A Russian Propagandist wrote this Awful Christian Fantasy Novel (Leviathan)

[@noellelavenza494]

"Funny, as soon as I read that my neighbor's dog started barking." Subtle, lol, I almost didn't catch that. (for the similarly clueless: implying it's a dogwhistle, as vague statements about "traditional" stuff tend to be)

[@l0rf]

Thank you for pointing that out, very much did not register in my head.

[@lordedmundblackadder9321]

oh, i thought the dog was literally barking lmao

[@Methus3lah]

“You have to kill your ego, or your ego will kill your dreams.” You know that if you keep dropping bars like this, you’ll eventually have to release a novel, right?

[@AstaryuuGaming]

People unironically will hate on the term "Christian Mythology" but will be perfectly fine with the term "Egyptian Mythology" like it never was a full fledged religion. A mythology is the stories of a religion. Not that hard to understand /shrug

[@Crispifordthe3rd515]

Difference being that Christianity is a still living religion, and Egypt's is not. It gives it more of that ancient feel to it.

[@Akasha6915]

@@Crispifordthe3rd515 and yet we refer to Hindu Mythology, also a living religion, various Native American beliefs as mythology, also a living religion, and same for Buddhist and Shinto beliefs.

[@Crispifordthe3rd515]

@@Akasha6915 I don't...? And I've only heard of a few others referring to it that way. Maybe I'm just in the wrong circles of people, but I haven't heard that very often.

[@Akasha6915]

@@Crispifordthe3rd515 the I Don't and the I Don't Pay Attention, aren't great rebuttals here.

[@szymonlechdzieciol]

first and foremosty - term muthos from which modern English myth derived did not mean something fake - something said: word, speech, conversation public speech (mostly in plural) talk, conversation advice, counsel, command, order, promise the subject of a speech or talk a resolve, purpose, design, plan saying, proverb the talk of men, rumor, report, message tale, story, narrative, tale, legend, myth (in Attic prose) a legend of the early Greek times, before the dawn of history a professed work of fiction, fable, such as those of Aesop the plot of a tragedy or comedy

[@calemr]

Regarding the idea of intentionally taking a person who's position you hate, who's ideals you are directly opposed to, and making them sympathetic: The guy who started the MCU. Tony Stark. That was his origin. Stan Lee went "Can I write a story about an arms manufacturer, and sell it to nerds (A predominantly left wing, anti-war group, especially back then when nerdy stuff was less mainstream)?"

[@rayelgatubelo]

Coincidentally, both Noah and Tony Stark were known for their struggles with alcoholism.

[@АзарЯвед-э4м]

At first I was intrigued: "Tulos will review a russian writer? Who? Pekhov? Lukianenko? or some terrible isekai to WW2?" But it just some unknown american guy.

[@JamesTullos]

People like Pekhov know how to write though, none of them have Noah fighting dinosaurs.

[@marocat4749]

Did dugin write light noveks thou 😂

[@johannageisel5390]

@@JamesTullos Wait - Noah FOUGHT them? So, he didn't simply forgot to take them on board, but rather ACTIVELY left them to die??? He should be punished for animal cruelty!!!

[@СтепанХудяков-ю3ж]

I used to like Lukyanenko as a kid but then grew up I realized that his only talent is making an interesting premise but he almost always fucks the book by the end

[@degeneratemale5386]

There’s ww2 isekais?

[@jessclark9725]

The secret plan to kill the leviathan is to kill the leviathan by killing the leviathan.

[@cam4636]

Just according to keikaku...

[@emilyrln]

My god, it's brilliant 😮

[@sheogorath1524]

​@@cam4636Translators note. Keikaku means cake

[@Attaxalotl]

Because it has layers!

[@elijahtaylor4698]

The worst part about Christian fiction portraying Christians as bastions of good and Atheists as evil is canonically inconsistent with Christianity. As a Christian I am no better than an atheist that the whole point! Thats why salvation is necessary in the first place. So frustrating that I have to go back hundreds of years for genuine depictions of the experience of life as a Christian.

[@elijahtaylor4698]

I really should have proof read this comment

[@dr0g_Oakblood]

@@elijahtaylor4698 You can edit comments

[@DesolatedChild018]

You know, people nowadays give so much shit to Dante with the whole “the divine comedy is biblical fanfiction” meme being taken too seriously, but that’s because most people only read Inferno cos’ it’s the dark and edgy one, and he’s quite the judgemental jackass there but Purgatorio is basically about how he has to face the reality that he had no right of acting that sanctimonious because he’s just as filled with sin and without care for penitence, atonement and reckoning he might as well end up just as any of the souls in hell he bullied. Yeah he picked his personal idol to act as his guide through hell and purgatory, and wrote the woman he only saw once and held this platonic passion for the rest of his life - which is quite creepy but that’s another discourse, it was the 13th century yaddayadda - as this figure of immense purity that guides him through Heaven, not to mention the whole metaphysical validation of his political disputes and whatnot… *BUT* at least he had sufficient humility to write a reflection about his own flaws, and not put himself as beyond sin; He’s very much not a Gary Stu, You cannot count the amount of parts that he falls to his knees or straight passes out due to witnessing something so far greater than him. It’s impressive how both him and like Milton who wrote back when people were straight up murked for blasphemy and their works are infinitely more reflective and introspective and thoughtful than any Christian fiction from mid-XX to XIX centuries where the author just writes with absolute certain of their righteousness.

