As a Mormon we are actually baptized by “fire”. When he says that line he’s being for real. It’s basically a symbolic way of saying being baptized by the Holy Ghost, as when you get baptized by “fire”, the Holy Ghost fills your soul and it feels like a warm flame warming you from the inside
The writers and voice actors really cemented this game as one of the best ever made. Part of me wishes the base game, and dlcs were a movie. Handled by a trusted studio that are fans of Fallout of course.
@@garrettviewegh9028this is now an unfortunate thing that has come to fruition. Bethesda has now partnered and worked closely with Amazon to create a fallout show; though I have not watched it yet it has been said that not only is the show canon but it de-canonizes new vegas
Amen - one of my favourite quotes of all time. Few characters - real or fictional - have ever made such an lasting impression on me. FNV is one of my favourite games and Joshua is a big reason as to why I always ends up going back to it with regular intervals.
@@garrettviewegh9028 no. The entire narrative banks it's impact to it being delivered into a dynamic, reactive and interactive way to the watcher/player. An tadaptation to Joshua's character in general, changed for a movie would be cool
@damsen978 Given he was set on fire and thrown into the grand canyon, it's also a literal description of how his anger at Cesar made him unwilling to die.
i remember that quote from him when playing, and that was like a year ago. Alot of people's lives are messed up because they want to be comfortable in an uncomfortable world. It's good advice, I need to get a tattoo of that or something. Or make a calendar with his best quotes hahaha
@@theinfinity2988 Its better to work hard and stay clean, uncomfortable and organized than it is to live in laziness and search for comfort at the cost of health and true satisfaction.
I'm more surprised a Mormon character would be shown in a serious light. Who even most christians dont take seriously. But he seems to be basically an apocalyptic porter rockwell. A famous mormon commonly known as The Destroying Angel Of Mormondom who had a similar mentality. An ancestor of mine knew him personally as his bodyguard.
I have the impression that whoever wrote joshua read the bible, because his character is very much a biblical character. He has done terrible things, gone through terrible things, and struggled with god and life, but he hasn't lost his faith. His calm yet firm demeanor, his lack of finger-wagging moralism.
@@landlockedcroat1554 I personally would say that a good person is someone who does what is right a significant amount of the time. What is "right" is different depending on what your religion is. If You're an Atheist, "right" does exist and it's called ethics, but there's no real reason to consider it right beyond the convenient fact that valuing others simply makes society run more smoothly. If you're a Monotheist (Probably Christian, Jew, or Muslim) "right" is the will of God, and what makes it right is the fact that the all powerful being who created the universe says so. If you're a polytheist (probably Hindu) "right" doesn't make much sense. Sure, Hindu and other polytheistic societies have certain things that they consider wrong and right, but they have no more reason than Atheists do to call things "wrong" or "right" and with many disagreeing Gods, polytheists are bound to have a less cohesive idea of what "right" and "wrong" are than Atheists. I personally am Christian, and I see little justification for any idea of morality in the absence of God. Also, despite the fact that I might consider some people good, I do not believe that God considers anyone on earth "good". I believe that the only way any of us will ever be considered good in the eyes of God, and allowed into his presence, is if we ask for our sins to be counted against Jesus who willingly payed for them on our behalf.
@@landlockedcroat1554 Joshua Graham calls is “bad for the soul”. For everyone-religious or not, it is the guilt of killing good people. Either your soul is so foul that you don’t guilt over killing good people, or your soul’s quality weakens when faced with the tragedies of a consciously immoral war.
17:50 "its better to be clean than comfortable" That phrase has a lot of meaning, beyond just having clean bandages. I feel he's speaking about having a clean soul.
An atheist was the one who made the story. He even wanted a better representation of religion. The guy did not set out to portray Christianity as good or bad, but accurate. It is crazy how that Mormonism displayed in this video game made other Christians feel more represented than any other video game with some form of Christianity in them.
@@TheSonic497 I get what you are saying now. Yeah, we only had Prince of Egypt and Veggie tales. I will say the Chosen is pretty good on Netflix, but Christian media for the most part sucks.
There's a sidequest you can activate just after meeting Daniel for the first time where you take drugs and kill a giant flaming hallucination of a bear. Needless to say when I started the quest and left the canyon to be immediately confronted by Joshua Graham rattling off scripture, I thought it was part of the hallucinations too at first.
Tfw you get high, kill a flaming bear spirit thing, and then Joshua is over here trying to convince you to basically kill the entire white leg tribe… Yeah, I thought it was part of the hallucinations as well.
@@garrettfricke4076 I recently converted myself to orthodoxy before this explosion of Joshua Graham videos. Maybe it’s just the way TH-cam recommends the stuff your more likely to watch, but I truly believe the whole reject modernity meme has reached a peak and now people are turning around back to Christ. I pray that all people read the Bible even if they don’t believe at least the teachings of love for our neighbors touch everyone’s hearts in some way.
@@oakinson1585 I agree it seems people have been turning back to the lord recently, quite a refreshing site considering all of the degradation we have fallen into these past few years
@TheDoc_K I have been a little christ pilled because Bible lore and mythos is very interesting and I really sat and listened to him read the old testament multiple times. I'm not the religious type but he's so alluring.
Religious or not, Graham is such an important character in gaming history as he is not only amazing but he has depth. If your religious, going through some shit or just looking for encouragement, his story could very well help
The part of Joshua's character that affects me the most is when he acknowledges both the genuine difficulty of trying to maintain a moral code and the human flaws that make us what we are. Graham: "For many of us, the road is a difficult one, but the path is always there for us to follow, not matter how many times we fall." Courier: "Do you ever fall?" Graham: "Every day. Some days...are harder than others." We are not perfect creatures and cannot effortlessly embody a moral code every second of every day... but it's the honest effort that counts, and the acknowledgement of failure and attempt to improve ourselves that gives our struggles meaning.
“To believe in something is to be willing to betray it.” -Kreia, KOTOR II Betrayal of belief, failure to follow, falling off the path, all synonyms in this case. To know the right choice is one thing; to make the right choice is another. If one does not know right from wrong, they cannot know they’ve made poor choices, and in some ways that is a shield from shame; yet that shield is temporary. Upon learning right from wrong, the once-avoided shame begins to take root. …and shame, shame is a lead-lined life preserver. If one has it in them to resist being dragged down, then they can go far, so long as they hold onto the wisdom learned from overcoming shame. Some days will inevitably be harder than others, but it is better to learn right from wrong and overcome the shame attached than to stumble through life. To fall is easy, to pick oneself back up is far less so, while infinitely more worthwhile.
In a single comment I found quotes of morality and humanity from fucking Fallout, Star Wars and an anime Fate. Wild what fiction can teach us and affect our way of thinking.
@@mylesobrien7477 there is much truth in legends. The first step required of properly analyzing fiction is to know that the story is inherently fake, but still of value, and perhaps this will be a bit of a random act of kibitzing, but I find that’s where many religious stories unravel. Most people fail to find the value and truth in common falsehoods, stories, legends, and many fail to ever realize there is value to look for within fiction in the first place, which leads them to look for what they believe to be the truth within what they believe to be factual. There are so many religions, all with their own stories, legends, and common falsehoods, such that they cannot all be true (if any of them even are), and if any one of us believes ours to be the truth, that person is about as equally unlikely to be correct as any other person (the popularity of a belief does not guarantee correctness; most people say “calories in calories out,” for instance, but that belief is largely disproven, as least in the way it’s presented commonly today, by the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis). Fiction is very capable of shaping the mind, and of having truth within, from which I come to my point - that I’d argue it’s dangerous to ever present fiction as truth because of how fiction changes thought. Learning specific, objective truths may correct beliefs about specific subjects, but I’m not sure the truth ever changes the fundamental way in which we think quite like fiction can. One would be strained to wax poetic about the artistry of such a statement as “2+2=4,” as it is an objective fact. There is infinite interpretative potential within fiction, and rather little within fact. Also, Chris Avellone was a primary writer, if not lead writer, for both New Vegas and KOTOR II, where the quotes came from. In a way, this comment thread is emphasizing the interpretive value of his works of fiction, and their place within societies bounded together by common beliefs, both false and true, as is the case in all societies… especially the falsehoods. Fiction can be so valuable when we recognize it for what it is, commonly accepted falsehoods. Did Luke defeat Vader? Yes. Did Luke Skywalker exist? Only in our collective imagination, our common falsehood. Would the average person think someone was unwell if they truly and completely believed in the Force? Rather likely, as we understood from the get-go that Star Wars was fiction. Would the average person think someone was unwell if they truly and completely believed in a god? No, it’s fiction presented as fact and commonly accepted. Fiction should not ever be presented as fact. We’re too smart for fiction to go over our heads, collectively, but not so smart as to be completely objective to the truth of a statement. Even I have some beliefs that I’m not sure I could prove or disprove to a standard I’d accept, but I do my best to present them as nothing more than opinion when I do present them, I’d like to believe.
What also adds to Joshua is the astonishing work the VA did. Despite just having met you, his voice makes it feel like you have known eachother for years. A Confidant you can turn to for advice and someone who helps you through your struggles as much as you help him. Truly an amazing character.
@@ThatOneGodLover He's really only LDS in name only. He doesn't mention any of the church od LDS's (obviously false) prophets and expresses ideas that are basically identical to traditional trinitarianism.
Interestingly, Joshua Graham is not a perfectly moral character when you encounter him. While he’s complex, charismatic and extremely thoughtful I love that Obsidian made him flawed. When he wants to execute men who have surrendered, you can see that despite all the work he’s done to atone for his sins he’s still human, and he still harbors vengeance in his heart for what Caesar did to him. You, as the courier have the chance to complete his character arc, and help him to live up to his christian ideals by encouraging him to practice mercy and forgiveness. It’s not surprising that story has made people religious, you yourself are helping Joshua on his spiritual journey by playing Honest Hearts.
We are all like Joshua in a way. We will never be a brutalistic as him but his anger is one we will feel somehow and sometime. We will never be Joshua but in the end, regardless of religion we have to learn to be the better version of ourselves; accepting that we will have these thoughts and impulses, but also knowing we have the inner strength and faith to never act on them. In that Joshua a fictional character is better than some “Christians” today, as he acknowledges he is not a perfect person but he also has the peace to let go of grudges and those who wish him harm, unlike some of today who wishes to instead bring everyone down with them.
Love the character. When I was younger I was a bigger fan of the righteous fury part of him, but now I find myself appreciating his softer side a lot more. I really love that when he tells you why you shouldn’t attack them that he tells you the practical reasons first, but says his last reason is the most important
It was pretty good, it was too bad that when I played this game, I played it through at least three times and each time I looked for this guy, but I couldn’t happen upon it for some reason. Suppose I could’ve looked it up, but I didn’t. I just always thought he was going to be in the area of that other tribe or something. Too bad I never found em
Gods sUn with a crown of thorns, 12 signs, virgo. Born winter solstice, sun stops in the sky for three days, comes back up. Three kings is Orions belt, pointed toward the birth of the sun.
That's interesting because I know a lot of people who are more into the Old Testament (which is more focused on God's wrath, has all the sex and violence and epic battles), and then as they get older gravitate towards the New Testament.
Some people say that there is no such thing as righteous killing. After all, Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. But I feel that sometimes righteous killing can exist, and of course only as a chore for God, unless it's perhaps in-the-moment self defense. The way I believe God works is a lot like how Graham said "We can't expect God to do all the work." So I think the problem is knowing when to leave righteous killing to man or to God. Graham's case showed how he needed to leave the killing to God for a good ending. Jesus' case showed how he needed to leave the killing to God (when Peter or someone cut off a soldier's ear, but Jesus healed it back, as he was being betrayed.) But in the old testament, the Jews could not sit back and wish they had the holy land, they had to take it by force and eradicate the inhabitants. One exemplar of righteous killing from Mormon doctrine (I am also Mormon/member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is when Nephi, the son of a prophet, must get brass plates of scripture from a ruthless commander, Laban, before he and his family travel to the Promised Land. Nephi finds Laban unconscious, drunken with wine in the streets of Jerusalem at night, after the Lord promised him Laban would be delivered into his hands. What happens is this: "And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him. "And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property "And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands; "Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." (1 Nephi 4:10-13). Now before anyone calls us Mormons violence crack-heads, there is also a story of a people called the ammonites, and what they do is they covenant to the Lord to give up all their weapons, and then bury them. This way they will never commit violence against their fellow man, very noble. The problem is they live right near a bunch of people called the Lamanites who are bent on killing them. One time the Lamanites attack, and the Ammonites prepare by sitting together in a field and praying for salvation. A few Ammonites are killed, but eventually the Lamanites soften their hearts and stop killing them. Back to the righteous killing though, this strategy of being defenseless only works for so long. The Nephites, basically a mostly righteous people, find that Ammonites are still being slaughtered, and step in to protect them from the Lamanites. This is pretty reasonable, is it not? Hope you enjoyed my essay. Yeah our scripture is new and weird. We believe in Jesus Christ and the Bible though guys, we even have apostles and prophets like in old times (and the Catholic church don't!). Part of me thinks righteous killing is badass, and the other part is glad I'll probably never have to do it.
