Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Gospel of Evil

 The Gospel of Evil
type
TVTItem
 The Gospel of Evil
label
The Gospel of Evil
 The Gospel of Evil
page
TheGospelOfEvil
 The Gospel of Evil
comment
The Gospel of Evil ("L'Évangile selon Satan") is a 2007 thriller/horror novel written by Patrick Graham. It became a best seller in France, Graham's native country, and won the prestigious Pris Maison de la Presse 2007.1348. In midst of the Black Death, a monastery consecrated to the preservation of ancient heretic books is being ravaged by a mysterious killer. Its mother superior, Sister Yseult, ultimately buries herself alive in order to protect a terrible secret.Present day. Some years ago, a car accident destroyed the life of Marie Parks and gave her mediumnic powers in return. Now she hunts serial killers for the FBI, where she has the reputation of both a ruthlessly efficient agent and a troubled young woman. However, when she crosses paths with a mystic killer known as Caleb during an investigation of the latter's tracks in Maine, she gets thrown into a much, much darker revelation.At the same time, an equally angsty Vatican exorcist named Alfonso Carzo is sent to the Amazonian forest, where he discovers that an ancient evil has awakened on Earth. He will be forced to confront the collapse of his own beliefs and, after teaming up with Parks, to unveil a mystery whose chilling truth threatens to destroy Christianity.Not for the faint of heart, nor for excessively devout Catholics, but maybe for those who enjoyed The Last Temptation of Christ and would like an even Darker and Edgier story.The novel was followed in 2008 by The Apocalypse According to Marie, which featured Marie Parks again.
 The Gospel of Evil
fetched
2023-09-10T18:30:18Z
 The Gospel of Evil
parsed
2023-09-10T18:30:18Z
 The Gospel of Evil
processingComment
Dropped link to HansZimmer: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Gospel of Evil
processingComment
Dropped link to SuspectZero: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Gospel of Evil
processingComment
Dropped link to TheDaVinciCode: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Gospel of Evil
processingComment
Dropped link to TheNineties: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Gospel of Evil
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1869b4b1
type
Unreliable Narrator
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1869b4b1
comment
What happens when one dies in the novel's universe? Caleb and his side are an Unreliable Narrator in this matter. He first says all humans are condemned to Hell without remission because Satan rules alone this universe, but this clashes with his other claim that Father Jacomino's soul went to Hell for the specific reason that he was secretly evil. Later he changes completely his stance and tells Carzo that every soul gets reincarnated after dying, although it is conceivable that he's saying this only to mess with Carzo's head. Meanwhile, Parks's mediumnic powers seem to prove all of this is false, or at least there is a cosmic alternative to it. Her talks with dead people like Crossman's wife point more to a classic TV afterlife where people simply rest in peace if they doesn't have any finished business on Earth.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1869b4b1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1869b4b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_1869b4b1
 The Gospel of Evil / int_18aff462
type
Artistic License – Biology
 The Gospel of Evil / int_18aff462
comment
Artistic License – Biology: Bubonic plague doesn't typically cause facial disfiguration and bloating as described in the book (although bubonic plague isn't typically caused by supernatural entities in real life either, which might be the justification there). The Tuberculis perennis found in Caleb's stomach during the autopsy is a fictitious plant species (and one whose Latin name is absurdly vague for scientific standards, by the way). Why would have he swallowed it whole instead of masticating it is another point. According to the narration, Valentina removes her shoes in the Vatican archive in order not to destroy any proof. This is a strange procedural belief for a police inspector, given that her bare feet would precisely contaminate the scene with her DNA rather than avoiding any other disturbance.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_18aff462
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_18aff462
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_18aff462
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1f6983f7
type
Ambiguous Situation
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1f6983f7
comment
Ambiguous Situation: What happens when one dies in the novel's universe? Caleb and his side are an Unreliable Narrator in this matter. He first says all humans are condemned to Hell without remission because Satan rules alone this universe, but this clashes with his other claim that Father Jacomino's soul went to Hell for the specific reason that he was secretly evil. Later he changes completely his stance and tells Carzo that every soul gets reincarnated after dying, although it is conceivable that he's saying this only to mess with Carzo's head. Meanwhile, Parks's mediumnic powers seem to prove all of this is false, or at least there is a cosmic alternative to it. Her talks with dead people like Crossman's wife point more to a classic TV afterlife where people simply rest in peace if they doesn't have any finished business on Earth. How much truth does the Gospel of Satan tell? Christ's skull apparently proves that Jesus really turned away from God and was not resurrected, and the supernatural spirits behind the Soultakers are very real, but that's all the physical proof of their cosmology. Their claim that