[@Lobster_Lars]

Andrey Tarkovskis movies are quite good and he's a devout christian

[@l0rf]

Did the devout Christian maybe mistake World Of Darkness lore with Bible lore and wrote about the First City Enoch, in which Caine ruled alongside his Vampire offspring of the Antediluvian second and third generation? That would be kind of hilarious.

[@sinistertwister686]

While that would be hilarious, White Wold didn't come up with it on their own for VtM. First City Enoch was named after Enoch, son of Kaine, it's in Genesis 4:17.

[@neoqwerty]

@@sinistertwister686 Nooooo, next you'll tell me the vampires from Legacy of Kain have biblical naming themes too.

[@sinistertwister686]

@@neoqwerty your response is inadequate. I'm telling that at least at this specific regard author of the book didn't make a mistake and was on point with lore.

[@almightytallestred]

I absolutely agree. It would be so hilarious if someone would somehow make that error and would then go on to write about _The Book of Nod_ and _Revelations of the Dark Mother_ like they were truly some ancient apocryphal texts that have long been thought forgotten. Both take enough inspiration from the Old Testament, Jewish Mysticism and early Kabbalah to feel at least partly legit to someone who is familiar with canonical and non-canonical Bible lore but has never heard of White Wolf or the World of Darkness. Maybe some day... 😄

[@cesly87]

I get these references

[@soapybagle]

Okay, but like honestly, referring to the stories in the Bible as "Christian mythology" just sounds infinitely cooler than whatever people usually refer to it as

[@angelsartandgaming]

That's what I refer it to honestly.

[@robertborland5083]

I mean, if you are using terminology from the study of religions broadly, the term can fit in some cases. (You also have different types of texts in scripture, including legends of past heroes, parables, and poetry.) I frequently refer to the first chapter of Genesis as the "Genesis Chapter 1 creation myth." This is not even intended in a derogatory manner but as a neutral description of a specific text describing its function - describing the categories made in the culture of its writers through a story about the origin of the world. EDIT: Some good resources for more sophisticated discussions on these topics are: - A History of the Bible: The Book and Its Faiths by John Barton (2019) - God: An Anatomy by Francesca Stavrakopoulou (2022) - The Dark Interval: Toward a Theology of Story by John Dominic Crossan (1975)

[@ashwhiteforest9078]

Ironically most attempts at writing with said mythology suck. You never get a single character that just does not convert or something, who is not an irredeemable prick. And I get that. I think the author is either genuinely horrified by the idea that a character who does nothing wrong could go to hell, or worse, they just genuinely think all those people are evil, even when their own writing implies otherwise. I love disrespecting the shit out of my faith and challenging it in fiction. The sad thing is, it's absolutely fascinating for setting and world building. But concepts like noble demons and principled sinners are absolutely radioactive to these authors. I find the concept of a demon refusing to change what it is, through either death or transformation, still working to find some kind of harmonious niche in a world that sees it as the antithesis of order, the most compelling character. Thing is, that concept goes both ways. It's basically the inverse of what typical Christian fiction portrays. Problem is it's portrayed poorly. We *have* religious characters in media who are not only compelling, but even do justice their beliefs.

[@younggamer7218]

Christian canon?

[@szymonlechdzieciol]

Lack of principled sinners truly is just bad anthropology. Noble demons not so much - mythology does not really imply those dudes kept any redeeming qualities. And that's fine since Angelic Spirits should be inhuman intelects, and I'm done for all eternity with shitty YA urban fantasy with angels being utterly humanised.

[@tompatterson1548]

Christian mythology is much more than just the bible. It's all of the Non-Cannonical gospels, the various medieval saint's lives, the icelandic bishop sagas, not to mention a lot of european folklore.

[@cam4636]

The thing with Christian mythology is, it'd be a really interesting mythology/cultural belief system to study!....if Christians didn't try to murder you for recognizing it as mythology instead of not literal history *Also, and this shouldn't be too surprising considering its place of origin, there's a longstanding (though rarely recognized by European/"western" Christianity) North African Christian culture. For a taste of what that's like, if you ask them where the Ark of the Covenant is, they can give you directions to the building they keep it in.

[@naurahdeatrisyagitany8365]

And don't forget Gnostic texts, from the Valentinians to the Sethians to everyone in between. A modern take on a mystical ascent/descent story, from either Gnostic lit or Jewish Kabbalah lit, would be so cool

[@neoqwerty]

@@cam4636 Shout outs to Ethiopia keeping the Book of Jubilees where it would have been completely lost otherwise, IIRC?

[@merrittanimation7721]

Even stuff like Paradise Lost qualifies, if only because despite it being intended as fiction it still effects how people think of the Biblical Creation (whether they realize it or not).

[@szymonlechdzieciol]

​@@cam4636 For technical aspect: North African Christianity is at least three different cultures - first you gonna have West North Africa that was under Roman Church, and Berbers of this period were half-Romanised - this one mostly fall to Islam, though small pockets survived. This gonna be Saint Augustine Christianity. It's rarely recognizes as separate because till it dissapearance it held close bond with Rome. Then you have Egyptian Copts with different liturgy and traditions of ancient Church of Alexandria. And finally you have Ethiopians - which are more Eastern Africa than Northern and it's Ethiopians claiming to hold Ark of Convenant (alas observations by European during Italy-Ethiopian war imply it's fraud). Also Ethiopians consider themselves converts from Jewish faith so they still keep some kosher laws.

