Here's an article that I never thought I'd write and yet here it is. We're talking about the anime "Death Note", "But, Ugo isn't this a Christian blog? Why are you talking about anime?" you might be asking. Why? I'll tell you why; because "Death Note" is a very Christian anime. How so? Well for those of you who don't know "Death Note" tells the story of Light Yagami, a Japanese high school student who finds the eponymous Death Note dropped by a Shinigami (Japanese Death God) and uses it to cleanse the world, only to find himself in a cat and mouse game against the world's greatest detective. "Ugo, Japanese death gods? This doesn't sound very Christian." Oh trust me, it is. How? Let's dive in;
"Death Note" is Christian because it reveals our need for not only a just but a merciful God. How often have you heard people lament that God doesn't kill all the bad people? How often do you hear people bemoan God for not stopping dictators and rapists and so on? "Death Note" shows us that god in Light Yagami. Light is able to smite any and all evildoers as long as he knows their name and their face and he does so immediately after finding the Death Note. "Death Note" appeals to the idea that most people want justice carried out immediately and Light Yagami is given the power to make that happen...and then we realize that "justice" doesn't mean the same thing to everyone and mercy is nonexistent. But people want God to basically be Light Yagami. Christians all agree that God is a vengeful God, God says so Himself;
"19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord."
Romans 12:19
But God also declares Himself Just and Merciful, Light Yagami is neither of these things. How can God be both just and merciful? People are so quick to point out God destroying various peoples over the years...but they're not so quick to point out how long it took him to do so and how many prophets warned those people about God's coming judgment. Jonah wanted a Death Note after preaching to Nineveh;
"10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, then God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would bring on them. So He did not do it."
Jonah 3:10
"But it greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry. 2 Then he prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not [a]what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster."
Jonah 4:1-2
Jonah wanted Nineveh to get destroyed but God relented and said "No.". This is God showcasing His mercy, something Light Yagami never did. "Death Note" and the book of Jonah show us why we can't expect God to go around smiting the wicked on our whims. Paul was a wicked man, if God operated as Light Yagami did Paul would be dead. Paul is a man who jailed the innocent and had them carried off to be killed. God used Paul as an instrument to build His kingdom. I'm sure many Christians at the time were praying for his demise only to be shocked to find Paul among their numbers later on. This is God's mercy on display, a mercy that we forget we take advantage of every day.
Sure we're not murderers and rapists but what did Jesus say;
"21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be answerable to the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."
Matt 5:21-22
"27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Matt 5:27-28
Jesus says we can be condemned by the desire to murder and fornicate. Can you imagine (assuming you've watched "Death Note") how much worse Light would be if He could read your mind? God can. God knows every thought you have in your head. Can you honestly tell me you've never had a single thought about harming someone? That you've never wished harm on someone in your heart? I can say that currently there are a lot of people who are wishing harm on a certain someone right now and I won't name names but you get the idea. God has access to all of this and yet those people still draw breath just like you and me. "Death Note" brings to light the reality that we as sinners are in need of a merciful God. A God who displayed His mercy for 400 years to the Amalakites before wiping them out, a God who was willing to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if 10 righteous people could be found, a God who sent prophet after prophet to Israel before using The Babylonians to conquer them, a God who watched for years as the Canaanites burned their children alive as sacrifices to their god until giving their land over to Israel, a God who watched Paul jail and condemn Christian after Christian before saying "Why do you prosecute me?". Light Yagami is not a merciful god but a vengeful one and "Death Note" is a perfect example of the god we all think we want until we get it.
I know "Death Note" deals with the supernatural and a pantheon of Gods and while on the surface this may not seem Christian sometimes Christian themes and messages can be found in things that aren't explicitly Christian and "Death Note" poses the hypothetical idea of what happens when man becomes God and that can't be done in a Christian context (ie, in a world where the Christian god exists) but despite that many Christian themes of justice can be found in "Death Note".
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