@@maxwelldegn6651 Yup. It’s called Virtue Ethics. If you are a devout Christian, and you have the opportunity to end WW2 by killing hitler, would you do it? Obviously. “Turn the other cheek” is not applicable to every situation and every circumstance. For example, we still practice an eye for an eye in a court of law and it is deemed Justice. Turn the other cheek would not apply to murderers who need to face judgement and need to be stopped so as to protect other peoples lives. The point is that it isn’t so black and white, and scripture aren’t literal legal legislation. That would be ridiculous, plus Bible doesn’t cover / mention a variety of issues to be called that. Should we all sell away every single one of our possessions just because Jesus told a specific person, who was rich, to do so? No.
I think one of the most effective parts about Joshua's character in terms of being a solid Christian representation is that he goes out of his way to show that he is not perfect, and he never specifically tries to convert the player. He believes what he believes and is willing to answer any questions you have. He doesn't cut ties with you, or treat you differently just because you're not religious. Just as well, is that he doesn't so much preach with his words as he does his actions. Sure he mentions his faith occasionally, and he tells you that he is seeking redemption, but it's only after he tells you about his past that you realize how much he's changed. Finally, as a few other people mentioned, they don't specifically make him seem right or wrong in his decisions, a lot of non-christian media makes religious people seem like zealous nut jobs, and Christian media often makes all religious people seem objectively correct, but neither is true. As someone who grew up in church. I always try and emphasize the point that they are almost exactly the same as everyone else, they make the same mistake, fall prey to the same failures, and live in the same world. It is their belief, and their belief alone that makes them different, and Joshua Graham does an excellent job of representing this idea. Overall 10/10
I have never heard such an accurate opinion. I wholeheartedly agree, everyone and everything are good and bad, but they cannot be one extreme and none of the other
@@mrwiggles7280 Exactly, and I'm getting tired of everyone acting like anyone that doesn't agree with them is an egotistical maniac. We're all just people who have lived different lives. For better or for worse
Just hearing the first bits of his dialogue immediately rings for me that *this* is a proper christian. People like him are rare even in real life, where many 'religious' people are either hateful zeaolots or complete hypocrites. People like Joshua are what christians are supposed to be, firm in his beliefs with his identity rooted in his faith but not holier then thou against everyone else. He shows respect for your beliefs (or lack thereof) even if he doesn't agree with them, and is more then willing to have a conversation about it but won't try to force his views on you. He's not perfect in the slightest either, wanting revenge on the people who killed his family and falsely calling it righteous justice. No wonder people say they got back into their bibles after coming across him, this is a rare good example in media that doesn't demonize or glorify religion. He's just a respectable man with a book.
@@seasnaill2589 as I was raised Mormon in Utah, I can tell you that even we fall short. I'm not church-going, but everything I hear about "Utah Mormons" is that they're far more judgmental and preachy than Mormons in other states. But one strength they do have is taking jokes. Seems every comedian or south park episode that mentions Mormons is well received. Mormons "turn the other cheek" more than most faiths I've seen. At this point, my faith is between myself and God. I am a practitioner first, and very rarely a preacher.
>Founds the Legion >Become's the nightmare of anyone who isnt the legion >Fails at hoover damn (oh no) >Burned alive in pitch and thrown into the grand canyon >Walks all the way back to his tribe while being extra crispy >Jesus >Become's a nightmare for Caesar >Kills every Frumentarii that dares come after him >To speak of his existence in the Legion is a death sentence >Very menacing quotes and is generally looking badass as fucc >Helps the Courier (mostly) bring The Dead Horses and The Sorrows to glory >Most of the fallout fandom loves him >Is the literal reason why Honest Hearts is a good dlc thats what i call good writing
He really reminds me of Paul, the man who wrote almost half of the New Testament books. He started off as a Pharisee who persecuted the early Church. However, when on the road to the city of Damascus, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, causing him to be converted. It was from there that he became one of the most influential apostles in the Christian faith, founding many churches and leading his sheep.
A hard break up and Joshua Graham's words inspired me to go back to Mass for the first time in a decade. I will be going regularly now as part of my routine to become a better man and Catholic. Gym 5 days a week, rereading the Bible, and volunteering at our local food kitchen. I will become the man I should be, and the one Joshua Graham would want me to be.
"Fallout New Vegas is 13 years old" I specifically remember watching the trailer for this game and being excited since I loved Fallout 3. I'm getting old.
@@dreadedworld8864 boy when I played it the game was 2 years old...........the dlc remained unknown to me for another 5...............I miss those days
During the attack on the White Legs I strongly feel that Joshua isn't your companion, you're his. He absolutely demolishes everything as if he has the ability to save and load at any time, and keeping up is actually kind of difficult
my character who has genocided all factions apart from Yes Man: funni robot sends his regards _goes on to kill funni religious man and the entire valley_ no mercy route lol
I'm so used to the Bible-holding character being an insane cultist. I appreciate Obsidian for writing an actually morally good character that is also religious.
@@ratasslordofyoink4542 He's a man who has done wrong, trying to be better. It makes sense for Christianity to be central to his character, as some of the main principles center around forgiveness and redemption.
I love it because he can become anything _because_ of his faith. He can become a good and forgiving person because of God, he can become a vengeful merciless war chief _also BECAUSE_ of God, or he can become just another faith in the Wasteland. Whether his faith is true or valid is irrelevant, how he interacts with it can make him an idol of his faith or the antithesis of it. Just like anyone of any faith, or lack thereof, in the real world. It's how we interact with beliefs and values that makes us good or evil, not those beliefs or values themselves.
If you really think he's "morally good", I think you're missing the point ;) For repentance/atonement, he is trying to be morally good as defined by his ancestor's faith, and fails because he really has a deeper motivation. He is indeed an outstanding character in an outstanding story (the Honest Hearts DLC), because he actually considers morality quite seriously. He adds a lot to the base game IMO since he is a far better juxtaposition to the other character who is serious about morality... Cesser. BTW: If you know a bit about Mormon history, Honest Hearts is even better. Parallels and parables. ETA: I really should also mention Randall Clark as a third moral character... Contrasting with the others of course. He's sort of a archetype non-believer who is does moral good (as he sees it) because it is simply the right thing to do. Some of the things he did mirror what Graham does (or wants to do). Clarke is the tribe's creator and protector god, and long dead.
it is inspiring that his darkest hour wasn't the death of his family nor the betrayal of his friend and his near-death experience, but the moment in which he was at stake to decide about life and death consciously. Not at the moment of despair he has shown his fruits, but in the moment of his greatest power - in which he nearly succumped without his friends assisstance. A great game and a great video, thanks for your work.
"Lastly, waging war against good people is bad for the soul. This may not seen important to you now, but it's the most important thing I've said" I really really love this dialogue. Joshua is a great character.
@@ItsHominah definitely not, but neither was Joshua for a long time. I also misread the quote and didn’t see good people though I still think without it it still applies
Although conveniently, a lot of fairly prevalent dogma claims none are 'truly good' or measure up, or even that natural men can 'do no good'? Long term, seemingly.
@@BigWheel. He's talking about changing the bandages to clean them. The damage to the skin is over, but he's far more open to infections than others, and that's an ever-present threat to him.
Ironically, Revenge over cowardice, is literally the antithesis for what Jesus stood for. I like that because it shows how easily corruptible revenge as a desire is which is definitely something Jesus wanted for his followers to realize. How even the men with the strongest foundations can be brought down by their desire to do harm.
I think it helps that his voice acting is so genuine. Even when he just says "God be with you", you can hear that it's not just a "Bye", not just a simple phrase to him. He means it. And even when you suggest violence over diplomacy, he just calmly explains to you that he would kill you. Not a threat. Just a simple... fact. Hell, he doesn't even seem to take it personally if you threaten him with the Legion. He just explains why that doesn't matter.
My favorite detail is what he says at the end of that threat. The final point is usually the most important, the main thing you should take away. And it's just "But the main reason you shouldn't hurt Daniel or the Sorrows and Dead Horses is because they're good people, and hurting good people will destroy your soul." It sounds almost naive out loud, but when he says it, you know he means it from a very personal point of view.
It’s really refreshing to see a religious character not be a complete ass to people. Joshua is a great representation of the good parts of religion: He’s flawed, doesn’t always do the right thing, but he’s a good man, trying to do the right thing. It also helps that he has some lines that go hard asf.
As a Christian, I was so surprised finding and meeting him on my first playthrough. I never would have imagined such an important character being Christian. It was also very interesting hearing how he described Christianity from a post apocalyptic perspective where no one understands it or has even heard of it
Yeah, the post apocalyptic setting works great for the explaining the religion because Christianity isn't ever present like in the modern world. That's one of the biggest issues with regular Christian media in the US, it treats every non-Christian character as if they never even heard of Jesus, and that's so stupid. But in NV is obvious that you never heard of Jesus, most people only mention God in common phrases like "Oh my God" or "Oh Lord", and never with a truly religious intent. Joshua is the first religious character we meet in a sea of atheists.
@@AgusSkywalker it's like Christianity is back to it's founding times right after Jesus' time. i can imagine there could be someone like Paul working to spread the religion across the wastes once more
The world of Fallout is basically a different universe than ours where all of history was exactly the same to ours up until shortly after WW2 had ended. The 1950's Patriotism between Americans, Chinese, and Russians skyrocketed and had never calmed down. Different technology advancements happened and other shifting factors caused the two universes to be different. So I'm sure in the world of Fallout that there are people familiar with Jesus and The Bible, it is just that the writers don't elaborate on them cause they know that these are polarizing topics.
@@Deadsea_1993 But you're talking pre-war. With the bombs much of the cultural knowledge was lost, including old religions. Most of the people of the wasteland are atheists or follow a new religion like the Church of Atom. The Master had his own religion, the Unity, in FO1. And was occupying what must have been a Catholic cathedral pre-war.
My fav part about Joshua is he isn't condescending when he talks to you, if you don't believe then it's your choice, he respects that and doesn't try to guilt trip you like common religious characters.
As a Christian that’s how Christians are supposed to be. But sadly we have many false “Christians”. We’re not supposed to try and force people to believe, we’re supposed to teach and if they don’t get it then we pray for them. But we have manny who are hypocritical and overly righteous unfortunately. But the Bible also said that there will be people who claim to be brothers but really aren’t.
@@livinglegend9709 Doesn't help the loudest in your group are also the worst examples XD. Everyone notices the evangelist screaming at gay couples on the street, no one sees the Joshua's of the world.
@@seasnaill2589very true. Every community has those kind of people who get others to look down on the good part. just had to deal with one yesterday. I'm a Christian and they had me face palming😂
Even as someone non-religious, I really like that Obsidian didn't go the cheap route to make a stereotypically insane religious character, and that they actually bothered to construct someone with so much emotional and spiritual depth. At the end of the day, we're all just people trying to live our lives, and no difference in race, religion, or opinion will change that. It's nice to see that reflected here.
2 months late, but they already have made stereotypical insane religious guy in the form of Father Elijah, even if it's not religious per se, he sure does acts like one.
You mean like they literally are irl? Type most critical , pastor vs Xbox to see a grown man saying video games are the literal devil and evil and smashes one with a hammer, I’m sure after forcing himself on a child like is the Christian custom
@@CTF_Doc What was it that Mr. House referred to the Brotherhood as again? Ah! A quasi-religious fanatical terrorist group who parade around the Mojave pretending to be Knights Of Yore!