[@lunaticproductions0]

I really felt it when you sarcastically said that heroes should never have relatable human traits because my recent obsession has been movies about jesus and like, Im not religious and my interest in these movies comes from them as adaptations of wellknown stories more than anything and it has been interesting seeing the ways (devout) christian adapt vs the way non-christians adapt them, but one thing thats particularly frustrating about the movies made by christians is how stoic and weirdly inhuman Jesus always is and im like broooooo whats even the point of god coming down to earth in human form if hes gonna be just as strange and unknowable as he normally is, yknow

[@enotsnavdier6867]

And it's weird, cause even in the Bible Jesus comes across as more human than a lot of adaptations portray. He got angry, he was tempted. But so many Christian propaganda pieces make him so uninteresting and unemotional.

[@lunaticproductions0]

@@enotsnavdier6867 I mean, I dont actually think its *that* weird when you consider the ideology of most of the people making these movies, which is basically that 'sin' is bad and unforgivable and associating with 'sin' is also bad and unforgivable. And while the definition of sin is honestly kinda dubious and really depends on whoever is talking about it, most christians do feel that having negative or complex emotions like anger or temptation is sinful, so I kinda get why they wouldnt really want to portray their god that way (especially since they have this fixation with their religion and god being infallible and perfect as well). Combine that with the fear that a believer might have about portraying someone they worship inaccurately and from that angle, I definitely understand why christian media about Jesus is like that. That being said, as someone who just like enjoys good stories, it still doesnt really make it any less frustrating to see media about an objectively very interesting guy who mustve felt complex emotions at various points in his life get flattened into something way more boring. (Thats not even mentioning the wrongness in the whole "even just associating with sin is unforgivable" mindset because Jesus associated with sinners all the time lmao)

[@JamesTullos]

That depends on what sect of Christianity you subscribe to. Some say that Jesus was God in a human form, meaning he would have been perfect and wise while others say Jesus was the Son of God, meaning he was a human with human flaws who also had neat powers.

[@szymonlechdzieciol]

Because he represents what human SHOULD be, and not our current wretched state. Therefore he is impossbility for normies.

[@MarshalMarrs]

@@JamesTullosthe lord of the world is just 352 pages of Robert benson screaming about how human rights and international cooperation is somehow irredeemably evil.

[@micuu1]

21:50 Web Designer here: it's a Wix website he didn't bother to complete. There's lot of sections full of placeholder text. The login is for the online shop.... which only features this book. No, I didn't try and see if the ordering works.

[@metalman4393]

You might not have realized this during your earlier review, James, but Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy) was was kind of a similar thing (religion wise), except that it was more on the lines of fanfiction than recreating an established story. Why did they keep kissing Shiva's ass saying how great he was, every chance they got? The author's reverence for his god. Why did they know about redox reactions, radio waves, and nuclear bombs, even though it doesn't make sense, considering their tech-level? Because it falls into the woo belief some Indians hold that "We knew everything before western science discovered it, but over the generations we forgot!"

[@kronosbach5263]

The thumbnail is a true work of art.

[@yshwgth]

Serious question: Is there some kind of automatic translation going on, or is the thumbnail in German for everyone?

[@kronosbach5263]

@@yshwgth The thumbnails are intentionally German, it's kind of supposed to be a joke, I guess.

[@yshwgth]

@@kronosbach5263 Verrückt.

[@marianatheschizoid5912]

Yeah I had to click for the thumbnail alone. So many questions.

[@vasya9641]

When I saw the title I'd hoped that you somehow discovered the book about russian propagandist meeting Jesus, who was cloned by soviet scientists. So, in comparison, the premise of this book about Noah even sounds kinda normal...

[@paperraven7019]

Wait, is that an actual book???

[@user-hp7kk4gq6t]

Name please

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

Yes, according to the Bibble, Eden was a whole territory in wich God had a garden in the eastern region. The author probably didn't even think it would be necessary to clarify that because he can't fathom the concept that other people may not have being obssessively indoctrinated in Biblical trivia from a young age

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

But for people familiar with the Bible, wouldn't this book be even worse? Because the Bible is full of spoilers. For instance, surely the Bible says who eventually killed the Leviathan. And by implication: Who failed to doso.

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

@@Mecharnie_Dobbs maybe, but the whole business model of this kind of Christian media is based upon the logic of "the popular thing everybody loves is forbidden, so you either settle for what we're selling to you or nothing at all" ... is like Christian rock, most bands are lame but people listen to them anyway because regular rock is "sinful"

[@MarshalMarrs]

We actually do live alongside dinosaurs, they are just called birds! 😂

[@t-1156]

Each part of seeing this in my reccomendation was an additional step down into the the horrors lurking below. First I saw the title and thought "That does sound weird". Then I saw the thummbnail and started questionning the purpose of life. And finally I saw that describing this abomination took an amount of time that is best described as barely shy of yor average movie. I have no clue what clicking this thumbnail has gotten me into, but is seems terrifying.

[@douglasdea637]

There was one self-published book I read that I liked. Damn, if I can't remember the name of it. A woman rents and apartment and finds that one of her neighbors is Vom the Omnivore, an eternal being. They have to team up to defeat the plans of some other timeless being.

[@GreiH]

That sounds very interesting and crazy ngl

[@jakestrider3565]

I am incorporating the phrase "Christian mythos" into my vernacular now thank you

[@martinsriber7760]

In my country atheism is so common that I thought God and Lucifer are fairy tale characters as a child, because I only encountered them in media for kids.

[@rodneysmith873]

@@martinsriber7760 I wish I could live there.

