What is a God?
Since yesterday, Iβve been thinking that itβs interesting that Kato-sensei would basically promote with this arc the idea of a bunch of humans (and demons) killing a (demon) God, as if sending some sort of theological message thatΒ βGod must be taken down by His own creations when He gets too threateningβ (see His Dark Materials, as a loosely related example).Β
However, I do not think that this the message that sheβs actually trying to send. Because, who called Satan a God in the first place?Β
He did. So his title of Demon God is self-proclaimed, even if the Baals agree that heβs the most powerful of them all.Β
βLike a God, Iβm omnipotent and omniscientβ, but is it really how that turned out? First exorcised by Yuri and Shiro 16 years ago and then being completely unaware of the rules between demons, their kings, (all of them βhis subjectsβ) and official contracts as familiars with exorcists... He has God-like powers, thatβs why he determined that he can do whatever he wants and people have to obey him, in fear of what he might do to them otherwise. So itβs power and fear that gave him the idea that he was a God and leader, nothing else.Β
Meanwhile, we have the counter-example of Rin, his own son, who shares his powers...
...but who was taught that his immense strength and letting his emotions run rampage was wrong, because he had to learn to control himself for his own sake and for everyone around him, ever since he was a kid. Shiro taught him the importance of using his powers for better purposes...
...and thatβs why the current faceoff between biological father and son is so poignant: no one said having that much power to handle was easy, in fact Rin still has a lot of trouble keeping his own powers from devouring him, but itβs definitely worth the effort.Β
In other words, itβs nurture vs nature, education and awareness vs self-interest, so Iβd say Kato-sensei is promoting the message that, yeah, you gotta team up and get rid of the tyrant who believes that heβs all powerful, but using his powers only to do his bidding and whatβs easy, rather than thinking and using his powers for whatβs tough but meaningful for everyone.Β