Fuck dude I didn’t even realize you could persuade Joshua to stop. To be fair, I never even tried. Guess I gotta replay that dlc in a new playthrough now.
Joshua threatening me was one of the very few moments in a non horror game that I genuinely felt scared, like if I hurt the sorrows, Joshua himself will kill me in real life
Joshua probably has one of the most interesting and tragic stories I've ever seen, mainly due to the fact that after he survives his assassination attempt believing it to be a second chance given by God, he instead of trying to improve and change everything he did, he lets the fury and anger take him, leading him to a path of revenge,and without realizing it, he goes back to doing what he did before, something he should have regretted,going the "evil way" by carrying out revenge, something repudiated by God and his son, he was given his second chance and wasted it. He tried to go the right way in hopes that he could be forgiven and could see his family again, unfortunately after everything he's done, that future is not certain.
Which is why convincing him to spare the White Legs is objectively the best choice. You help him realize that the violence he's committing isn't for God, it's for himself. It's revenge, and revenge is inherently selfish. There is a time where violence is necessary. He even says it himself, it's a chore. But he almost revels in the power he has over Salt-Upon-Wounds. You see him sink further into darkness, yet you're able to pull him back. I'm not a religious person, but that story always hits me. That anyone, no matter what they've done, can truly and legitimately change for the better.
@@rustyshackle8000 I would argue putting a bullet between his eyes is the best choice. Anyone who is even capable of viewing killing as a chore should be. Let alone someone who thinks he does but is actually worse than even that. Don't waste redemption on mass murderers.
@rustyshackel8000 "That anyone, no matter what they've done, can truly and legitimately change for the better." This is why I am religious, it's a comforting thought that no matter much I struggle with my vices and emotions there is a light shining in the darkness. Redemption is possible for anyone. They just truly have to want it.
@@cassiusemmanualtheyoutubep3171 This is why I love RDR2. No matter what you've done, no matter who you were, you can wake up tomorrow and do the right thing. That's a choice everybody has.
Joshua Graham is largely the work of JE Sawyer, who wrote him (Ulysses, by contrast, is Avellone's baby). I think part of why Graham was so effecting for so many players was because his beliefs were treated with respect and dignity, and his crisis of conscience and faith given an appropriate sense of weight. And we can't forget Keith Szarabajka's work in voicing him, driving home the writing and making it stick. There's no doubt Honest Hearts was rushed, but there is real quality to be enjoyed. For what it's worth I also always end up going the 'drive out the White Legs' path, though that's due in part to the additional input of the Survivalist's logs. Time spent reading those and absorbing what he tried to do for the Sorrows, and time spent with Waking Cloud will turn the player on to just how much of their identity is tied to Zion. It's not just a place to live, it's genuinely a part of who they are as a people and will no doubt reflect on how they relate to God. Daniel is rather condescending and paternalist, but I see his point, and his objections come from a reasonable place of fear, love, and a sense of guilt.
whenever I find myself in a pretty bad place mentally I just quote this man, my favorite line being "The light of the mind alone cannot burn away all darkness."
I'm personally not a Mormon myself; I'm a Baptist. But to see a character who portrays genuine Christianity, no matter the denomination, makes me so, so very happy. Oftentimes Christian characters are portrayed as either overly preachy and without flaws or hypocritical and evil with no in-between. But Joshua is genuine. And I find that to be wonderful. Also something that I couldn't figure out how to fit into the above paragraph: Two of Joshua's lines, the one about God's love and the other about wanting to make his anger God's anger, touch me very deeply in my heart. Both of them remind me of my own past experiences with God and thus speak to me on a very personal level.
All true except Mormons arent a denomination of christianity theyre a seperate religion based on Christianity. They believe Jesus and Satan are brothers.
It is actually hard to even find a good christian character. They're now all evil manipulative assholes generally. It is a really refreshing experience to find this video.
I’m mormon and grew up in the church, Joshua graham was always my favorite character in fallout growing up because he made me feel proud of how our religion was portrayed, and it really made me feel badass getting to see us portrayed positively, the jokes I normally don’t mind, but showing our religion for what it is (a branch of Christianity) is awesome, the jokes were funny at first but they get old quick
As a Catholic, Joshua Graham is probably the best written Christian character I've ever seen in general. Anyone who follows Christ will find his words resonate with them. The writers did you Mormons proud for sure.
I am too a Mormon. It’s so cool finally having good representation. Society calls Christians in general indoctrinated liars. But God saved my life. I was going to kill myself, but he stepped in and told me not to give up. Even if I grew up in the church, I found the truth of God’s light for myself.
I like how he explains at the end how his merciful and peace-loving attitude diminished the myth of the burning man, but was a small price to pay for his peace. He not only gave up his vengeance, but his fame and legacy. I think a lot of people who want to be righteous want some recognition for it, especially leaders, but living righteously most of the time will not give them any fame. It will give them peace.
26:16 oh shit, I never noticed this before. Joshua's gun is actually inscribed in greek, it says "καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει" meaning "Light will always shine through the dark."
more literally (greek here): "and the light in the dark shines" on the other side of the pistol, it writes something like "and the dark did not understand/defeat it". something like that, it's been a while.
Reading that Greek texts immediately made me imagine it's like comedically tripping down a bunch of occupied stairs with furniture like the text is completely broken and fails to make a single vowel just stumbling on itself and it gave me a good laugh.
As a Catholic, I've found myself in awe of Joshua. He's human and flawed, knows it, and lives his faith. He seeks not to convert, but to educate. Not to belittle, but to advise. I've seen so many people who claim to be Christian, but fall flat when it's time to deliver on it (not to mention how media has taken to portraying Abrahamic faiths). Joshua is so sincere, and so honest. Its refreshing, after all of the hypocrisy and slander I've seen. I hope to see more characters like him, who are sincere in their faiths, and are portrayed as people - not as crazed zealots.
As a Christian it’s really awesome to see a more complex character and a religious figure who’s not stereotypical and one dimensional. If only most media portrayed them as such.
Hello. Can I ask you about what you wrote? I would like to know how is that one-dimensional religious figure you mentioned often described, and how do you believe an average Christian person actually is compared to that stereotype. You see, I'm just curious on how other people see themselves and others as believers in a realistic way and how much congruence they see/admit there is between the way how they/others act and live everyday and the spiritual principles and values they've chosen to follow and guide their lives by. Thank you very much in advance.
Keith Szarabajka is a great actor, and it sucks how he never really took off in film and TV, but his extensive voice acting career more than makes up for it.
Why are YT coments always like this, exagerating stuff for the sake of it. You can experience some of the best voice acting ever by playing modern videogames. You make it sound like good voice actors are extinct wtf.
I have a friend who was an atheist and a huge fan of FNV. He's a catholic now. I'm the last atheist of the crew. Wonder if JG had any influence on him. It's refreshing to see a religious character, let alone a christian one, be depicted as something other than a bible thumping tyrant. JG is brilliantly written. Someone at Obsidian not only understood the scripture, but also respected it. Likely a mormon themselves.
The writer was an athiest (according to the comment sectiom), but yeah, small people use religion to make enemies, big people use it to make friends.(Quote by APJ Abdul Kalam)
All praises to Christ, who by his great sacrifice has forgiven and redeemed those who believe Christ is God, and are willing to repent and be saved, so repent and turn from sin and unprofitable things thoughts and desires that keep plaguing you, bringing you depression and anxiety, and turn to Christ and live for him our creator, no longer then are we bound by fear and sins, but only peace and joy and righteousness will fill us, for we aren't destined to suffering both now and after, but we are destined for the Kingdom, to be with him who gave us salvation for eternity, to be with the King of kings, the Prince of peace.
I know, right? I feel like we Mormons are treated like the "red headed step-child" of religions most of the time, like we are there to be the butt of some joke or an oddity at a freak show. Joshua is very refreshing.
"The Boneyard, Phoenix, New Vegas, they're just places, metal and stone. New Canaan dies, but the tribe lives on. When the walls come tumbling down, when you lose everything you have, you always have family. And your family always has tribe." Such a good quote
As a member of the church i really enjoyed his portrayal. We are taught to hate bloodshed but by no means are we pacifists. Were well represented in the military and law enforcement as well as general gun culture. I feel the story of one of my people repenting of bloodthirst but still serving as a protector is awesome.
I am LDS too. Anyone, LDS or not, who reads the Book of Mormon finds out that much of the narrative consists of God-fearing people being forced to fight for their lives and families. It definitely explains a lot about Latter-day Saint culture.
If people are wondering, the voice actor for him is Keith Szarabajka. He’s an awesome voice actor not only for Joshua but also for Warcraft and Company of Heroes with how flexible he can be.
One of the most well written Christian characters in modern literature. Who would've thought one who perfectly encapsulates the trials of a follower of Christ, short of martyrdom itself, would come from a video game made to capitalize off of the momentum and popularity of the previous title.
@@MkadinA01 Mormons believe Christ was the son of God and redeemed the world. they follow the teaching in the Bible and try to follow Christs example. They are as Christian as any other denomination by definition except for the most rigid.
@@ProfessorSmoothBrain here here for the most part I don't believe there is anything that prevent a Mormon from getting to heaven and their beliefs so far as I understand them do not contradict the biblical teachings any more than Catholics Lutheran's or anglicans at least two of three off wich most Evangelical denominations still consider true Christians
It's also worth noting that when Joshua is inspecting the pistol, he checks the rifling, but does not look directly down the barrel, which is one of the first things people are taught when learning how to handle a firearm. Unlike the Mick & Ralph's kid.
@@bluedistortions He's not looking all the way down the barrel, just at the very edge inside, where the rifling is. If the gun were to go off while he is inspecting it at that angle, he would be unharmed.
@@bluedistortions If you are 100% certain it's unloaded, there is no risk at all lol That's one of the reasons I never keep a round chambered, even on my CC. It's very dumb to do so, in my opinion. Unless I'm about to/planning on firing my weapon, nothing goes in that chamber, EVER. That's how very easily avoidable accidents end up happening. People like to argue that "that half a second could save your life" but unholstering my concealed firearm and chambering the round is practically all one motion and I refuse to risk shooting my dick off lol
@@TyranasauruzFlex6669 it's your risk to take. Also it's not that it's unsafe to look down a barrel ever, imo it's just just a bad habit forming. I've always stood by NEVER looking down the barrel.
@@nanerpusjay This is the real lesson, yeah. It's not that it's always dangerous. It's just that one day it could be lethal if you keep doing it and building a bad habit. I always keep mine triple checked empty before putting them away. Helps feel less risky.
I still remember playing on the Xbox360, and I got the dialogue where Joshua just casually threatens you, and feeling a genuine chill. It’s just so casual “I will find you.”
Y'know the entire time Joshua was talking about revenge, a verse was on the tip of my tongue and I couldn't remember it... until Joshua mentioned "leaving the revenge to God" then it came to me: Romans 12:19 "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." What a beautiful story... gives me major "book of eli" vibes.
His epiphany on vengeance reminded me of James 1 "19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." Killing Salt-Upon-wounds it's not a righteous action, it won't save him and it won't abate his anger. "26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Only the Lord can give him peace and only through right action can Joshua be granted it.
Someone used Joshua Graham lines to prank call of a prayer line, and you get some real gems. "I want them to suffer" -JG "No sir, we don't pray like that. Not even when the enemy comes to kill steal and destroy." "He gave no mercy to-" JG "And God said that he would would be our vindicator. He would be an adversary to our adversaries" "Yes" - JG "So we don't have to live in that kind of hate" "But we can't expect God to do all the work" - JG "Well sir, I don't pray those kind of prayers, God said vengeance belongs to him. So you have a blessed day-" "No..." - JG
That reminds me of something I heard in the military. "Vengence is mine saith The Lord..... but he subcontracts". I never believed it more then the time a pair of A-10's wiped out part of a mountain and our Taliban problem. Not long after they took out a few vehicles including one my buddy was in during an ambush.
He speak out of a basic Christian needs and doesn't preach from on top of a mountain. He is the meek preaching quietly in a cave. He gives his friend kindness and someone to talk to and his enemies something to fear. His views are simple and neat, basically it speaks to all Christians!