[@reidheidler5138]

The Jesus Mythos

[@ghilliemcwilly2162]

@@reidheidler5138 It's the monument mythos, but it's really just Jesus doing a vlog

[@neoqwerty]

Is there room for "the bible fandom" too?

[@MetaSynForYourSoul]

Nah bro. You are absolutely right. Anybody who sits there and accuses other people of being pedophiles as their go to insult, that person needs some serious looking into. I mean I don't even think about pedophilia it doesn't even cross my mind unless he gets brought up, but you use that as your go to insult!?! No I'm sorry...Something ain't right about that is all I'm saying...

[@maybemablemaples2144]

Even you can't save this book from being boring. This is wild

[@angelsartandgaming]

You know, the "dragons are just dinosaurs" angle and the "dinosaurs lived among humans" are both ideas I've dabbled with before because I liked the idea of "What if dragons were just dinosaurs that were descendant of survivors of the mass extinction and evolved in different ways" or "what if humans did live around the time of dinosaurs and maybe even got to tame some". Heck, one story I dabbled with, King Dragons (Magnarex Britanni) are considered a protected species as they're endangered due to human poaching with only a few hundred left and most of them being in captivity. But the King Dragon did evolve from a previously undiscovered theropod species (though is able to walk on both twos and fours like an iguanodon). Though they evolved to be smaller, a bit bigger than a clydesdale, and have more of a scavenger diet rather than a hunter one. Though they still capture prey sometimes. Heck this whole story has the ingredients to be something I'd be VERY interested in. But he seriously believes this???

[@michaelhess5981]

“Theres so many characters here that have very little definition and barely appear but we’re just expected to remember them and care about them in some way” the definition of mythology

[@MrDowntemp0]

Considering that God floods the Earth, killing everyone except Noah's family because of all the evil... Couldn't this have been a much more interesting story if Noah had to live in a world that was falling deeper and deeper into sin. Wouldn't it better show why God picks him, if we see him struggle against temptations constantly, and struggle to keep his family being good and moral people. I think it could've even worked as an allegory against modern 'wokeness' that his ultra-conservative audience would've eaten up. Also, since Noah built the Ark, I can understand making him a decent builder/architect. But since this is a prequel of sorts, it would've been interesting to see how he gained those skills. Did he have to apprentice under a master who he also disagreed with religiously? Or maybe his master was one of the last decent people and acts as a role model for Noah. Then we could've seen Noah deal with the grief of his mentor's death sometime before God decides to player-wipe the planet. Imagine if there's a running gag where he keeps trying to build a better fishing boat, but just keeps failing and failing to get it right, and its either because he has so much practice at it that he does actually succeed at the ark, or because its only through divine inspiration or some other such nonsense. Also... if Noah was ordered to put 2 of every animal on his boat, and there were Dinos around in his time.... Did he NOT follow God's instruction? Did Noah not like Dinos?

[@Wired_User]

God, imagine how fking good that book would have been. Imagine giving Noah the anime mentor/senpai figure who tragically dies in the Flood so Noah is tested yet again and gets a sick power-up. I dunno, maybe speed building a boat? Or wrestling with dinosaurs that want to eat everything on board so he has to leave them behind and/or kill them to save all other animals? Imagine a cool climax where he’s panicking that he’s disobeying god because the dinosaurs were literally going on a murder-spree on the Ark and he had to keep them away? Ooh, imagine if the dinosaurs were possessed by demons who wanted to sneak aboard and assassinate Noah!! Oh man, someone should write this. This could be an epic thriller.

[@cursedcontent4207]

Every time you say "Christian Mythology" an angel loses its wings, and honestly I love it.

[@angelsartandgaming]

Huh, no wonder I couldn't fly anymore. Haha!

[@louisev9707]

This comment has won my day, thank you haha!

[@Crispifordthe3rd515]

That's rude, whatever did angels do to you! Lol

[@cursedcontent4207]

@@Crispifordthe3rd515 lol they work for the guy who gave me mental illness

[@Crispifordthe3rd515]

@@cursedcontent4207 Blame Lucifer for that one bro. Without him there wouldn't be any of that. Death, Decay, Illness (mental or bodily), sin and all the such is his design. Yes, it sounds like a convenient cop out but it IS the truth. Maybe not your truth, but It is apart of the Bible Mythology. You're gonna have to find another justification for your distaste on Christianity unfortunately 🤣

[@arielmersel1834]

I went to religious Jewish schools growing up, and an early interpretation you learn is that noah was pious (a tzadick) only for his time compared to everyone else

[@RushedAnimation]

It's literally in the text, "Noach Ish Tzaddik Tamim Hayah BeDorotav,” ”Noach was a complete righteous man, IN HIS GENERATION." It doesn't take Rashi to figure out why that was specified (although Rashi is great). What yeshiva did you go to?

[@rayelgatubelo]

James complimented Save the Pearls to contrast it with this story. THINK ABOUT THAT.

[@rileyfaelan]

The story about chambers in the creature's head and two chemicals getting mixed to make fire sounds like a fan fiction of a famous rambling by Duane Gish, of the Gish Gallop fame, concerning bombardier beetles. It used to be popular in some Creationist circles around the noughties as a supposed example of "irreducible complexity".

[@ssjbears]

I wanna know how the fuck the Edenites knew that's how Leviathans made fire, considering that none had ever been killed before.