God abandoned humanity is contradicted by His repeated sealings of Satan through history, which also imply that Satan and God are not equally powerful deities as the book says. In fact, Parks's contact with dead people who are in peace implies a lot of this, if not all, is just Satanist propaganda. Does people who read the Gospel really Go Mad from the Revelation and no other reason? The fact that all of them react the exact same way (becoming apathetic loons) and speak with identical expressions (calling repeatedly their interlocutors "poor madmen" and rambling about "the death of their faith") despite being people of varied stance and education (from medieval knights to modern priests) implies the gospel actively brainwashes the reader with its supernatural influences rather than this being a natural psychological reaction to its contents. However, no explanation is given on this, and the book's status as a literal cursed item is treated as an Elephant in the Living Room even by the most skeptical characters. Caleb's way to possess bodies can be only described as random. The autopsy on the body he used to torture Parks only gives contradictory, fundamentally impossible results, and it is shown that he had used and discarded several other bodies (that somehow had the same exact face) at several points in history. His powers and limitations are even less clear.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1f6983f7
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_1f6983f7
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_1f6983f7
 The Gospel of Evil / int_23698fa8
type
Aborted Arc
 The Gospel of Evil / int_23698fa8
comment
Aborted Arc: Carzo's investigation of Maluna's possession in the Amazonas is strangely Left Hanging after he is called back. While we later discover that a spirit passed from Maluna to Carzo and deleted his memories of it, what happened to her or why her possession turned her into a weird bat-monster (which doesn't happen to any other possessed in the book) is never explained.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_23698fa8
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_23698fa8
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_23698fa8
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2dfc70ff
type
Magical Romani
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2dfc70ff
comment
Magical Romani: A Gypsy seer foresaw Marie's future... at the cost of her own.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2dfc70ff
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2dfc70ff
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_2dfc70ff
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2ec87029
type
Sadly Mythtaken
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2ec87029
comment
Sadly Mythtaken: Kali, Ganesh and Durga are listed as Indian demons, when in real life they are all benevolent deities (there is a demon also named Kali, written with different characters, but it's more probable the book is referring to the goddess due to his comparative oscurity). Ganesh is a particularly strange choice, as while Kali and Durga have both the excuse of being bloody, warring deities that might appear demonic to a western Christian, Ganesh is a peaceful, friendly-looking elephant god of wisdom.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2ec87029
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_2ec87029
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_2ec87029
 The Gospel of Evil / int_319e4a2f
type
Even Evil Has Standards
 The Gospel of Evil / int_319e4a2f
comment
Even Evil Has Standards: The Mafia, with some exceptions, are solidly against Satanism too.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_319e4a2f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_319e4a2f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_319e4a2f
 The Gospel of Evil / int_400b9d22
type
Sunglasses at Night
 The Gospel of Evil / int_400b9d22
comment
Sunglasses at Night: In a flashback, Crossman puts on his shades during a party at night, although only to hide his tears after Marie talks to him about his dead wife.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_400b9d22
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_400b9d22
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_400b9d22
 The Gospel of Evil / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 The Gospel of Evil / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: The Black Smoke of Satan is destroyed and Novus Ordo is given a heavy blow, but both will probably re-emerge again, especially given that one of their spirit seems to reside in the Cross of the Poor. Also, Parks and Carzo are alive and well, but the latter is still possessed by Caleb and nothing is revealed about his fate. Finally, there is a possibility that the Gospel is telling the truth and humanity is cosmically screwed, though Crossman's dead wife shows it is possible to escape that fate.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_40cc0c7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_40cc0c7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_40cc0c7e
 The Gospel of Evil / int_42215dce
type
Ambiguous Ending
 The Gospel of Evil / int_42215dce
comment
Ambiguous Ending: A hospitalized Carzo reveals to Parks that he is still possessed by Caleb. What happens next is unknown. Did she pull her gun and killed him? Did she called the Vatican so they could exorcize him? Not even the next Marie Parks book reveals anything about it.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_42215dce
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_42215dce
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_42215dce
 The Gospel of Evil / int_485eb589
type
Sealed Evil in a Can
 The Gospel of Evil / int_485eb589
comment