Holy cow. The work that went into creating all of the supplementary footage, not just recreating Joshua's backstory, but even recording alternate angles for simple dialogue, is amazing. Above and beyond work, seriously.
John Moses browning is the most prolific gun designer of all time period. He was an insanely skilled engineer. He had a hand in pretty much every modern weapons system you know, whether it be the gas system, ammunition, firing group/assembly, it is genuinely amazing how much of modern firearms and war era firearms were defined by him.
@@evansoutdoors4022 “God made Man, Sam Colt made ’em equal, and John Browning made ’em civilized.” Sam Colt's revolvers made it so every man, woman, and child stood on equal ground in a fight. AKA defend themselves. Meanwhile, John Browning made talking things out, look a lot better an idea than pulling out your Peacemaker.
It's amazing that even though I am a Hindu, Joshua's way of describing God and him telling us the moral standards we should maintain to not face His wrath made me talk to my parents about our Gods again and during my darkest days I visit the local temple and seek strength from a higher power to face all my ordeals physical or mental as it may be.
Trust in kindness, when we help others, we actually help ourselves! Hope you'll recover from these struggles soon (i know you will, so dont give up!) :)
May God help you and help you find the Truth. Even if we may not believe the same thing; we are the children of the same creator, and I pray we may both be brought to Him in the end.
The thing about Joshua is that he's one of the few characters, in any game, who feels genuine in his actions and words. Were they right? That's up to interpretation, but you have no doubt that he is fully and completely behind his every word and action. A depiction of a person with purpose and drive. When Joshua says "God willing, you will not leave this valley." It's a serious threat to make even the most genocidal of playthroughs give pause and consider not pissing him off. It does a great job of illustrating how faith can be genuinely powerful in a person's life. He has done terrible things, and has survived the impossible. In those moments he saw purpose and meaning and was only driven to further heights of devotion. I personally like to read him in opposition to the character of Caesar. An old man, wracked by illness and at the head of a host driven by fear and hate who worship him but do not understand his goals. They are equally alien to their followers, but Joshua holds himself as an example of what not to do and tells his people that violence is a tool and nothing more. A man of faith and introspection stood against a man blind to his own folly.
It’s like real life right now. Even the part about how the good people are so SO vastly overpowered by the monsters with all the money and influence in power. True Goodness can come from the smallest of men. Evil is often bound to the “great” men of history. Hitler was technically a “great” man. He nearly conquered the world. But it’s no coincidence that he is reviled as one of if not THE most hated person in history. He deserved so much worse than he get in that bunker.
"I have been baptized twice, once in water, once in flame. I will carry the fire of the holy spirit inside until i stand before my Lord for judgement" jesus christ this was one hell of a badass line.
The comments are a war zone, but I’ll leave this here. I think Joshua is a great example for anyone of any creed or belief. He does not talk down to you for not being religious, and he discusses things with you in that awesome calm voice of his. The world needs more Joshuas.
@@spankyjeffro5320 You're being very closed-minded because you have your own personal reservations so the previous arguments both in the video and in the comments have completely slid off to the side for you. Why not consider what they are saying and maybe try it out some time?
As a very spiritual person (who was once agnostic), there are many reasons why I love Joshua Graham so much. He is not only the only religious character I can think of that is neither a hypocrite nor close minded, but he represents everything I believe religious people should be: repentant of their mistakes, worldly aware, altruistic, seeking personal growth. Not to mention how extremely well written his story is. He's my favorite character in all of video games.
@@justyouraveragehumanbeing7411 I wouldn't exactly say *that*. Perhaps those are the only one's *you've* seen. I've seen people nearly fitting of such a description.
Astonishing how little can be found in media that's anything like this-- Joshua is very much like a great many people I've had the privilege of knowing. The only other example I can think of concerning a nuanced and positive portrayal is Shepherd Book from Firefly
In the most respectable way; This is where I think a lot of religious people fail to understand that not just religious people should be "repentant of their mistakes, worldly aware, altruistic, seeking personal growth" but I think everyone should be striving towards these regardless of your beliefs, you don't have to be religious to be a good person. And most importantly being religious doesn't make you a good person.
@@somelaser5906 I never said that being religious makes you good or the vice versa, or anything that would even imply that. However, religious people have a reason to be that way, because it's ideal for fostering a relationship with God. An atheist can be that way too, but it would be for no reason or because they just simply want to.
Honestly... yeah. And I say that as someone who has played this game and this DLC and talked to this guy multiple times. At the end of the day, he is a murdering religious fanatic with a traumatizing background, it's not all that complicated... He is written pretty well, but only someone insane would feel inspired by him. Then again, in the Fallout fan community you don't have to dig much to find Lanius simps even, so...
@@Arbaaltheundefeated I mean, in game he is not a fanatic tho, he just wants retribution for the tribe that killed all of his people, he doesn't care much if you believe or not either, he acts instead of praying
There's a secret ending to Honest Hearts. If you let Joshua kill Salt-Upon-Wounds and then immediately kill Joshua before leaving the area the story that is narrated is something like this: The White Legs threat is ended in Zion but with Joshua dead the Sorrows do not turn into a warrior tribe. The Dead Horses and the Sorrows both come to view Joshua as a martyr of sorts and remember his sacrifice for them. They continue to follow his teachings and even Daniel is content with remaining in Zion and with what happened between the Sorrows and the White Legs. The Sorrows and Dead Horses defend Zion but do not expand and wage war against other tribes; they remember Joshua's sacrifice and that violence always comes at a cost. Daniel even bequeaths Joshua's things to you before you leave, all you have to do in this ending is live with knowing you killed Joshua Graham... Pretty sure thats how it goes, it's been a long while since Ive seen this ending but if you dont believe me go play New Vegas again and find out.
“In a world filled with misery and uncertainty, it is a great comfort to know that, in the end, there is light in the darkness.” My personal favorite video game quote from my personal favorite video game character
I've always found it interesting how Graham's reaction to threatening him is almost identical in tone to his reaction upon hearing that Caesar is dead. There's no fear, pride, happiness, malice, or contempt. It's just him. Also it's beautiful to me that when "threatening" you, he ultimately states that you would hurt yourself worse than he could ever hope to.
He's such a refreshing character. I've watched a few Netflix shows and the amount of times they portray Christians as insane fanatics is eye-rolling. Our society definitely wants positive portrayals of people of faith. Edit: I'm aware that a lot of people's experiences with Christianity has not been positive. I do not dispute that Christians have a long history of violence between themselves and others. But there are good sides to Christianity too. What I argue is that popular culture only depicts them one way: as evil cultists worse than Cthulhu worshippers. The pendulum needs to swing the other way.
@@porkerpete7722 I'd like to add that that's what makes him so compelling. How he's what most Christians really are at the core (or at least, what I'd say we should be), imperfect people trying to do the right thing but pulled to old ways and struggling with it. It's not an easy life trying to basically live anew and turning away from old habits is difficult. Forgive, repent, and turn away are essentially what Christianity should be teaching.
@@Marki9029 most christians I know in life are probably one of the most righteous people to exist on earth. Most of them are participants of war and are former terrorists but it's rare to see a former terrorist and a former assassin and now a priest sitting in one bench conversing about the importance of life and the value of virtue and righteousness. Yep they too are horrible people but the fact that they atone for their sins by serving their god and serving the people and even make a lot of wholesome programs for kids. Most people I know who converted to Christians are really broken people seeking commune and searching for a sense of belonging.
@xensan76 that’s just art imitating life. You’ll see more positive portrayals of Christians when they all stop acting like insane fanatics. The problem is that Christians are notoriously terrible at not being complete and utter bastards to everybody else, and even to other Christians!
About 5 months ago I was in a shitty position in life. I was an alcoholic and I didn’t care for ALOT of things and just was a downhill spiral. Eventually it’ll all come back to bite me and shit it the fan hard for me. I don’t wanna get into details or anything but just know it broke me completely. I didn’t know where to go or who to turn. Until one day I decided to play NW, it was either go get drunk or play new Vegas. I then played the honest hearts dlc and that’s when I met Joshua. His words , his goal, and his passion of his god hit me to the heart. I then looked up lore and found your video and it changed me even more. I am now 5 months sober and I work out almost every week(other weeks I’m just busy) and I’m in a healthy relationship with my lady , family and friends. Thank you Leon talks a lot. You’ve helped me so much💚
I like how while he's being a religious person, even a zealot in a way, he's not a fanatical mad man. He is fanatically religious, that's correct, but he's driven by a reason, not faith. He has faith in what he's doing, but he understands that what he's doing is practical. That what makes him reasonable character and does not create a dissonance, even if you don't understand his beliefs.
He very much feels like someone you can have a conversation with, unlike other examples both in media and real life where its like talking to a brick wall.
My favorite character in all of the entire fallout universe. This was masterfully put together and worded, especially where you mixed in different cuts and angles during the dialogue. I am completely shocked to realize that there is a better 3rd ending, almost a decade after I played it last. I'm going to have to start up another run because of this video. Seriously, excellent work and presentation my dude.
I think he is a very well written character in modern media. Easily my favorite. There are some I could think of that are comparable. But none of them exist in this franchise. He demonstrates the best and worst of humanity. And acknowledges his suffering and what he has caused others. He wishes to be redeemed through bad avenues similar to those that landed him in his current situation. Because he's powerless to do so he turns it all into a revolving door. Sad, sweet, intense, faithful. But he's just vengefully protective in the end.
I'm going to be honest man, it was your video (this one in particular) that got me into fallout, and fuck me am I grateful, I love the series and it helped me get away from an emotional low, I've never loved a series as much as I love fallout. Just now going through Honest Hearts, let's see if I can be converted lol. Remember guys, War, War never changes, but men do :D
Joshua Graham is one of my favorite characters in any piece of media. He's behind one of my all time favorite quotes from any video game ever: "I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me." There was a time I was considering getting that line, or something representing it, as a tattoo.
that quote often gets misappropriated to justify being an asshole in public or online and surviving because you are "stronger" than the haters. In actuality, the quote is unfinished. The fire inside is the fire of love.
You know you made an amazing philosophical character when their characteristics is so good that it inspired people to fight against adversity. Thats an alive character that inspires like real people.
He was a main theme in my Philosophy 451 (basically the best of the best from my university go to this class it’s only the top 12 kids in the school) and the class delves into pacifism & war, when is war it justified , is terrorism itself justified by pacifism. All of this centered around him I’m so glad you made a video
I can personally attest to this. Joshua Graham singlehandedly got me back into reading the bible and believing in god. I was in a very dark period of my life when I first played New Vegas and he seriously stuck a chord with me
Next step is Mormonism lol. Me and my brethren ironically go shooting in the mountains with 1911s and all manner of brownie produced weapons. Who was a Mormon gunsmith along with his sons who gave us superior weapons early in our history. The height of their inventions was the first gas powered machine gun mass produced later in WW1. On every one of our weapons originally was carved Holiness To The Lord. During the destruction of Nauvoo and our diaspora his prototypes were used by a few hundred men in Spartan Band who held off thousands for weeks as we escaped across a frozen river. Anyways i appreciate the attention to detail by the game makers in him teaching about our insistence on making covenants with God and daniel teaching the basic gospel. Old and New Testament basically.
@@joshuaanonymous868 I don't necessarily believe everything the Mormons believe but the book of Acts is very clear this is from the story where Paul was taken before the Sanhedrin the argument was not to interfere and execute the missionaries leading the early church for this reason one of the most epic Bible quotes Acts 5 36 "some time ago Thaddeus Rose up, claimed to be somebody, and a group of about 400 men rallied to him. He was killed, and all of his followers were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 after this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all of his followers were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail! 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God." One thing I cannot deny is the persecution that the Mormon church has endured and now almost 100 years after the passing of Joseph Smith Their branch of Christianity maintains to this day and in fact grows every year
My favorite part is the voice actor for Joshua also voices quite a few very religious characters in Elder Scrolls. A servant of Mara, in Erandur, and of course Joshua Graham.