[@ericc9321]

Fun Jewish apocrypha fact: the Grigori are mentioned as having invented makeup in the book of Enoch (or at least introduced the heavenly art to earth and taught it to humans.) The author probably doesn't bother to explain it, but it's at least a little cool that he did his homework and a little funny imagining all these ancient humans getting fooled because they've literally never seen makeup before and the villain is some hollywood makeup artist who invented the entire concept.

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

1:11:58

[@Mario_Angel_Medina]

The wasted potential of this book is really shameful. Back in the pulp magazine days a lot of Sword & Sorcery stories where set on "antediluvian times", and even if most of them weren't high art they're still really cool... also, somebody else imagined Noah, Samyaza, the Nephillim and other characters as cartoons similar to the ones in those sci-fantasy series Hanna-Barbera made in the 70s and 80s (Thundarr the Barbarian, Mighty Migthor, the Herculoids, etc.)?

[@naomistarlight6178]

There's a pretty cool book by Madeleine L'Engle called Many Waters where kids from our times get teleported back in time to before the Biblical flood. There's things like unicorns and little pet mammoths. I'm a fan of those books since childhood and idk why there's not more people talking about her work in spaces like this more. Maybe because if you make a book whose primary target demo is children, especially girls, they take you as frivolous, but Wrinkle in Time introduced me to many concepts I'd later associate with "sophisticated" or "mature" sci-fi. Maybe the lack of interest in her work is also caused by the abysmal nonsense that was the Wrinkle in Time movie adaptation.

[@ZeMalta]

I love the movie Noah, it's a great use of the Christian Mythos. It's almost like what this author there wished he wrote in terms of being good and interesting. I thought this movie would've been mentioned in the review. And yeah, Leviathan's author is a nutty chauvinist.

[@johannageisel5390]

Lol. The city being named Atlantis at least fits in with it sinking under water during the deluge.

[@dr0g_Oakblood]

20:35 - Now, correct me if I am wrong, but *theoretically* anyone that actually cares about the constitution as written would not want to work with Christian theocrats to form a secessionist microstate, but of course we all know how much "constitutional conservatives" actually care about the constitution.

[@jAkiosn]

You are correct, but this is the people that still publicly morns that their ancestors started a civil war in an attempt to destroy the union because they were denied bringing slaves into most of the new territories and they failed is a massive national calamity that needs to be sensitively respected.

[@creepyreflection8072]

If this dude found out Bavarians still wear dirndl and lederhosen to special occasions and build new houses in traditional styles, he would lose his mind.

[@gothamtruecrime]

How did the author make a book about angels and dinosaurs boring?? That’s a real skill.

[@bottomthor]

when i was Christian, but also a writer, i genuinely did not enjoy most Christian fiction because it was Christian first and a story second (Prince of Egypt is glorious exception, as was Veggie Tales)

[@ashwhiteforest9078]

My mom was a devout Christian and let me watch Event Horizon. Was like the first horror movie I got to see, and I was ten. But I fell away from the faith for a long time, because almost all art created for it was just utter garbage. There's gems, even in the modern era, but they're made from genuine devotion, not the desire to make art but the obligation to make it Christian themed. Doesn't mean devotion justifies every work, but I find often that it's better to be a genuine heretic and blasphemer, than an inauthentic zealot.

[@alisaurus4224]

Holy shit, i live in DFW & have had surgery in hospitals on the north side of the metroplex near Frisco. I’ll have to keep an eye out if the situation arises again

[@MB-lz5eb]

Just the "angel looks at a girl and she gets weak in the knees" could be written well-an angel hypnotizes/enchants someone to lust after them (on purpose if angel is villain, or on accident if hero). Cue the characters dealing with ramifications of this-does the person try to resist the foreign urges? How do their friends respond? What about the angel, how do they react?

[@dr0g_Oakblood]

9:40 - Case and point, Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Inferno/Purgatorio/Paradiso, you can do a lot of stuff from the base material of Christian mythology, and you can make renowned works from it.

[@RECEPTIONS]

the second you said "if you're ever getting surgery in frisco, texas" i was like wait. uh oh i may have encountered this guy before oh nooo he's real????? i exist next to people like this????? noooooooo it can't be

[@FIRING_BLIND]

A good explanation for why its Christian MYTHOLOGY is that the beliefs/lore/canon of a religion are its mythos-Greeks used Greek mythos, the Vikings used Nordic mythos, Jews use Judaic mythos, etc. Just because its a myth doesnt mean you can't believe in it. It doesn't necessarily make it unreal. It means it is a story that is a part of the religion. So Noah's Ark, the David fighting the Battle of Jericho, etc....that's all mythos. It's not provably true, it involves supernatural elements (aka God), and its part of a religious ideology. Boom. Mythos.

[@shadenox8164]

Yeah just certain Christians trying to create a false wall between their religion and other religions. Like those people who now say they "don't have a religion" but a "personal relationship with Jesus".

[@quietone2674]

The one thing I agree with Huffman on is that Elon Musk should go bankrupt building Dark Souls 3 in real life.

[@projectjupiter5523]

a two hour james tullos video, we are truly blessed 🙏🏾

[@daedalus6796]

There's a far better premise for a book than this bible fan fiction, where a man goes on a quest to build Irithyll, an independent city-state in which all adults (emphasis on all) must wear dirndls.

[@ashwhiteforest9078]

I have a pretty weak spine, I had a corset I wore all the time, but due to health problems. I actually got too skinny for it. I love Dark Souls, too. I have a horse in both these races, oddly enough...

