Breath of the Wild Praying to a stupid statue?

[the8thark]

Personally I might advise you to get over it.

Those are fighting words. Sure I agree with you on this but many others will not "just get over" things they feel are issues in this game. They should not have to either. It's these people, not me that would take offense to your words.

 

[alexanderraimo]

I am a Christian and have played previous Zelda games (however it has been a long time) and I know this game is fiction but why do I need to pray to a statue in order to get containers, or can I buy these containers without having to pray to a piece of rock?

Thank you!

May I ask you why you are opposed to Link praying to the statues?

Serious question, I'm very curious about this.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Obviously Nintendo are satanists, OP.

 

[Jamie]

I'm not Christian, but I know what you mean OP.

When I first saw it I thought it was a little disrespectful to faith.

I think the use of the word 'pray' is the issue. Usually in games it's 'make an offering' or similar. Which is more objective and removed to my mind.

Praying, I would imagine, is a very personal thing.

This is so ridiculous man. Get over yourself. It's a video game.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Honestly a dumb thread. Why do you need to pray to a statue? Cause that's how the game was made. I have better questions tho:

Why is Link like, 12 years old in half the games?

Why can't Ganon/dorf defeat a ****ing child?

Why are Cuccos so destructive?

Why can't Link actually get a girl for once?

Who's a better archer: Link or Honzo?

Why isn't Monster Hunter XX on the Nintendo Switch?

These are the questions we need to be asking, OP.

 

[Tompatuk]

I don't feel right that the games avatar has to pray, it somehow demeans my religion.... (goes and plays COD and GTA)

 

[Tetra's Wink]

I am a Christian and have played previous Zelda games (however it has been a long time) and I know this game is fiction but why do I need to pray to a statue in order to get containers, or can I buy these containers without having to pray to a piece of rock?

Thank you!

For the love of god!

 

[Harbinger]

I am a Christian and have played previous Zelda games (however it has been a long time) and I know this game is fiction but why do I need to pray to a statue in order to get containers, or can I buy these containers without having to pray to a piece of rock?

Thank you!

As a Muslim, I totally agree. While saving in Skyward Sword doesn't explicitly point towards praying to statues, rendering its core concept forgettable, explicitly praying to statues in BOTW is more serious than you think. In Islam, associating others with God is the number 1 sin, the only unforgivable sin. Whether it's a work of fiction or not doesn't matter, it's still a considerable risk one shouldn't be taking. So I totally understand why you would be upset. Personally, I'd prefer to learn game modding first (or pay a modder) one day and remove those religious aspects on my personal playthrough.

Games like Twilight Princess don't actually ask you to devote yourself to divinities, which makes it more comfortable to play.

 

[Kaleficent]

To offer a very different religious perspective, my mother's side of the family are all followers, many of them priests, of Shugendou, which is the specific sect of Japanese Buddhism that BotW draws a lot of inspiration from. One of the reasons I enjoy BotW so much is because I see so much of my heritage reflected in it, which is something incredibly rare. The vast majority of English language media, including media which gets translated into English, caters to Christian mores and sensibilities, and while it makes sense since the majority of the English speaking world is Christian or otherwise familiar with Christianity, seeing people complain about spiritual practices my family participates in and holds sacred is incredibly disheartening and deeply offensive.

Fundamentalist Christians often demand tolerance from others without extending tolerance in return, and while it's okay to be uncomfortable with the idea of, even fictionally, worshipping a deity that isn't your own, it's not okay to frame depictions of religions other than yours as the creators "forcing" you to commit sacrelige and/or blasphemy. You chose to play the game of your own free will. BotW is flexible enough that you can choose to play the game without additional stamina and hearts. You also have the choice to stop playing entirely.

No one is forcing you to pray at those statues, so kindly stop framing your discomfort as an actual injustice.

 

[Harbinger]

To offer a very different religious perspective, my mother's side of the family are all followers, many of them priests, of Shugendou, which is the specific sect of Japanese Buddhism that BotW draws a lot of inspiration from. One of the reasons I enjoy BotW so much is because I see so much of my heritage reflected in it, which is something incredibly rare. The vast majority of English language media, including media which gets translated into English, caters to Christian mores and sensibilities, and while it makes sense since the majority of the English speaking world is Christian or otherwise familiar with Christianity, seeing people complain about spiritual practices my family participates in and holds sacred is incredibly disheartening and deeply offensive.

Fundamentalist Christians often demand tolerance from others without extending tolerance in return, and while it's okay to be uncomfortable with the idea of, even fictionally, worshipping a deity that isn't your own, it's not okay to frame depictions of religions other than yours as the creators "forcing" you to commit sacrelige and/or blasphemy. You chose to play the game of your own free will. BotW is flexible enough that you can choose to play the game without additional stamina and hearts. You also have the choice to stop playing entirely.

No one is forcing you to pray at those statues, so kindly stop framing your discomfort as an actual injustice.

I personally meant no disrespect. I was only disheartened to learn that I can't really play the game because of the statue worship. I never wished to bash your beliefs, I simply underlined the fact that I understood why the person who started this thread felt that way. I never framed it as injustice, more like a considerable obstacle to some faith systems out there. Sometimes, you might believe something is not sinful, while others do believe it to be. I can't really picture Nintendo catering to everyone out there by changing their entire lore, which is why I would prefer to modify my own experience.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

this thread is 3 years old and the person isn't even on the site, how the heck you'd even find this

 

[Deleted member 91332]

Just imagine its a cross-shaped piece of rock.

 

[Kaleficent]

I personally meant no disrespect. I was only disheartened to learn that I can't really play the game because of the statue worship. I never wished to bash your beliefs, I simply underlined the fact that I understood why the person who started this thread felt that way. I never framed it as injustice, more like a considerable obstacle to some faith systems out there. Sometimes, you might believe something is not sinful, while others do believe it to be. I can't really picture Nintendo catering to everyone out there by changing their entire lore, which is why I would prefer to modify my own experience.

Considering you're not Christian, I would have thought it apparent that my comments weren't addressed to you but to the OP of the thread.

I also had no idea the thread was that old when I replied. XD I just saw it at the top of the page, got annoyed by the title, got even more annoyed by the first post, and so replied.

 

[AwdryFan1997]

A lot of people are overreacting to this. I agree with the OP, that the whole "praying" thing was kinda dumb, and I'd also like to add that we can blame the greater emphasis on this fictional religion on Skyward Sword. I'd honestly prefer if you could transfer the Spirit Orbs through the Sheikah Slate or something similar, so you don't have to hunt down those statues. While the system in Breath of the Wild is an improvement over previous entries, I'm honestly to the point where Stamina is kinda dumb and the next installment's Shrines should just give you Heart Pieces, more akin to previous entires.

I wish we could go back to the days when Nintendo censored religious content in their games.

 

[Shrimpdragon]

Considering the age of this thread do you honestly think it’s worth carrying on?
It a GAME that’s all, not real life!