Just noticed that the slide of joshua's gun has "και το φως εν τη σκοτια φαινει και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν" inscribed on it, which in greek is a verse from the gospel of John translating to "and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness can not overcome/extinguish/overpower it". Nice detail having actual greek scripture
I'm not a Mormon (I'm a Jehovah's Witness) and I haven't really played fallout but I love Joshua's character which really shows how great his character is that even people that don't play fallout know who his character is and his light in the darkness speech is 10/10
I was an atheist for most of my life. The form of Christianity in which I was exposed to most of my life, Protestantism, always felt barren, disconnected, and uncomfortable. When I played Honest Hearts for the first time, something about Joshua really struck me. His words and faith reached me in a way I had never experienced with any denomination to that point. While Christians wouldn't consider Mormons actual Christians, he definitely planted a seed in my journey of faith. Several years later I was baptized into the Orthodox Church. Glory be to God ☦
I have had an experience recently as well playing GOD of war ragnarok when Kratos and Thor were having a disagreement Kratos said WE BE BETTER, that struck some in me like man if Kratos has better morals now so should I lol
Being born French canadian & indigenous....the Christian and native in me really related to this dlc even though it was the first and hardest dlc I played. My older brother traded some zippo lighter fluid for an Xbox 360 and fallout new Vegas had ALL the dlc ALREADY installed. My buddy was surprised cause he had the game but not the dlc and we both stayed up all night playing. One at a time. My fav was big mountain and now I really want to play this and dead money. Knowing what I know now ten years later. I was christian. Now I respect anyone who devotes themselves to anything good. I felt something with Joshua and many other characters in new vegas but now not so much. Don't even want to touch Stanfield even though I was excited for it. I helped my fellow salt upon wounds. Still convinced Josh to do the same? Idk anymore but everyone lived
The Honest Hearts dlc also has one of the best environmental stories I've experienced in Randall Clark, the survivalist. You find different hideouts, stashes, diaries and eventually a skeleton and rifle of a man who survived the great nuclear war in the Zion valley. It is heavily implied that he secretly helped a group of children from the shadows which eventually became what are now the Sorrows tribe. They still worship him as the Father in the Cave. Just amazing story telling for a character who has been dead for generations.
@@13Daisys I get why you'd hate it, seeing as it feels like it his presence would open up a "third option" in the DLC ending, but I feel like it would overall detract from the message of the storyline to begin with (not to mention he would no doubt be dead for a long time unless he was a ghoul, which is plausible ig)
Which is great because they confuse the father in the caves, as the Mormons father in the sky so to speak. Even with the fact he lost his son coincides a bit with that Daniel tries to teach the sorrows
"The couriers words had stayed Joshua's wrath in his darkest hour, and in sparing Salt-Upon-Wounds, he was changed." An oddly powerful line. The courier had convinced Joshua that it was not worth losing his faith for revenge, and that mercy was not a weakness, but him giving others a second chance as his god had given him.
This is one of the reasons why I was never particularly impressed with the Joshua Graham character and Daniel. All this rhetoric about revenge, him becoming wrathful and going against his religion because of it. The White Legs, absolutely deserved to be killed, especially Salt-Upon-Wounds. They would all be executed if they had been put on trial for their crimes. There would be nothing wrong with doing so and it wouldn't even be a proper form of revenge since they were bringing people to justice who sought to harm them. They had to ruin the story with a cliche trope of sparing the villain as a form of showing righteousness but not caring about all the unnamed henchmen of the villain that were killed during the fighting. The person who wrote Joshua Graham clearly saw him killing Salt-Upon-Wounds as a bad thing which would turn him towards a path of villainy, even though he's responsible for killing the New Canaanites and could harm other people in the future if left alive, sparing him is not a form of righteousness, it's foolishness. Now, if Graham was obsessed with killing every man, woman and child of the White Legs, that would be revenge, and it would be unjust and go against his religion. But that would require good writing. I don't even think Christianity itself would regard killing Salt-Upon-Wounds and his lieutenants as a form of revenge, Jesus himself was okay with putting criminals, especially murderers, to death. So Joshua Graham is an interesting character but at the end of the day, the writer made a major mistake supporting silly tropes.
@@zekun4741 no jokes, in history has happened, the viking king (king of Denmark) was spared by the britons after that battle, conmoved by their actions _I've been looking for it, I think it's Harald Bluetooth in 965_ and after this started swiftly the convertion to catholicism for those who were before praisers of the old nordic pantheon so... is quite on character if at the end he decided to spare his worse enemy
No one looks at TH-cam comments so I’ll have my little rant here lol. I started playing New Vegas when I was 12, I had a bad home life and I only knew to express myself through anger. Although the game as a whole shaped me and my path to being healed, Joshua Grahams, especially the scene where he learns to show mercy, changed me fundamentally. I knew then that I didn’t want to be a product of the evil around me but I wanted to make a change and be a better person. For unrelated reasons, I recently started converting to Christianity (Catholicism) although I was raised atheist. I will be baptized next year at 19 years old, and I find it funny how Joshua saved me once and the Lord saved me a second time. Maybe it was a sign from the beginning 🙂
You don’t need religion to be a good person. All it’s good for is giving comfort to people who can’t or won’t think for themselves of what is right and wrong
"I have been baptized twice, once in water, once in flame." That line is as beautiful as it is chilling
Edgier than Shadow the Hedgehog.
@@Toy1er edgier than the sharpest knife
It's also mormon canon. Hes not referring to the canyon incident as his baptism by fire
@@zm1786elaborate
As a Mormon we are actually baptized by “fire”. When he says that line he’s being for real. It’s basically a symbolic way of saying being baptized by the Holy Ghost, as when you get baptized by “fire”, the Holy Ghost fills your soul and it feels like a warm flame warming you from the inside
"I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me" What a powerfull line!!
The writers and voice actors really cemented this game as one of the best ever made. Part of me wishes the base game, and dlcs were a movie. Handled by a trusted studio that are fans of Fallout of course.
@@garrettviewegh9028this is now an unfortunate thing that has come to fruition. Bethesda has now partnered and worked closely with Amazon to create a fallout show; though I have not watched it yet it has been said that not only is the show canon but it de-canonizes new vegas
Amen - one of my favourite quotes of all time. Few characters - real or fictional - have ever made such an lasting impression on me.
FNV is one of my favourite games and Joshua is a big reason as to why I always ends up going back to it with regular intervals.
@@garrettviewegh9028 no.
The entire narrative banks it's impact to it being delivered into a dynamic, reactive and interactive way to the watcher/player.
An tadaptation to Joshua's character in general, changed for a movie would be cool
@damsen978 Given he was set on fire and thrown into the grand canyon, it's also a literal description of how his anger at Cesar made him unwilling to die.
“It’s better to be clean than comfortable” what a quote, feel like I could fix a lot in my life just with that.
i remember that quote from him when playing, and that was like a year ago. Alot of people's lives are messed up because they want to be comfortable in an uncomfortable world. It's good advice, I need to get a tattoo of that or something. Or make a calendar with his best quotes hahaha
"we all live with pain. It is either the pain of hard work and discipline, or the pain of regret."
"Be comfortable with being uncomfortable"
What does it mean
@@theinfinity2988 Its better to work hard and stay clean, uncomfortable and organized than it is to live in laziness and search for comfort at the cost of health and true satisfaction.
"I survived because the alcohol within me burned brighter than the car crash around me."
stealing this for next time I drink and drive
"Sirens blared all around the dark road, but the flames burned on and on."
average american driver
nothing wrong with a little road soda
@@zuzukaji7541shut up weeb
A character in a major video game release being a genuine Christian and not being portrayed as completely evil and hypocritical is pretty stunning.
I'm more surprised a Mormon character would be shown in a serious light. Who even most christians dont take seriously. But he seems to be basically an apocalyptic porter rockwell. A famous mormon commonly known as The Destroying Angel Of Mormondom who had a similar mentality. An ancestor of mine knew him personally as his bodyguard.
@Joshua Anonymous who is this ancestor? I'd love to hear more about this, if you don't mind friend.
Evil enough that I put a bullet between his eyes every time without a second thought.
I have the impression that whoever wrote joshua read the bible, because his character is very much a biblical character. He has done terrible things, gone through terrible things, and struggled with god and life, but he hasn't lost his faith. His calm yet firm demeanor, his lack of finger-wagging moralism.
@@pedrofelipefreitas2666 Because we all know religious faith has always been so devoid of finger-wagging moralism...
"Waging war against good people is bad for the soul." Very chilling.
Russians slaughtering Ukrainians right now. The Russian soldiers have lost their souls.
what makes em so good?
@@landlockedcroat1554 I personally would say that a good person is someone who does what is right a significant amount of the time. What is "right" is different depending on what your religion is.
If You're an Atheist, "right" does exist and it's called ethics, but there's no real reason to consider it right beyond the convenient fact that valuing others simply makes society run more smoothly.
If you're a Monotheist (Probably Christian, Jew, or Muslim) "right" is the will of God, and what makes it right is the fact that the all powerful being who created the universe says so.
If you're a polytheist (probably Hindu) "right" doesn't make much sense. Sure, Hindu and other polytheistic societies have certain things that they consider wrong and right, but they have no more reason than Atheists do to call things "wrong" or "right" and with many disagreeing Gods, polytheists are bound to have a less cohesive idea of what "right" and "wrong" are than Atheists.
I personally am Christian, and I see little justification for any idea of morality in the absence of God.
Also, despite the fact that I might consider some people good, I do not believe that God considers anyone on earth "good". I believe that the only way any of us will ever be considered good in the eyes of God, and allowed into his presence, is if we ask for our sins to be counted against Jesus who willingly payed for them on our behalf.
@@landlockedcroat1554 Joshua Graham calls is “bad for the soul”. For everyone-religious or not, it is the guilt of killing good people. Either your soul is so foul that you don’t guilt over killing good people, or your soul’s quality weakens when faced with the tragedies of a consciously immoral war.
Very true too.
17:50 "its better to be clean than comfortable" That phrase has a lot of meaning, beyond just having clean bandages. I feel he's speaking about having a clean soul.
Didn't even think of that... Incredible
Damn
The New Vegas writing staff understood symbolism and allegory better than anything Bethesda ever made.
@@Tinkatube Yeah the writing team really went above and beyond getting into the mindset of the characters in this broken land.
Something Twitter needs to hear
"We can't expect God to do all the work. *Charges gun* "
Now I'M RELIGIOUS.
The last stand by sabaton intensifies
Tf I'm always seeing these lines just being rephrased by a comment with some extra opinions on it
An atheist was the one who made the story. He even wanted a better representation of religion. The guy did not set out to portray Christianity as good or bad, but accurate. It is crazy how that Mormonism displayed in this video game made other Christians feel more represented than any other video game with some form of Christianity in them.
I guess that says a lot about Christians representing themselves.
@@TheSonic497 Walked into that one. Not a very nice thing say, but I’m sorry your experience with them has been unpleasant.
@@TheSonic497 if that is was you are meaning.
@@huntertuggle2667 I mean, when you have movies like God's Not Dead, and have it's target demographic completely eat it up, it doesn't really help.
@@TheSonic497 I get what you are saying now. Yeah, we only had Prince of Egypt and Veggie tales. I will say the Chosen is pretty good on Netflix, but Christian media for the most part sucks.
There's a sidequest you can activate just after meeting Daniel for the first time where you take drugs and kill a giant flaming hallucination of a bear. Needless to say when I started the quest and left the canyon to be immediately confronted by Joshua Graham rattling off scripture, I thought it was part of the hallucinations too at first.
Top Tier Immersion
“We wept by the rivers of Babylon”
My Mormon in Christ, I am higher than a plane and filled with a murderous rage to kill a flaming bear
Tfw you get high, kill a flaming bear spirit thing, and then Joshua is over here trying to convince you to basically kill the entire white leg tribe…
Yeah, I thought it was part of the hallucinations as well.
Same, it has to be intentional placement.
Lmaoooo
Some people have been using a AI and audio recreation to have him read various book of the Bible. Been pretty wild listening to them.
@Doc K some may say the most “based” and “holy pilled”
been seeing tht everywhere, and the skate 3 jesus christ pearl jam edit lmaooo
@@garrettfricke4076 I recently converted myself to orthodoxy before this explosion of Joshua Graham videos. Maybe it’s just the way TH-cam recommends the stuff your more likely to watch, but I truly believe the whole reject modernity meme has reached a peak and now people are turning around back to Christ. I pray that all people read the Bible even if they don’t believe at least the teachings of love for our neighbors touch everyone’s hearts in some way.