[@geosustento8894]

1:53:40 this reminds me how just a few months after its release, NO ONE'S talking about Hogwarts Legacy anymore

[@sebamm6469]

The author probably doesn't know what mythological fiction is.

[@binch6291]

With the fact he had Tim Lahaye giving positive feedback on his book, I'm surprised that wasn't it's entire marketing ploy. This seems like the kind of thing the Left Behind crowd would devour

[@Marinanor]

In New Soviet Union, Bored Of Writing Is YOU!!!

[@douglasdea637]

That cover looks awful too. Those characters are wearing iron-age arms and armor, in a pre-bronze-age period. Wait, the city of Enoch has over 500,000 people? 10,000 years ago a city of 50,000 would have been huge, the largest in the world. This reminds me of those passages in the Old Testament where each tribe contributes tens of thousands of troops. One tribe contributed more troops than historians say the entire middle-east had at the time. (Around 2000-1000 BCE the entire area of Canaan had maybe 50,000 people. Most of that living in small, round, villages.) Wait, truth-telling serum? That's never really existed. Not like people imagine in spy novels. Even in modern times it doesn't really work... In BCE times... Oh why bother?

[@AntediluvianRomance]

33:44 Noah was a drunkard, that's why all the vine. After the Ark deal, the next thing he did was to grow some grapes, make vine and fall asleep naked.

[@BrandonPilcher]

Minor nitpick, but at 11:35, I really doubt the ancient Hebrews imagined Noah and his family to have looked European (although some people have claimed Noah's son Japheth to be an ancestor to Europeans). I dunno how the book portrays them though.

[@skinnyjasper3097]

I think this is a joke on the implication by Americans and Europeans that all Biblical figures were white.

[@willfakaroni5808]

Oh like mister black Egyptians has much to say

[@permafrozen7696]

i have never laughed this hard at a youtube video before, the part about irithyll made me spit out my water and have a laughing fit

[@caligulacorday]

one thing that`s funny about the christian understanding of noah as a „paragon of virtue“ is that genesis doesn`t actually call him that. in the jewish understanding, when noah`s called „the finest/best of men“, it just means that noah is the least awful guy around at the time.

[@shiranuiprestonsaga8867]

Really interesting you say that Noah would start off as a Young man and he would be a bad guy because in the bible he was. The reason he and his family was spared is because he repented and rejected the wicked ways of the rest of humanity that's why he was spared and tasked with repopulating the earth. I swear it's like these people didn't even read there own religious material and just go along with what ever there pastor's say instead of coming up with their own conclusions themselves about there religious ideals.

[@chansesturm7103]

Not that I'm disagreeing, but could you point out the verses wherein it explains his repentance? I read the Flood narrative recently and recall Noah being called "righteous" and "blameless in this generation," which seems to imply he was unambiguously good.

[@shiranuiprestonsaga8867]

@@chansesturm7103 it's been a minute since I've read the Bible. I read back and you're right lol.

[@darkdreamer871]

the fact that Tim Chaffey likes this book (and gave one of the quotes in the back) tells me everything I need to know. AIG must love this guy edit: 38:31googled it and yes, that is the name Ken Ham and friends made up for Noah's wife at the Ark encounter, so I guess I was right about Huffman and AIG

[@gao1812]

Thanks for not being apologetic about your disbelief. ❤ It's funny how religious people view every other religion as myth and fantasy but never consider that their own religion is perceived the same way by others 😂😂

[@TAP7a]

A small personal thank you for your pronunciation of the word “twat”

[@jaredgreen2363]

1:45 Not to be confused with leviathan, the first of a 3 part series about an alternate steampunk history where a living dirigible going around the world wins the Great War in a matter of weeks, and Nikola Tesla is a villain who intentionally caused the Tunguska event. Right?

[@dr0g_Oakblood]

11:30 - So fun fact, at least for darker-skinned people, this guy probably believes in Ham's Curse as the origin for anyone with dark skin, which is just so much "fun". I am a little out of the loop as to how other ethnicities are explained in the Young Earth model, but I imagine they are given similarly racist origins.

[@GlenHovindOfficial]

Wanted to correct something from the beginning, Christian mythology is mythology regarless of it being real or not. A myth is a fundational story, and a mythology is the collection and study of those myths; so even if everything christians believe is real, they still have a mythology

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

The Big Bang and Evolution are mythology.

[@Duskbound]

@@Mecharnie_Dobbs Not really. Mythology was made to understand a world with no evidence for how it works. The theory of evolution is based off of observations and tests, and has been proven.

[@BenjaminGlatt]

Madeleine L'Engle's Many Waters takes Sandy and Dennys-the main character from A Wrinkle in Time's younger twin brothers-and plops them right in the desert as Noah is building the Ark. It's a pretty okay read, from what I remember.

[@nootnoot9784]

I want to hear more about the books that are just people trying to write anime

[@louisev9707]

This attempt at fiction reminds me of that time as a confused young Catholic attending an Anglican school attempting to math all of the ages of the people who used to live hundreds of years old and wrote a fic for Religion class where Noah's Ark managed to get to New Zealand and they rode dodos (because dodos can't fly, they just ended up turning NZ into an insular paradise with weirder fauna than Australia). I did not understand why this did not get a good grade. Also, in hindsight, I don't know how dodos survived the flood but I was like 8 at the time If only I still had that story, I would totally put it up on Kindle Unlimited and maybe come up with a real plot for it 30 years on. Maybe a summer project?