Sealed Evil in a Can: Gaal-Ham-Gaal was this many times through History.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_485eb589
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_485eb589
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_485eb589
 The Gospel of Evil / int_56515a39
type
Artistic License – History
 The Gospel of Evil / int_56515a39
comment
Artistic License – History: The real Pope Clement V died from chronical bowel cancer, which had plagued him all his life, and his body certainly wasn't found in any suspicious or creepy state. The story also claims that 28 Popes were found dead with the same signs, which, aside from being untrue in real life, makes one wonder why didn't it ring any bells that Popes were being poisoned in the story. In the novel's story, the Church gave Cortés permission to enslave the Aztecs and any other Mesoamerican culture that had converted to the cult of Janus. In real life, though this might be surprising to hear, conquistadores never had such permission, and it was precisely the Catholic Church (in the form of the Dominican friars and the Reyes Católicos themselves) who banned all forms of slavery in the New World as soon as Columbus returned with the first slaves (of course, abuse of the natives happened anyways, but it didn't have the support of the authorities and it was punished as a crime whether there was the chance to enforce the law). Generally, the situation given in the novel would have simply not been possible in the first place, as Cortés only conquered the Aztec Empire with the help of other powerful Mesoamerican civilizations like Tlaxcala, Xochimilca and Texcoco, all of them being civilizations that, according to the story's background, would have probably been worshippers of Janus just like Aztecs. The novel also claims that Columbus had to argue with the masters of the University of Salamanca to prove that Earth is round, which is yet another amateur mistake. Contrary to popular belief, the notion of the planet being round was actually known and accepted by most literate people in the Middle Ages, and it had always been so from very ancient times. What Columbus defended was not that Earth was round, but that the distance between Europe and Japan traveling from east to west wasn't impractically long and could be even shorter and safer than the other way around Africa. Immurement was not a form of execution used by the Catholic Inquisition, nor it was a form of capital punishment regulated in any Christian land. Ironically, it was much more popular among Pagans and Muslims. A flashback in the novels portrays a Hun fortress sporting Gothic architecture, gargoyles and all.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_56515a39
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_56515a39
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_56515a39
 The Gospel of Evil / int_59fe174d
type
Devil, but No God
 The Gospel of Evil / int_59fe174d
comment
Devil, but No God: The Devil's influence is ever-present in the book, with all sorts of demons, visions and supernatural events, but God's not, aside from hopefully real happenings from the past like Satan's sealings or the apparitions of the Virgin Mary (which only get mentioned at the background). Possibly subverted when Carzo theorizes God's way to deal with the problem is precisely through him, Parks and their allies, also implied by the scent of roses that appears in Parks' most helpful visions.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_59fe174d
featureApplicability
-0.3
 The Gospel of Evil / int_59fe174d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_59fe174d
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6293c185
type
Sequel Hook
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6293c185
comment
Sequel Hook: Carzo is still possessed by Caleb and the Cross of the Poor is still active.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6293c185
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6293c185
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_6293c185
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6a1c2a6
type
Cosmic Horror Story
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6a1c2a6
comment
Our universe is a Cosmic Horror Story and Jesus became the son of Satan before his death, which the Church knows, yet it is kept secret to keep the world from being overcome with chaos and despair.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6a1c2a6
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6a1c2a6
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_6a1c2a6
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6bda9a30
type
Meaningful Name
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6bda9a30
comment
Meaningful Name: Janus, the god of two faces, just like he passed from being God's Messiah to Satan's one. Caleb's name in Hebrew means "devoted", reflecting his devotion to Satan. Marie is French for "Mary", as in the Virgin Mary, and like her, she plays the role to save the world. Same with her superior Crossman or "cross man".
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6bda9a30
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_6bda9a30
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_6bda9a30
 The Gospel of Evil / int_704d7e91
type
No Ontological Inertia
 The Gospel of Evil / int_704d7e91
comment
No Ontological Inertia: Caleb's first body starts to turn old after it dies.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_704d7e91
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_704d7e91
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_704d7e91
 The Gospel of Evil / int_7464705c
type
Arc Words
 The Gospel of Evil / int_7464705c
comment
Arc Words: "God is in Hell. He rules over the demons. Rules over the condemned souls. Rules over the spectres who roam the darkness."