@@oakinson1585 I agree it seems people have been turning back to the lord recently, quite a refreshing site considering all of the degradation we have fallen into these past few years
@TheDoc_K I have been a little christ pilled because Bible lore and mythos is very interesting and I really sat and listened to him read the old testament multiple times. I'm not the religious type but he's so alluring.
Religious or not, Graham is such an important character in gaming history as he is not only amazing but he has depth. If your religious, going through some shit or just looking for encouragement, his story could very well help
And written by an atheist
He’s helping me
✝️
The part of Joshua's character that affects me the most is when he acknowledges both the genuine difficulty of trying to maintain a moral code and the human flaws that make us what we are.
Graham: "For many of us, the road is a difficult one, but the path is always there for us to follow, not matter how many times we fall."
Courier: "Do you ever fall?"
Graham: "Every day. Some days...are harder than others."
We are not perfect creatures and cannot effortlessly embody a moral code every second of every day... but it's the honest effort that counts, and the acknowledgement of failure and attempt to improve ourselves that gives our struggles meaning.
“To believe in something is to be willing to betray it.”
-Kreia, KOTOR II
Betrayal of belief, failure to follow, falling off the path, all synonyms in this case.
To know the right choice is one thing; to make the right choice is another. If one does not know right from wrong, they cannot know they’ve made poor choices, and in some ways that is a shield from shame; yet that shield is temporary. Upon learning right from wrong, the once-avoided shame begins to take root.
…and shame, shame is a lead-lined life preserver. If one has it in them to resist being dragged down, then they can go far, so long as they hold onto the wisdom learned from overcoming shame.
Some days will inevitably be harder than others, but it is better to learn right from wrong and overcome the shame attached than to stumble through life.
To fall is easy, to pick oneself back up is far less so, while infinitely more worthwhile.
cuz true human nature has not advanced a step beyond the stone age
In a single comment I found quotes of morality and humanity from fucking Fallout, Star Wars and an anime Fate. Wild what fiction can teach us and affect our way of thinking.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9
@@mylesobrien7477 there is much truth in legends. The first step required of properly analyzing fiction is to know that the story is inherently fake, but still of value, and perhaps this will be a bit of a random act of kibitzing, but I find that’s where many religious stories unravel. Most people fail to find the value and truth in common falsehoods, stories, legends, and many fail to ever realize there is value to look for within fiction in the first place, which leads them to look for what they believe to be the truth within what they believe to be factual. There are so many religions, all with their own stories, legends, and common falsehoods, such that they cannot all be true (if any of them even are), and if any one of us believes ours to be the truth, that person is about as equally unlikely to be correct as any other person (the popularity of a belief does not guarantee correctness; most people say “calories in calories out,” for instance, but that belief is largely disproven, as least in the way it’s presented commonly today, by the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis). Fiction is very capable of shaping the mind, and of having truth within, from which I come to my point - that I’d argue it’s dangerous to ever present fiction as truth because of how fiction changes thought.
Learning specific, objective truths may correct beliefs about specific subjects, but I’m not sure the truth ever changes the fundamental way in which we think quite like fiction can. One would be strained to wax poetic about the artistry of such a statement as “2+2=4,” as it is an objective fact. There is infinite interpretative potential within fiction, and rather little within fact.
Also, Chris Avellone was a primary writer, if not lead writer, for both New Vegas and KOTOR II, where the quotes came from. In a way, this comment thread is emphasizing the interpretive value of his works of fiction, and their place within societies bounded together by common beliefs, both false and true, as is the case in all societies… especially the falsehoods.
Fiction can be so valuable when we recognize it for what it is, commonly accepted falsehoods. Did Luke defeat Vader? Yes. Did Luke Skywalker exist? Only in our collective imagination, our common falsehood. Would the average person think someone was unwell if they truly and completely believed in the Force? Rather likely, as we understood from the get-go that Star Wars was fiction. Would the average person think someone was unwell if they truly and completely believed in a god? No, it’s fiction presented as fact and commonly accepted.
Fiction should not ever be presented as fact. We’re too smart for fiction to go over our heads, collectively, but not so smart as to be completely objective to the truth of a statement. Even I have some beliefs that I’m not sure I could prove or disprove to a standard I’d accept, but I do my best to present them as nothing more than opinion when I do present them, I’d like to believe.
What also adds to Joshua is the astonishing work the VA did. Despite just having met you, his voice makes it feel like you have known eachother for years. A Confidant you can turn to for advice and someone who helps you through your struggles as much as you help him. Truly an amazing character.
_"You dare fight a Dunmer?!"_
I actually been doing that with the ai vids they make
keith sarbajka does amazing work.
I hate zoomers so fucking much
so your lulled by his voice? not surprising
I unironically use "we can't expect god to do all the work" on a daily basis.
Joshua Graham is one of my favorite Fallout characters
Bro same and i only now found out he is LDS which just made him my favorite character even more( im LDS )
Yeah when I became a Christian that became the most true line
@@ThatOneGodLover He's really only LDS in name only. He doesn't mention any of the church od LDS's (obviously false) prophets and expresses ideas that are basically identical to traditional trinitarianism.
@@ThatOneGodLover He's only affiliated with LDS because the setting is in Utah but aside from that, his teachings is as Christian as you can get.
@@silenthero2795 its mainly just because he is the only LDS character i know of and i already like him as a character
"It is finished" at 30:03 echoing Jesus's words upon the Cross, the detail in this writing is insane.
Interestingly, Joshua Graham is not a perfectly moral character when you encounter him. While he’s complex, charismatic and extremely thoughtful I love that Obsidian made him flawed. When he wants to execute men who have surrendered, you can see that despite all the work he’s done to atone for his sins he’s still human, and he still harbors vengeance in his heart for what Caesar did to him. You, as the courier have the chance to complete his character arc, and help him to live up to his christian ideals by encouraging him to practice mercy and forgiveness. It’s not surprising that story has made people religious, you yourself are helping Joshua on his spiritual journey by playing Honest Hearts.
Ah whatever. Joshua shoot cheif gobbleygook in the face and let's finish this.
i guess watching someone else's spiritual journey makes me realize what a mess it all is
We are all like Joshua in a way. We will never be a brutalistic as him but his anger is one we will feel somehow and sometime.
We will never be Joshua but in the end, regardless of religion we have to learn to be the better version of ourselves; accepting that we will have these thoughts and impulses, but also knowing we have the inner strength and faith to never act on them.
In that Joshua a fictional character is better than some “Christians” today, as he acknowledges he is not a perfect person but he also has the peace to let go of grudges and those who wish him harm, unlike some of today who wishes to instead bring everyone down with them.
Tree branches do not design apples...
@@DailyCorvid huh?
Imagine Joshua’s voice actor narrating the Bible for an audiobook.
There are some videos of AI recreations of Joshua reading the Bible, but the genuine article for the whole Bible would be cooler.
Good news everyone!
There's a vid where the voice AI reads Exodus
You can enjoy that already here on youtube. Several books have already been released.
I’m very excited for the AI Joshua Graham reading the entire Bible.
Love the character. When I was younger I was a bigger fan of the righteous fury part of him, but now I find myself appreciating his softer side a lot more. I really love that when he tells you why you shouldn’t attack them that he tells you the practical reasons first, but says his last reason is the most important
That line has so much impact cause he's made that exact mistake before and knows too well the pain it causes
It was pretty good, it was too bad that when I played this game, I played it through at least three times and each time I looked for this guy, but I couldn’t happen upon it for some reason. Suppose I could’ve looked it up, but I didn’t. I just always thought he was going to be in the area of that other tribe or something. Too bad I never found em
@@mr.channel6467 it's DLC
Gods sUn with a crown of thorns, 12 signs, virgo. Born winter solstice, sun stops in the sky for three days, comes back up. Three kings is Orions belt, pointed toward the birth of the sun.
That's interesting because I know a lot of people who are more into the Old Testament (which is more focused on God's wrath, has all the sex and violence and epic battles), and then as they get older gravitate towards the New Testament.
"I was baptized twice, one with water, then one with fire"
dialogue was most chad dialogue too
bruh thats just ripped from bible
I requoted this too. That hit different 😯
"I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore like any other." That line is what I love so much about this character.
Some people say that there is no such thing as righteous killing. After all, Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. But I feel that sometimes righteous killing can exist, and of course only as a chore for God, unless it's perhaps in-the-moment self defense. The way I believe God works is a lot like how Graham said "We can't expect God to do all the work." So I think the problem is knowing when to leave righteous killing to man or to God. Graham's case showed how he needed to leave the killing to God for a good ending. Jesus' case showed how he needed to leave the killing to God (when Peter or someone cut off a soldier's ear, but Jesus healed it back, as he was being betrayed.) But in the old testament, the Jews could not sit back and wish they had the holy land, they had to take it by force and eradicate the inhabitants. One exemplar of righteous killing from Mormon doctrine (I am also Mormon/member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is when Nephi, the son of a prophet, must get brass plates of scripture from a ruthless commander, Laban, before he and his family travel to the Promised Land. Nephi finds Laban unconscious, drunken with wine in the streets of Jerusalem at night, after the Lord promised him Laban would be delivered into his hands. What happens is this:
"And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.
"And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property
"And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;
"Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." (1 Nephi 4:10-13).
Now before anyone calls us Mormons violence crack-heads, there is also a story of a people called the ammonites, and what they do is they covenant to the Lord to give up all their weapons, and then bury them. This way they will never commit violence against their fellow man, very noble. The problem is they live right near a bunch of people called the Lamanites who are bent on killing them. One time the Lamanites attack, and the Ammonites prepare by sitting together in a field and praying for salvation. A few Ammonites are killed, but eventually the Lamanites soften their hearts and stop killing them.
Back to the righteous killing though, this strategy of being defenseless only works for so long. The Nephites, basically a mostly righteous people, find that Ammonites are still being slaughtered, and step in to protect them from the Lamanites. This is pretty reasonable, is it not?
Hope you enjoyed my essay. Yeah our scripture is new and weird. We believe in Jesus Christ and the Bible though guys, we even have apostles and prophets like in old times (and the Catholic church don't!). Part of me thinks righteous killing is badass, and the other part is glad I'll probably never have to do it.
@@maxwelldegn6651
Yup. It’s called Virtue Ethics. If you are a devout Christian, and you have the opportunity to end WW2 by killing hitler, would you do it? Obviously. “Turn the other cheek” is not applicable to every situation and every circumstance. For example, we still practice an eye for an eye in a court of law and it is deemed Justice. Turn the other cheek would not apply to murderers who need to face judgement and need to be stopped so as to protect other peoples lives. The point is that it isn’t so black and white, and scripture aren’t literal legal legislation. That would be ridiculous, plus Bible doesn’t cover / mention a variety of issues to be called that. Should we all sell away every single one of our possessions just because Jesus told a specific person, who was rich, to do so? No.
I hate zoomers so fucking much
@@WordOfYah Good point. Also sorry for the long block of text
@@boliosbread yep, and in fact if you look over the bible, there is a shit ton of war in there. Even Moses killed someone.
I think one of the most effective parts about Joshua's character in terms of being a solid Christian representation is that he goes out of his way to show that he is not perfect, and he never specifically tries to convert the player. He believes what he believes and is willing to answer any questions you have. He doesn't cut ties with you, or treat you differently just because you're not religious. Just as well, is that he doesn't so much preach with his words as he does his actions. Sure he mentions his faith occasionally, and he tells you that he is seeking redemption, but it's only after he tells you about his past that you realize how much he's changed. Finally, as a few other people mentioned, they don't specifically make him seem right or wrong in his decisions, a lot of non-christian media makes religious people seem like zealous nut jobs, and Christian media often makes all religious people seem objectively correct, but neither is true. As someone who grew up in church. I always try and emphasize the point that they are almost exactly the same as everyone else, they make the same mistake, fall prey to the same failures, and live in the same world. It is their belief, and their belief alone that makes them different, and Joshua Graham does an excellent job of representing this idea. Overall 10/10
I have never heard such an accurate opinion. I wholeheartedly agree, everyone and everything are good and bad, but they cannot be one extreme and none of the other
@@mrwiggles7280 Exactly, and I'm getting tired of everyone acting like anyone that doesn't agree with them is an egotistical maniac. We're all just people who have lived different lives. For better or for worse
Just hearing the first bits of his dialogue immediately rings for me that *this* is a proper christian. People like him are rare even in real life, where many 'religious' people are either hateful zeaolots or complete hypocrites. People like Joshua are what christians are supposed to be, firm in his beliefs with his identity rooted in his faith but not holier then thou against everyone else. He shows respect for your beliefs (or lack thereof) even if he doesn't agree with them, and is more then willing to have a conversation about it but won't try to force his views on you. He's not perfect in the slightest either, wanting revenge on the people who killed his family and falsely calling it righteous justice. No wonder people say they got back into their bibles after coming across him, this is a rare good example in media that doesn't demonize or glorify religion. He's just a respectable man with a book.
