"In The Last of Us and Theology: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? global academics probe theological and moral themes in the acclaimed video game franchise and series. Follow the plight of Joel, Ellie, Tess, and other beloved (and hated) characters while reading chapters examining themes like forgiveness, violence, fatherhood, and God"--
With a catastrophic fungal pandemic, the post-apocalypse, a moral quest despite societal breakdowns, humans hunting humans or morphed into grotesque infected, The Last of Us video games and HBO series have exhilarated, frightened, and broken the hearts of millions of gamers and viewers. The Last of Us and Theology: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? is a richly diverse and probing edited volume featuring essays from academics across the world to examine theological and ethical themes from The Last of Us universe. Divided into three groupings—Violence, Ethics, and Redemption?—these chapters will especially appeal to The Last of Us fans and those interested in Theology and Pop Culture more broadly. Chapters not only grapple with theologians, ethicists, and novelists like Cormac McCarthy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Martin Buber, and Paul Tillich; and theological issues from forgiveness and theodicy to soteriology and eschatology; but will help readers become experts on all things fireflies, clickers, Cordyceps, and Seraphites. “Save who you can save” and “Look for the Light.”
In The Last of Us and Theology: Violence, Ethics, Redemption? global academics probe theological and moral themes in the acclaimed video game franchise and series. Follow the plight of Joel, Ellie, Tess, and other beloved (and hated) characters while reading chapters examining themes like forgiveness, violence, fatherhood, and God.
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Giraffes and Shamblers
Peter Admirand
Part 1: Violence
Chapter 1: Separating the Sci from the Fi: The Ominously Real World of
Fungal Pathogens, and the Possibilities of Asthma, Illness, and Outbreak
David OConnor and Jerry Hourihane Clancy
Chapter 2: Ellie, Abby, and the Hospital Missions in The Last of Us Part II
Amy M. Green
Chapter 3: The Theologies of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Albert Schweitzer in
Dialogue with the Moral Landscape of The Last of Us
David K. Goodin
Chapter 4: Everything Happens for a Reason: Pastor David, Epistemic Harm,
and Religious Trauma Syndrome
Daniel J. Cameron
Chapter 5: Facing the Apocalypse: The Religious Cult of the Seraphites in The
Last of Us Part II
Tijana Rupi
Part 2: Ethics
Chapter 6: On Relationality, Human Beings, and Clickers
Robert Grant Price
Chapter 7: Genesis in Lincoln, MA: The Creation of Bill and Frank in Long,
Long Time
Ryan Banfi
Chapter 8: Turning Reconsidered: Sam and Henry and the Futility of
Nonviolence amidst Racism and Runners
Adam B. Banks
Chapter 9: The Road and The Last of Us: Failed Fathers at the End of the
World
Peter Admirand
Part 3: Redemption?
Chapter 10: Gods (Non)Presence, Interdependence, and Hope in The Last of Us:
A Theological Reflection
Pavol Bargár
Chapter 11: The Last of Us and Eschatology for a Post-Apocalyptic World
Flora x. Tang
Chapter 12: Carrying the Fire and Finding the Fireflies: Hope, Despair, and
Godtalk in the Dystopian Stories of Naughty Dog and Cormac McCarthy
Matthew C. Millsap and Ched Spellman
Chapter 13: Save Who You Can Save: Soteriology in The Last of Us
Rebecca Chapman
Conclusion: Too Much Faith in Humanity?
Peter Admirand
About the Contributors
Peter Admirand is associate professor of theology, a Deputy Head of School, and Director of the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue at Dublin City University.