 The Gospel of Evil / int_7464705c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_7464705c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_7464705c
 The Gospel of Evil / int_89b8822f
type
Go Mad from the Revelation
 The Gospel of Evil / int_89b8822f
comment
Does people who read the Gospel really Go Mad from the Revelation and no other reason? The fact that all of them react the exact same way (becoming apathetic loons) and speak with identical expressions (calling repeatedly their interlocutors "poor madmen" and rambling about "the death of their faith") despite being people of varied stance and education (from medieval knights to modern priests) implies the gospel actively brainwashes the reader with its supernatural influences rather than this being a natural psychological reaction to its contents. However, no explanation is given on this, and the book's status as a literal cursed item is treated as an Elephant in the Living Room even by the most skeptical characters.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_89b8822f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_89b8822f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_89b8822f
 The Gospel of Evil / int_8e5c862
type
Ancient Conspiracy
 The Gospel of Evil / int_8e5c862
comment
Ancient Conspiracy: Our universe is a Cosmic Horror Story and Jesus became the son of Satan before his death, which the Church knows, yet it is kept secret to keep the world from being overcome with chaos and despair. The world is secretly dominated by Novus Ordo, a Satanist conspiracy.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_8e5c862
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_8e5c862
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_8e5c862
 The Gospel of Evil / int_906365a2
type
Demonic Possession
 The Gospel of Evil / int_906365a2
comment
Demonic Possession: Countless times, but most specifically Caleb and all the bodies he inhabits. Including Carzo.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_906365a2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_906365a2
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_906365a2
 The Gospel of Evil / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 The Gospel of Evil / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: Cardinal Oscar Camano, although he is technically a servant to Gaal-Ham-Gaal.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_970c790a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_970c790a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_970c790a
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Camano being a covert Satanist is hinted at his very introduction, where he casually utters a scandalous blasphemy to a Swiss Guard while going to see the Pope.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9d12bbc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9d12bbc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_9d12bbc1
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9e1beee3
type
90% of Your Brain
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9e1beee3
comment
90% of Your Brain: This is the explanation given by Dr. Hans Zimmer (no, not that Hans Zimmer) to Marie's mediumnic powers.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9e1beee3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_9e1beee3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_9e1beee3
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a27c0c2c
type
Artistic License – Religion
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a27c0c2c
comment
Artistic License – Religion: While it remains a very popular speculation since the craze of The Da Vinci Code, the notion of the entire Christianity being threatened by a freaky gospel being made public is not a real possibility - this kind of revelation has happened countless times in history and keeps happening every time archaeologists find another piece of apocrypha, and its effects on Christianity have always been next to nothing. Even if a Pope himself like Camano were to come out and claim that a Satanic text should replace the Bible, the consequences would be less about a bloody Satanic apocalypse and more about believers around the world immediately decrying that Pope as having gone bananas (not to mention Protestants, people from other religions and atheists, who would probably find all the fuss either hilarious or sad), with the worst case scenario being many schisms and Reforms happening around the planet if the Vatican insisted on telling everybody that Jesus worshipped Satan. Although most characters seem convinced of the disaster, the truth is sort of pointed out by Giovanni at the end of the novel, as he says that faith is not supported by truth after all, but rather by what people choose to put their hopes on. The book establishes "Janus" name given to Jesus by Satanic cultists after disowning God, and its reference to the ancient Roman god of duality makes it a Meaningful Rename as well. However, unless they had this specific meaning in mind, why would Hebrew cultists choose a preexistent foreign god to name their own deity-founder is a never explained oddity. The book explains Janus's cult spread through lands and countries and had to be excised by the Catholic Church. However, in real life, it would be truly a sociopolitical oddity that an apocalyptic cult whose message amounts to "we are all going to Hell forever and there is nothing we can do about it, period" became not only accepted, but even successful in any society. Basic antropology says that in order for an apocalyptic doctrine to thrive, it must also offer some kind of salvation only they could grant instead of just telling everybody that they are screwed whatever they are; Christianity itself became so popular in the Roman Empire to begin with precisely because it was so simple and open and promised a heavenly afterlife relatively easy to reach. (Unless, of course, that as said in Ambiguous Situation above, the reason behind the Janus boom was actually the Gospel of Evil brainwashing people left and right.) The story tells an old Jew belief hat evil dead people had to be buried in special tombs so their soul was contained there and didn't escape to torment the world. This seems to be a reference to the Dybbuk, a piece of Jewish folklore claiming that the souls of evil men could dislocate from their corpses and possess the living - only that this story started circulating around the 16th century. Ganesh and Durga are mentioned as Hindu demons. This is extremely wrong, as in real life they are both Hindu gods, and actually two of the most popular and worshipped in Hinduism. Ganesh is a god of arts and wisdom whose father is Shiva, while Durga is a goddess of war and protection dedicated to fight demonic forces, sometimes associated to Shiva too. That they are counted as demons here would imply that, in the novel's universe, Hindus are unknowingly worshipping demons, something that would have likely been significant enough to be mentioned given that Hinduism is currently the world's third largest religion. Mastema also appears as a demon, while in real life he is a spirit from the Jewish Book of Jubilees (possibly even an angel, and not a fallen one) who supposedly works for God as a seducer of sinners. The Pope and Cardinal Ballestra are described to wear sandals instead of dress shoes. In real life, they would be the first high-level Vatican staff members to do such in centuries.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a27c0c2c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a27c0c2c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_a27c0c2c