[@siamzero9480]

It did not get a good grade because Dodos lived on Mauritius, not New Zealand

[@dr0g_Oakblood]

24:35 - Now, I have been told that *technically* (IIRC), the idea for LOTR's wider mythos was that he wanted to create a world that *could* eventually phase into the "real world" of christianity, or that could segue into christian mythos, but I would take that claim with a grain of salt, as for the life of me I cannot recall where I came across that info. The difference here of course is that JRRT obviously did not take this too seriously if it was even true at all, and that at most we have a story with some christian themes in it, but it's the good ones about helping people and working to enjoy the simple and peaceful life rather than abusing the earth and others for earthly gain and power.

[@alisaurus4224]

JRRT was a philologist before he was a fiction writer. He created several languages and made Middle Earth as a world where they could exist, drawing heavily on Norse myths and Old English legends. He was a Catholic, but despised allegory in fiction and disliked most of his friend CS Lewis’ fictional works for their unabashed Christianity parallels.

[@blindmanflamingfishdafeesh]

I laughed out loud at "He goes home to his girlfriend/cousin."

[@RoguePlanetSounds]

Love these videos, I didn't think I could sit through your two-hour-long format but here I am. It's quite helpful to know how not to write.

[@tompatterson1548]

At least in the movie Avatar, the divine intervention was kind of a checkov's gun.

[@eddieford9373]

I think you're the first person who isn't completely ashamed of the stuff they wrote when they were young. Most people try to bury it, but you actually own it. Good for you.

[@caligulacorday]

the focus on wine is because after the flood subsides, the first thing noah does is plant a vineyard.

[@rileyfaelan]

(1:05:47) "How, in Eden, everyone is judged by his actions instead of his ancestry" => a clear diss of Shire and the Hobbits' tradition of chattering endlessly about genealogy.

[@cursedcontent4207]

Wait, holy shit. I KNEW THIS SOUNDED FAMILIAR. Okay I was in a stream a few weeks ago where someone joined the chat near the end and was talking about dragons and Leviathain and stuff. I'm hyped to hear how fucking bonkers this is.

[@tamagothchic]

Love the idea of the Dinosaur Lords series, absolutely adore the idea of dinosaur knights, but unfortunately I can't get through the writing style. I want to finish it one day but might have to try the audiobook

[@KaliqueClawthorne]

20:37 - Dirndls aren't even that traditional - like they are a sort of traditional clothing from a very specific part of Germany. I come from northern germany and based on the region there are many other traditional outfits. Hats with felt bubbles, long sleeve dresses, big bows in the hair and more. Often based on the sort of regional plants or other things.

[@lizabethhampton4537]

Just hearing this review I expected that tower to be the Tower of Babel. I wasn't expecting Atlantis at all

[@ilyuser]

strongest thumbnail game on youtube

[@helicopterharry5101]

Going to take a wild guess for why his website has logins. He wants to be able to ban people who disagree with him... or just used a website template that included logins.

[@x.5364]

In biblical mythology all races, as i know, descended from Noah but not like you would think. There's more rasism to it. Basically there was a myth where three sons of his were caught in a specific situation with their dad and since they treated him differently in that situation, god made them start some different races. Sem started jews and all who are connected to jews, Yafet started basically europeans (but including celts (what a joke really, bible didn't study anthropolody), slavs, baltic people etc), and Ham (read more as [hum], as he treated Noah the most poorly, started northern africans (basically blacks). It is debated to this day if there three sons "started" all races or only those who were known to jews at the time of writing bible. In some slavic languages because of this myth there's still a word "ham" (хам) for naming extremely rude people, lol. At least this is what they taught us in orthodox christianity.

[@SallySueSaywhatagain]

A "God helps those who help themselves" theme would be an excellent arc for young Noah to have, actually! Learning such a lesson in his origin story would lead perfectly into building an ark!

[@ziloe]

You know, I've heard that reading makes you a better writer. So, given all the weird stuff you've consumed for our entertainment over the years, I'm genuinely curious to read something you've written, now that you've all this experience in what NOT to do

[@shadenox8164]

Reading certainly helps, but you do also have to write. So even with all his reading if he hasn't been practicing his writing it'll be kinda rough.

[@CrucibleOfHate]

At 11:37 you mention something rather interesting: The preposterous belief that all of humanity is descended from Adam. Your immediate dismissal, however, is rooted in race, taxonimically speaking. Taxonomical race *does not exist.* Race as a social concept, certainly, but race as a shared phylogenetic heritage in a demographic is not a thing. Any "racial" demographic will have more genetic variation *within* the demographic than can be seen *between* demographics, i.e. race is genetically meaningless - and most relevantly to my point, there are not "Common ancestors" that defined the evolved traits being expressed by a race - because it wasn't evolution creating a new taxonomical classification of humanity, but simply humans adapting to their surroundings. Put simply, someone's race *does not* tell you who their ancestors were, only *where those people lived.* So yes, all of humanity could be descended from a bunch of white people, although certainly not one family of them LMAO There's an excellent paper on this, but I only have a link that leads directly to a pdf download and I don't know where that link would normally be hosted. "The Scientific Fallacy of the Human Biological Concept of Race" - Gianfranco Biondi, Olga Rickards

[@Almighty_DarkLord]

And humans came from Africa. And not the northern parts. Ergo it tells you where they originated ie not a bunch of white peeps. Also also I doubt middle-easterns imagined noah as a European when it was made up. So all in all stupid argument

[@coltondempsey2181]

Pretty solid video but I think the complaint about the city of Enoch being named Enoch after Enoch was weird. Like the city of Enoch is already a real thing in biblical lore it’s not just the authors poor world building. But also cities named after people are an entirely normal thing.