@@seasnaill2589 Very well said
@@seasnaill2589 as I was raised Mormon in Utah, I can tell you that even we fall short. I'm not church-going, but everything I hear about "Utah Mormons" is that they're far more judgmental and preachy than Mormons in other states.
But one strength they do have is taking jokes. Seems every comedian or south park episode that mentions Mormons is well received. Mormons "turn the other cheek" more than most faiths I've seen.
At this point, my faith is between myself and God. I am a practitioner first, and very rarely a preacher.
>Founds the Legion
>Become's the nightmare of anyone who isnt the legion
>Fails at hoover damn (oh no)
>Burned alive in pitch and thrown into the grand canyon
>Walks all the way back to his tribe while being extra crispy
>Jesus
>Become's a nightmare for Caesar
>Kills every Frumentarii that dares come after him
>To speak of his existence in the Legion is a death sentence
>Very menacing quotes and is generally looking badass as fucc
>Helps the Courier (mostly) bring The Dead Horses and The Sorrows to glory
>Most of the fallout fandom loves him
>Is the literal reason why Honest Hearts is a good dlc
thats what i call good writing
not true, there's also the survivalist...
@@MWGScorpah yes, the father in the cave. Joshua seems slightly amused the tribals think that’s what he means by god (the father).
Dude fucking solo carried the DLC lol
I wish they’d make another game, another open world survival rpg. I liked outer worlds but the creativity isn’t nearly on the level of FNV
He really reminds me of Paul, the man who wrote almost half of the New Testament books. He started off as a Pharisee who persecuted the early Church. However, when on the road to the city of Damascus, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, causing him to be converted. It was from there that he became one of the most influential apostles in the Christian faith, founding many churches and leading his sheep.
As a Catholic, I needed this video, may God bless you all.
But remember the line:
"We cant expect God to do all work"
Ave maira
mel gibson and mark walberg would agree
Or any of the work whatsoever in fact
But He DID do all the work.
A hard break up and Joshua Graham's words inspired me to go back to Mass for the first time in a decade. I will be going regularly now as part of my routine to become a better man and Catholic. Gym 5 days a week, rereading the Bible, and volunteering at our local food kitchen. I will become the man I should be, and the one Joshua Graham would want me to be.
"Fallout New Vegas is 13 years old"
I specifically remember watching the trailer for this game and being excited since I loved Fallout 3. I'm getting old.
for a young teen this game is pretty smart.
@@CIA871 honestly, let's be real. Writing as of recent for most mainstream games nowadays dont exactly have the best writings
I member when it was first talked about on my middle school bus
Grandpa tell me about the New Vegas release
@@dreadedworld8864 boy when I played it the game was 2 years old...........the dlc remained unknown to me for another 5...............I miss those days
During the attack on the White Legs I strongly feel that Joshua isn't your companion, you're his. He absolutely demolishes everything as if he has the ability to save and load at any time, and keeping up is actually kind of difficult
my character who has genocided all factions apart from Yes Man: funni robot sends his regards
_goes on to kill funni religious man and the entire valley_
no mercy route lol
@@yeetneet5334 funni religious man says you did not pass the vibe check.
@@Cairo40000 neither did the religious man, as he is in many pieces
@@yeetneet5334 why would you kill him tho? He’s cool
i didnt show show anyone else mercy, and i wouldn't show it to one man
I'm so used to the Bible-holding character being an insane cultist. I appreciate Obsidian for writing an actually morally good character that is also religious.
I think he's more morally conflicted and somewhat hypocritical. I feel like Graham is struggling to let go of the last of his old ways and wrath.
@@ratasslordofyoink4542 He's a man who has done wrong, trying to be better. It makes sense for Christianity to be central to his character, as some of the main principles center around forgiveness and redemption.
I love it because he can become anything _because_ of his faith. He can become a good and forgiving person because of God, he can become a vengeful merciless war chief _also BECAUSE_ of God, or he can become just another faith in the Wasteland. Whether his faith is true or valid is irrelevant, how he interacts with it can make him an idol of his faith or the antithesis of it. Just like anyone of any faith, or lack thereof, in the real world. It's how we interact with beliefs and values that makes us good or evil, not those beliefs or values themselves.
If you really think he's "morally good", I think you're missing the point ;)
For repentance/atonement, he is trying to be morally good as defined by his ancestor's faith, and fails because he really has a deeper motivation.
He is indeed an outstanding character in an outstanding story (the Honest Hearts DLC), because he actually considers morality quite seriously. He adds a lot to the base game IMO since he is a far better juxtaposition to the other character who is serious about morality... Cesser.
BTW: If you know a bit about Mormon history, Honest Hearts is even better. Parallels and parables.
ETA: I really should also mention Randall Clark as a third moral character... Contrasting with the others of course. He's sort of a archetype non-believer who is does moral good (as he sees it) because it is simply the right thing to do. Some of the things he did mirror what Graham does (or wants to do). Clarke is the tribe's creator and protector god, and long dead.
Joshua is justifying his lust for revenge with the Bible. He's more morally complex than morally good.
it is inspiring that his darkest hour wasn't the death of his family nor the betrayal of his friend and his near-death experience, but the moment in which he was at stake to decide about life and death consciously. Not at the moment of despair he has shown his fruits, but in the moment of his greatest power - in which he nearly succumped without his friends assisstance. A great game and a great video, thanks for your work.
yeah his darkest moment was defined by his own choice instead of what the world did to him
"Lastly, waging war against good people is bad for the soul. This may not seen important to you now, but it's the most important thing I've said"
I really really love this dialogue. Joshua is a great character.
I think it’s foreshadowing to the final choice of convincing Joshua to not kill the white legs leader
@@johndoh4537 but i don't think salt-upon-wounds counts as "good people"
@@ItsHominah definitely not, but neither was Joshua for a long time. I also misread the quote and didn’t see good people though I still think without it it still applies
Well crushing opposition and seizing victory is good for the soul so I'll go with that lol
Although conveniently, a lot of fairly prevalent dogma claims none are 'truly good' or measure up, or even that natural men can 'do no good'? Long term, seemingly.
“It never stops burning… my skin…..” the anger in his voice makes for one of his best lines, and always makes me side with him. Revenge over cowardice
His nerves should be completely dead tbh. He shouldn't be able to feel anything, so he's probably lying
@@BigWheel.
Phantom pain perhaps
@@BigWheel.
He's talking about changing the bandages to clean them. The damage to the skin is over, but he's far more open to infections than others, and that's an ever-present threat to him.
Ironically, Revenge over cowardice, is literally the antithesis for what Jesus stood for. I like that because it shows how easily corruptible revenge as a desire is which is definitely something Jesus wanted for his followers to realize. How even the men with the strongest foundations can be brought down by their desire to do harm.
@Lurch well said
I think it helps that his voice acting is so genuine.
Even when he just says "God be with you", you can hear that it's not just a "Bye", not just a simple phrase to him. He means it. And even when you suggest violence over diplomacy, he just calmly explains to you that he would kill you.
Not a threat. Just a simple... fact. Hell, he doesn't even seem to take it personally if you threaten him with the Legion. He just explains why that doesn't matter.
Even more interesting is that "Goodbye" is a shortened form of the phrase you mentioned " God be with you"
Wow I didn't know that, thanks
My favorite detail is what he says at the end of that threat.
The final point is usually the most important, the main thing you should take away.
And it's just "But the main reason you shouldn't hurt Daniel or the Sorrows and Dead Horses is because they're good people, and hurting good people will destroy your soul." It sounds almost naive out loud, but when he says it, you know he means it from a very personal point of view.
@@rustyshackle8000 YES
Very good point!
The writing's great, but the voice acting really does seal the deal. Can't imagine his voice from anyone else.
It’s really refreshing to see a religious character not be a complete ass to people. Joshua is a great representation of the good parts of religion: He’s flawed, doesn’t always do the right thing, but he’s a good man, trying to do the right thing. It also helps that he has some lines that go hard asf.
W trans pfp btw
ur pfp 💀💀💀💀💀
@@T_M_T_9Honestly typical that someone like you would completely counter the energy of this video
@@shady5595 I'm hoping they are referring to the catboy Edgeworth and not the trans flag, but I could be wrong
Both are bad@@deadboyo2773
As a Christian, I was so surprised finding and meeting him on my first playthrough. I never would have imagined such an important character being Christian. It was also very interesting hearing how he described Christianity from a post apocalyptic perspective where no one understands it or has even heard of it
Yeah, the post apocalyptic setting works great for the explaining the religion because Christianity isn't ever present like in the modern world. That's one of the biggest issues with regular Christian media in the US, it treats every non-Christian character as if they never even heard of Jesus, and that's so stupid. But in NV is obvious that you never heard of Jesus, most people only mention God in common phrases like "Oh my God" or "Oh Lord", and never with a truly religious intent. Joshua is the first religious character we meet in a sea of atheists.
@@AgusSkywalker it's like Christianity is back to it's founding times right after Jesus' time. i can imagine there could be someone like Paul working to spread the religion across the wastes once more
The world of Fallout is basically a different universe than ours where all of history was exactly the same to ours up until shortly after WW2 had ended. The 1950's Patriotism between Americans, Chinese, and Russians skyrocketed and had never calmed down. Different technology advancements happened and other shifting factors caused the two universes to be different. So I'm sure in the world of Fallout that there are people familiar with Jesus and The Bible, it is just that the writers don't elaborate on them cause they know that these are polarizing topics.
@@Deadsea_1993 But you're talking pre-war. With the bombs much of the cultural knowledge was lost, including old religions. Most of the people of the wasteland are atheists or follow a new religion like the Church of Atom. The Master had his own religion, the Unity, in FO1. And was occupying what must have been a Catholic cathedral pre-war.
There was a Christian pastor in point lookout.
My fav part about Joshua is he isn't condescending when he talks to you, if you don't believe then it's your choice, he respects that and doesn't try to guilt trip you like common religious characters.
That's how it's supposed to be too. We ain't supposed to force you to it, but media and some others out there try
As a Christian that’s how Christians are supposed to be. But sadly we have many false “Christians”. We’re not supposed to try and force people to believe, we’re supposed to teach and if they don’t get it then we pray for them. But we have manny who are hypocritical and overly righteous unfortunately. But the Bible also said that there will be people who claim to be brothers but really aren’t.
@@livinglegend9709 Doesn't help the loudest in your group are also the worst examples XD. Everyone notices the evangelist screaming at gay couples on the street, no one sees the Joshua's of the world.
@@seasnaill2589very true. Every community has those kind of people who get others to look down on the good part. just had to deal with one yesterday. I'm a Christian and they had me face palming😂
The bible supports killing non believers. So it's no wonder.
Even as someone non-religious, I really like that Obsidian didn't go the cheap route to make a stereotypically insane religious character, and that they actually bothered to construct someone with so much emotional and spiritual depth. At the end of the day, we're all just people trying to live our lives, and no difference in race, religion, or opinion will change that. It's nice to see that reflected here.
2 months late, but they already have made stereotypical insane religious guy in the form of Father Elijah, even if it's not religious per se, he sure does acts like one.
@@CTF_Docthat’s just the brother hood of Steel being the brother hood
@@bobbillboard9764but Elijah does fit the stereotype, does he no
You mean like they literally are irl? Type most critical , pastor vs Xbox to see a grown man saying video games are the literal devil and evil and smashes one with a hammer, I’m sure after forcing himself on a child like is the Christian custom
@@CTF_Doc What was it that Mr. House referred to the Brotherhood as again? Ah! A quasi-religious fanatical terrorist group who parade around the Mojave pretending to be Knights Of Yore!