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a5fb0d24
type
Healing Factor
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a5fb0d24
comment
Healing Factor: Possessed people have one as long as their demon is not exorcised, although firefights with the FBI and Valentina shows that they can be killed (or at least disabled) the conventional way with the right amount of body damage.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a5fb0d24
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_a5fb0d24
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_a5fb0d24
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c3478f1d
type
Badass Bookworm
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c3478f1d
comment
Badass Bookworm: According to Marie's background, she graduated in Law and Psychology from Yale and Stanford respectively, and is also a very capable field agent, even if in this case she is Overshadowed by Awesome.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c3478f1d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c3478f1d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_c3478f1d
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c41d362e
type
Living on Borrowed Time
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c41d362e
comment
Living on Borrowed Time: As seen in his autopsy, Caleb's possession of a medieval cultist seemingly put the latter's body on a sort of existential stasis. Not only it remains preserved young after so many centuries, but his stomach contains fresh medieval food and his lungs are impolluted of modern contamination.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c41d362e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c41d362e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_c41d362e
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: The surname of forensic technician Mancuso, the setting of Parks's home in Pittsburg, the finding of a new gospel with a truer story of Jesus which threatens the Church, and Carzo being a miracle-specialized priest who travels to Brazil (along with a Brazilian priest being named Alame[i]da) are all references to the 1999 Religious Horror film Stigmata. Caleb's character and dialogue, as well as his body-changing antics, strongly evoke Azazel from another religious horror film from The '90s, Fallen. A third plot reference is made to the 2001 film The Body (based on Richard Sapir's 1983 novel), where another Hispanic priest teams up with a woman of science to unveil the mystery of an ancient skeleton which might prove that Christianity is a lie and Jesus never came back from the dead. Marie's psychic powers, her role in the FBI and her search of a powerful serial killer all evoke another film of the 2000s, Suspect Zero. The Black Smoke of Satan comes clearly from a throwaway comment made in real life by Pope Paul VI on June 29, 1972 that there might be a Satanic cult inside the church ("from some crack the black smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God"). In the book, this is proven true. Gillian Ray, a serial killer encountered in the past by one of the lead characters, is an unsubtle reference to 15th century serial killer Gilles de Rais. Marie's psychiatrist is named Hans Zimmer, seriously.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_c75df49a
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d1814802
type
Big Red Devil
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d1814802
comment
Jesus somehow becoming the son of Satan after losing faith in mankind evokes another heresy, Adoptionism, which postulates Jesus was a regular man merely adopted by God (or in this case the Big Red Devil) instead of His Son.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d1814802
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d1814802
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_d1814802
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d5d976dd
type
I Have Many Names
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d5d976dd
comment
I Have Many Names: Gaal-Ham-Gaal, also known as Satan.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d5d976dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d5d976dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_d5d976dd
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d62dd556
type
The Chessmaster
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d62dd556
comment
The Chessmaster: Cardinal Oscar Camano turns out to have been a Mole in Charge.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d62dd556
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_d62dd556
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_d62dd556
 The Gospel of Evil / int_da53340
type
Religious Horror
 The Gospel of Evil / int_da53340
comment
The surname of forensic technician Mancuso, the setting of Parks's home in Pittsburg, the finding of a new gospel with a truer story of Jesus which threatens the Church, and Carzo being a miracle-specialized priest who travels to Brazil (along with a Brazilian priest being named Alame[i]da) are all references to the 1999 Religious Horror film Stigmata.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_da53340
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_da53340
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_da53340
 The Gospel of Evil / int_dae5c997
type
Action Girl
 The Gospel of Evil / int_dae5c997
comment
Action Girl: Parks, although in this universe she is Overshadowed by Awesome very often.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_dae5c997
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_dae5c997
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_dae5c997
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1f942b6
type
Faction Motto
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1f942b6
comment
Faction Motto: It's implied the Black Smoke of Satan's is, or at least used to be, "ad majorem Satanae gloriam" ("for Satan's greater glory").