[@maidingermany]

I hate writers who screwed up storys with Dinosaurs, they are the coolest Animals who ever lived, I love them since childhood. 😡 Oh, and I hate Russian propagandists.🖕

[@jon85753]

I loved Jasnah in the first book, and I agree with your assessment of Sandersons writing of her. However, I think I look at her more fondly than I maybe would otherwise because who she's contrasted off of in the first book. Also, spoilers for the ending of the third book, I don't think making her queen would ever have happened in the world Sanderson set up. Religion, in the world Sanderson set up, is super important, and Jasnah being an atheist would probably not go over too well. I haven't finished the Rythem of War, so maybe I'm wrong, though, but setting an atheist on the throne right after Dalinar was excommunicated sounds idiotic. And I would assume Jasnah would agree, given how methodical she is compared to, well, everyone else, but she doesn't seem the bit concerned by this. Plus, in Dalinars autobiography that had come out by then, I would assume he mentioned Jasnah was the one who read 'The Way of Kings' to him. However the only other person who could have stepped up at that point would have been Renarin. But this is where I want to praise Sandersons writing on Jasnah again because, her and Renarins familial relationship, I think, is the best relationship in the series. Even though, as of yet, it's barely featured, it shines through where it is. I don't know, I guess my thoughts are that a more likely situation is that would Renarin would be the King, but Jasnah would be the monarch in all but name. Especially given the strained relation everyone would think Dalinar has with both his sons at the point, he admitted to killing their mother and probably mentioned not really being around all that much for Renarin.

[@taylorr.1589]

I'm an atheist and I disagree with the premise of this video. I mean maybe these books suck but that's just the execution. I love the idea of a biblical epic from a creationist. I mean hey, Homer will always be better than modern novels based in Ancient Greek mythology. 'Cause Homer believed that shit. Anyways, I could be wrong; I'm also very stoned.

[@paperraven7019]

It's been a long time since I read it, but for some reason the dinosaur stuff reminded me of this book I read called The Story of Owen (I forget who the author is) about modern day dragonslayers, it had some neat worldbuilding and I thought you might like it. Then again, it's been years since I read it so maybe I just remember liking that the main character was learning the same instrument as me. In any case, it might be worth reading.

[@PaigeSinclaire]

So not meaning to get political but I, I think rightfully referred to Christian stories as Christian mythology to a friend defending Israel when we argued and while he dehumanized the Palestinian people he called me a bimbo for referring to the Bible as Christian mythology 🙄 I think it’s the best descriptor of it tbh

[@Alresu]

59:39 - Well, in all fairness: If the book portrays this as the first pit trap ever made, it's pretty ingenious. Remember: We all have known about pit traps from books, movies, tv shows, etc. from a young age. But We didn't have to come up with them.

[@alexross1816]

As a Catholic, calling it Christian mythology is fine. Mythology refers to the stories and fables of the religion, which this is (as opposed to practices and lifestyle). And in a general sense, calling Christianity a mythology doesn't really change how i perceive my religion.

[@jordanball-z]

It would be fantastic if you read The Barcode Tattoo trilogy. Truly one of the wildest Christian fantasy books I've ever encountered

[@cesly87]

Im a Christian and I describe the book of Enoch and the Nephelim as Christian mythology when talking to my wife about them. So people need not to be butthurt.

[@yulogicarchive]

Thank you for reading through the mundanity of the 400 pages and being so open about your opinions and the author's missteps.

[@jetpackman01]

When it comes to prequels of the famous Biblical flood story, I'll stick with the Book of Enoch.

[@ashwhiteforest9078]

Y'know, if it wasn't for everything else, wanting tits and real life dark souls sounds pretty based. I'd say that's legit genius, but it's like, less than two percent of what he's claiming to be about.

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

39:12 "How old is Zara?" The human body doesn't just count the number of sunrises and go "Ping!" 39:03 Physical-development requires food-energy and protein, to build a body big and strong enough accommodate the next stage, Prior to the industrialisation of agriculture and food, such nutrients have been in more limited supply. Physical development of the body therefore, took place after more callender-years following birth, than it does today.

[@alguien6462]

14 minutes of author background... yeah, this is gonna be a good video

[@preposteroussongs5572]

My great gramma actually believed that Leviathan and Behemoth were dinosaurs. Therefore she believed dinosaurs were real because they were in the bible

[@Neremworld]

Aura Battler Dunbine had dinosaurs and other beasts in its fantasy world, with hunters and soldiers riding pterodractyls while wielding hunting rifles and other guns.

[@abcdef27669]

"This guy asked Elon Musk to make Dark Souls real". We all know Elon Musk could make it, if he want.

[@swankypants9366]

suppose he could buy an island and hotdrop homeless people to fight wild animals or somethin'.

[@neoqwerty]

@@swankypants9366 it's Elon, he'd find a way to fuck that up somehow.

[@samjam8044]

I think someone is re-creating fast and furious. Tokyo drift at around 17 minutes and 10 seconds into the video.😂😂😅

[@SimonClarkstone]

49:59 I'm unconvinced by some of your maths here. If you have (e.g.) 30 generations in 1100 years, and in each generation each pair of parents creates 4 children in the next geleration before dying, your population multiplies by over a billion. I don't know where you got the idea that every woman has to give birth every year. The point about the city size not matching the world is still right though.