realized early on how huge Halo could be and are taking something that started off as a phenomenal video game and are progressing it into a pronominal part of our culture. The first piece of entertainment that encompasses books, movies, music and video games all collectively screaming Halo at the top of their lungs to the sound of the Halo theme.

Perhaps Microsoft saying Halo will be the Star Wars to this generation was a series comment concerning all there is upcoming with the Halo universe. In just 6 days, I believe we will see the largest entertainment launch in history begin a journey of deep thoughts, more stories and more heroes. By the end of it, everyone will believe in something greater than themselves.

Then again, we could all just be out on a limb that is about to break when we find out the story isn't much deeper than most games. But, I have a feeling our branch is pretty strong...

But while the story is deep, Bungie isn't going away from their roots of fun-first as we'll still be able to screw around all we want and on whole new levels in Forge. And that looks very, very fun.

Awesome thoughts guys, keep 'em coming...

Community Manager
GearHeads: Always running above 60 FPS~Nothing Less. -carr

Kenai did hit the nail on the head by his description of the Master Chief being the embodiment of "hope" because hope transcends many levels.  Although hope is not tangible, people are moved, motivated, and rely on it to survive.  The vein of storytelling in this epic trilogy sets the path for a movie that will meet the expectations of the general public.  Tragedy, adventure, love, and hope are strong themes that can either make or break a game as well as a movie.  Slightly OT- When H3 hits next week and sets records, there will be undeniable truth that this game is not your average formulaic game.  Talent agencies, movie studios, and the general public will definitely take notice if they haven't done so yet.  Even if it's a passing notice, Bungie has already done its job- public awareness.  If the Halo movie wasn't delayed, it still would have made its fair share of revenue.  However, with the magnitude of the marketing campaign that has been innundating the general public thus far, MS is trying to saturate pop culture with Halo.  MS doesn't merely want gamers and fanboys buying tickets to the Halo movie because that's already a given, they want the general public to "want" to see it as well.  The movie delay couldn't have come at a better time because it has actually helped buy more time for the regular John and Jane Does to learn about what Halo really is.  The game trailer runs along with regular movie trailers before every big-time movie, the print ads run in magazines that don't even cover games (Heck, it even made the cover of Time with Bill Gates), it's in your local 7-11, it's in supermarkets that sell Mountain Dew, it's staring you in the face as you drive-thru Burger King, the commercial ran during Monday Night Football for crying out loud, it gets free publicity every time it makes the local & national news programs, it's- everywhere!  Bungie is out for world domination! ;)  Bungie has fashioned a story about humanity's struggle to survive from the brink of extinction, hope in one man brings hope to masses (religious overtures), drama & suspense, and breaking out of the routine formulaic methods that generally plague games.  There have undoubtedly been numerous video games that have made the jump to the moviescreen, but the issue of quality has always been the biggest problem.  Perhaps H3 will usher in a new era of quality video games making the translation to the big screen.  

Breakin' Bs off!!! Wooohhh!!!

Kenai, Thumb, SweetTea, and Blankman.

All your enthusiasm is contagious.  Good stuff!

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us...1 Thessalonians 5:7-10

For those who want to keep finding parallels, the Bible in about 25 translations and versions is completely searchable by words or phrases:
http://bible.crosswalk.com/

"All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way."

3Suns, the internet has really made the Bible a TON more accessible!

As for Blankman- awesome post, yet again- Halo 3 isn't just a game- It's a freakin' movement.
 Halo Nation is growing...and even getting a site with "Gears" in the title rattled and ready to fight.

While at the same time possibly relaying a message that's been given in churches for thousands of years: There is Hope. Hope in Halo and Hope in real life. If only you Believe...

Community Manager
GearHeads: Always running above 60 FPS~Nothing Less. -carr

of a thread i read at Teamxbox.com's forums.

The thread was about Halo being THIS generations Starwars. And i think he was making a very strong argument. Also, nearly 80-90% of people in the thread think they will cry at the end of the game... which is... mindboggling.

Eat A Peach