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1f942b6
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1f942b6
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_e1f942b6
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1ff8ff6
type
Fantasy Kitchen Sink
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1ff8ff6
comment
Fantasy Kitchen Sink: God and Satan are real forces here, but apparently Thutmose III's Egyptian magic, Psychic Powers, Amazonian shamanism and some unspecified pagan exorcism rites do work as well.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1ff8ff6
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e1ff8ff6
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_e1ff8ff6
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e390612a
type
Hollywood Satanism
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e390612a
comment
Hollywood Satanism: It touches almost all the cliches, with a version of Satanism that is theistic, in contact with very real demons, and secretly controlling the world through capitalism. That said, this is also shown to be a cult based on a secret, very specifical set of beliefs, not your regular Satanism for Satan's sake.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e390612a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e390612a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_e390612a
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e6a901a3
type
Meaningful Rename
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e6a901a3
comment
The book establishes "Janus" name given to Jesus by Satanic cultists after disowning God, and its reference to the ancient Roman god of duality makes it a Meaningful Rename as well. However, unless they had this specific meaning in mind, why would Hebrew cultists choose a preexistent foreign god to name their own deity-founder is a never explained oddity.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e6a901a3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_e6a901a3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_e6a901a3
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ec7da60a
type
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ec7da60a
comment
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: The Knights Templar were Satanists, or at least became such after finding the Gospel of Satan. Likely the same with The Cathars, who are mentioned in the prologue as being hateful heretics. The book doesn't explore them further, but as the Cathar creed was very similar to what the Gospel of Satan says, this might be a clever Inside Joke that they were in the conspiracy as well (or possibly that they opposed them, being a sort of Good Counterpart, thans to their privileged knowledge of the story's cosmology).
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ec7da60a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ec7da60a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_ec7da60a
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ee7a60e9
type
One-Steve Limit
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ee7a60e9
comment
One-Steve Limit: Averted. We have Alois Bannerman and Alois Mankel.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ee7a60e9
featureApplicability
-1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ee7a60e9
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_ee7a60e9
 The Gospel of Evil / int_f1e837cc
type
Mind over Matter
 The Gospel of Evil / int_f1e837cc
comment
Mind over Matter: Not in the story itself, but it is mentioned among the Psychic Powers that have been unlocked in history by way of 90% of Your Brain.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_f1e837cc
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_f1e837cc
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_f1e837cc
 The Gospel of Evil / int_fed93e1b
type
Dark and Troubled Past
 The Gospel of Evil / int_fed93e1b
comment
Dark and Troubled Past: Parks lost her family and memory (and sanity) in a car crash.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_fed93e1b
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_fed93e1b
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_fed93e1b
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ffad4e9f
type
Shown Their Work
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ffad4e9f
comment
Shown Their Work: The Satanic cosmology here is a mismash of the real life schools of Gnosticism, an ancient Christian heresy that considered the world to be demonic. Like them, the Gospel of Satan includes a primal deity named Abyss with a system of beings and no-beings (as in Basilidean Gnosticism), God and Satan being eternal opposites (same), human souls reincarnating (pretty much all Gnostic doctrines), Satan actively ruling this universe (ditto), the world having been created in a sort of competition between light and dark (as in Manichaeism) and an evil Jesus (as in Mandaeism). The main difference is that this mix is given here a pessimistic, Satanic flavor, whereas in real life, even the darkest Gnostic sects were humanistically hopeful. The fictitious Gospel of Satan is less a manual on gnosis than a propaganda text for the Gnostic version of Satan, so in a sense, it could be considered a Gnostic Satanic text rather than a Christian one. Jesus somehow becoming the son of Satan after losing faith in mankind evokes another heresy, Adoptionism, which postulates Jesus was a regular man merely adopted by God (or in this case the Big Red Devil) instead of His Son.
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ffad4e9f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_ffad4e9f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_ffad4e9f
 The Gospel of Evil / int_name
type
ItemName
 The Gospel of Evil / int_name
comment
 The Gospel of Evil / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
The Gospel of Evil / int_name
 The Gospel of Evil / int_name
itemName
The Gospel of Evil

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
Ancient Conspiracy / int_e0471d3b
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
Beethoven Was an Alien Spy / int_e0471d3b
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
Devil, but No God / int_e0471d3b
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
Falsely Advertised Accuracy / int_e0471d3b
 The Gospel of Evil
hasFeature
Magical Romani / int_e0471d3b