Fuck dude I didn’t even realize you could persuade Joshua to stop. To be fair, I never even tried. Guess I gotta replay that dlc in a new playthrough now.
Joshua threatening me was one of the very few moments in a non horror game that I genuinely felt scared, like if I hurt the sorrows, Joshua himself will kill me in real life
He will actually kill you. I tried not happy about it but no way in hell again.
Joshua probably has one of the most interesting and tragic stories I've ever seen, mainly due to the fact that after he survives his assassination attempt believing it to be a second chance given by God, he instead of trying to improve and change everything he did, he lets the fury and anger take him, leading him to a path of revenge,and without realizing it, he goes back to doing what he did before, something he should have regretted,going the "evil way" by carrying out revenge, something repudiated by God and his son, he was given his second chance and wasted it.
He tried to go the right way in hopes that he could be forgiven and could see his family again, unfortunately after everything he's done, that future is not certain.
Which is why convincing him to spare the White Legs is objectively the best choice. You help him realize that the violence he's committing isn't for God, it's for himself. It's revenge, and revenge is inherently selfish. There is a time where violence is necessary. He even says it himself, it's a chore. But he almost revels in the power he has over Salt-Upon-Wounds.
You see him sink further into darkness, yet you're able to pull him back.
I'm not a religious person, but that story always hits me. That anyone, no matter what they've done, can truly and legitimately change for the better.
Small corection. It wasn't an assassination, it was an execution
@@rustyshackle8000 I would argue putting a bullet between his eyes is the best choice. Anyone who is even capable of viewing killing as a chore should be. Let alone someone who thinks he does but is actually worse than even that. Don't waste redemption on mass murderers.
@rustyshackel8000 "That anyone, no matter what they've done, can truly and legitimately change for the better."
This is why I am religious, it's a comforting thought that no matter much I struggle with my vices and emotions there is a light shining in the darkness.
Redemption is possible for anyone. They just truly have to want it.
@@cassiusemmanualtheyoutubep3171 This is why I love RDR2. No matter what you've done, no matter who you were, you can wake up tomorrow and do the right thing. That's a choice everybody has.
Joshua Graham is largely the work of JE Sawyer, who wrote him (Ulysses, by contrast, is Avellone's baby). I think part of why Graham was so effecting for so many players was because his beliefs were treated with respect and dignity, and his crisis of conscience and faith given an appropriate sense of weight. And we can't forget Keith Szarabajka's work in voicing him, driving home the writing and making it stick. There's no doubt Honest Hearts was rushed, but there is real quality to be enjoyed.
For what it's worth I also always end up going the 'drive out the White Legs' path, though that's due in part to the additional input of the Survivalist's logs. Time spent reading those and absorbing what he tried to do for the Sorrows, and time spent with Waking Cloud will turn the player on to just how much of their identity is tied to Zion. It's not just a place to live, it's genuinely a part of who they are as a people and will no doubt reflect on how they relate to God. Daniel is rather condescending and paternalist, but I see his point, and his objections come from a reasonable place of fear, love, and a sense of guilt.
It's so crazy how Sawyer changed. It is difficult to imagine him write with nuance like this again.
@@male1ism You didn't dig Pentiment?
whenever I find myself in a pretty bad place mentally I just quote this man, my favorite line being "The light of the mind alone cannot burn away all darkness."
17:51
"But it's better to be clean than comfrotable"
that's a powerful line right there
What did you take from it?
It is better to feel the pain of my body with anguish then the pain of my soul.
@@MrUberguber thank you man I appreciate it
@@SyllabicSkate57it's better to be clean in truth than live comfortably in lies
Yeah but wouldn’t “clean” be a necessity to be comfortable?
I'm personally not a Mormon myself; I'm a Baptist. But to see a character who portrays genuine Christianity, no matter the denomination, makes me so, so very happy. Oftentimes Christian characters are portrayed as either overly preachy and without flaws or hypocritical and evil with no in-between. But Joshua is genuine. And I find that to be wonderful.
Also something that I couldn't figure out how to fit into the above paragraph:
Two of Joshua's lines, the one about God's love and the other about wanting to make his anger God's anger, touch me very deeply in my heart. Both of them remind me of my own past experiences with God and thus speak to me on a very personal level.
my thoughts exactly, am baptist as well and can appreciate the effort put into making Joshua such a memorable and well written character.
All true except Mormons arent a denomination of christianity theyre a seperate religion based on Christianity. They believe Jesus and Satan are brothers.
It is actually hard to even find a good christian character. They're now all evil manipulative assholes generally. It is a really refreshing experience to find this video.
Except Mormons aren’t Christians but anything that truly leads ppl to Christ is applaudable
@@miraclessaint-hilaire4941 Fair enough.
I’m a burn victim and weirdly enough this character helped me get through it
do you say "I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me" when someone asks about your burns?
@@AfroDragon Does it matter if s/he says that?
@@ITBEurgava no, i was just asking .
@@ITBEurgavayes, because that would be badass
@@ITBEurgavawhat arthas said
I’m mormon and grew up in the church, Joshua graham was always my favorite character in fallout growing up because he made me feel proud of how our religion was portrayed, and it really made me feel badass getting to see us portrayed positively, the jokes I normally don’t mind, but showing our religion for what it is (a branch of Christianity) is awesome, the jokes were funny at first but they get old quick
i agree
As a Catholic, Joshua Graham is probably the best written Christian character I've ever seen in general. Anyone who follows Christ will find his words resonate with them. The writers did you Mormons proud for sure.
@@johndoe5432 as a Mormon I am
I'm a Mormon too and I'm glad to see some nice representation
I am too a Mormon. It’s so cool finally having good representation. Society calls Christians in general indoctrinated liars. But God saved my life. I was going to kill myself, but he stepped in and told me not to give up. Even if I grew up in the church, I found the truth of God’s light for myself.
I like how he explains at the end how his merciful and peace-loving attitude diminished the myth of the burning man, but was a small price to pay for his peace. He not only gave up his vengeance, but his fame and legacy. I think a lot of people who want to be righteous want some recognition for it, especially leaders, but living righteously most of the time will not give them any fame. It will give them peace.
It's a bittersweet little thing I love about talking him down. Yeah, he's not feared as much...but Joshua is at peace now. And that's more important.
Reminds me when Mike Tyson was talking about his time in prison, which he described as "peaceful, he had peace."
He’s the real main character
Real sht. Touched me like my uncle.
literal facts
This is the best breakdown of Joshua Grahams character I've ever seen on TH-cam.
We love you Critcrab man!
The shell has spoken!
Still it feels really good to discover it yourself in a game
Especially the high speech part felt really rewarding.
What are you doing here?
The Crabking has spoken
26:16 oh shit, I never noticed this before. Joshua's gun is actually inscribed in greek, it says "καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει" meaning "Light will always shine through the dark."
Good eyes!
me: that’s how light works
more literally (greek here): "and the light in the dark shines"
on the other side of the pistol, it writes something like "and the dark did not understand/defeat it". something like that, it's been a while.
@@Hellwaterva lol just saw you commented on a rap video short where a dude translated some uk drill
Reading that Greek texts immediately made me imagine it's like comedically tripping down a bunch of occupied stairs with furniture like the text is completely broken and fails to make a single vowel just stumbling on itself and it gave me a good laugh.
As a Catholic, I've found myself in awe of Joshua. He's human and flawed, knows it, and lives his faith. He seeks not to convert, but to educate. Not to belittle, but to advise. I've seen so many people who claim to be Christian, but fall flat when it's time to deliver on it (not to mention how media has taken to portraying Abrahamic faiths). Joshua is so sincere, and so honest. Its refreshing, after all of the hypocrisy and slander I've seen. I hope to see more characters like him, who are sincere in their faiths, and are portrayed as people - not as crazed zealots.
I kind of like him in the way I like Nicholas Wolfwood, the other gun toting preacher in the anime known as Trigun.
Exactly
he's what I, as a member of the LDS church, lowkey wanna make people feel like, when it comes to eligion
As a Christian it’s really awesome to see a more complex character and a religious figure who’s not stereotypical and one dimensional. If only most media portrayed them as such.
If only Christians in real life weren't stereotypical and one dimensional. Media only acts as a mirror
Stem cell rejecting, ignorant, racist, zealous, pedophiles? Media is jeuish, and they wont miss any chances to sabotage you people
Hello. Can I ask you about what you wrote? I would like to know how is that one-dimensional religious figure you mentioned often described, and how do you believe an average Christian person actually is compared to that stereotype.
You see, I'm just curious on how other people see themselves and others as believers in a realistic way and how much congruence they see/admit there is between the way how they/others act and live everyday and the spiritual principles and values they've chosen to follow and guide their lives by.
Thank you very much in advance.
Mormons are equivocally NOT Christians. Its a full fledged cult
@@sanmemind3666 just watch anything with a Christian character in it, they always make religious characters one dimensional
Can we just take a moment to get some love and appreciation for the voice actor? My God what an amazing performance. So rare these days.
Keith Szarabajka is a great actor, and it sucks how he never really took off in film and TV, but his extensive voice acting career more than makes up for it.
@@austinkersey2445 is it just me or have i heard his voice in berserk as the opening narrator?
@@lurkingblayd3470 Do you mean Void? That was John Avner.
@@austinkersey2445 thank you for the name I love the guys voice
Why are YT coments always like this, exagerating stuff for the sake of it. You can experience some of the best voice acting ever by playing modern videogames. You make it sound like good voice actors are extinct wtf.
I have a friend who was an atheist and a huge fan of FNV. He's a catholic now. I'm the last atheist of the crew. Wonder if JG had any influence on him.
It's refreshing to see a religious character, let alone a christian one, be depicted as something other than a bible thumping tyrant. JG is brilliantly written. Someone at Obsidian not only understood the scripture, but also respected it. Likely a mormon themselves.
The crew? Tell me more.
@@sirpepeofhousekek6741 Just a bunch of old friends from college.
The writer was an athiest (according to the comment sectiom), but yeah, small people use religion to make enemies, big people use it to make friends.(Quote by APJ Abdul Kalam)
Someday i Hope you find God as they have.
"I believe that though I am a sinner, I have been saved" is one of the hardest fallout quotes ever
That's literally what every Christian believes IRL
@@supremeleaderchase7339im orthodox, i dont know if i am saved but i hope i am aswell as everyone else
@@supremeleaderchase7339 yes and thats what makes it so great
@@Hoodpartisan Christ makes you saved so if you trust in him and follow him your saved
All praises to Christ, who by his great sacrifice has forgiven and redeemed those who believe Christ is God, and are willing to repent and be saved, so repent and turn from sin and unprofitable things thoughts and desires that keep plaguing you, bringing you depression and anxiety, and turn to Christ and live for him our creator, no longer then are we bound by fear and sins, but only peace and joy and righteousness will fill us, for we aren't destined to suffering both now and after, but we are destined for the Kingdom, to be with him who gave us salvation for eternity, to be with the King of kings, the Prince of peace.
As a Mormon, I was shocked how positive and cool Joshua was portrayed. I’m glad Obsidian gave us this gem of a character.
I know, right? I feel like we Mormons are treated like the "red headed step-child" of religions most of the time, like we are there to be the butt of some joke or an oddity at a freak show. Joshua is very refreshing.
As a Mormon, I could agree with you more. We are often hated and shunned by most other people, including other Christians.
@@Inzpectre If you're driving and every other car is honking at you, it's probably because you're going the wrong way.
@@kavky I agree. But in this case, it is different. My comment sounded a bit self centred, and i apologise for that.
@@jaceyking5015 Thats because you're in a cult that teaches some racist homophobic and sexist shit. You are looked down upon for good reason.
"The Boneyard, Phoenix, New Vegas, they're just places, metal and stone. New Canaan dies, but the tribe lives on. When the walls come tumbling down, when you lose everything you have, you always have family. And your family always has tribe."
Such a good quote
Asgard is a people, not a place!
Yeah I remembered this when I seen what happened to shady sands on the new show
As a member of the church i really enjoyed his portrayal. We are taught to hate bloodshed but by no means are we pacifists. Were well represented in the military and law enforcement as well as general gun culture. I feel the story of one of my people repenting of bloodthirst but still serving as a protector is awesome.
I'm so glad someone else understands this! Good is not always nice. Sometimes, good is going out of your way to punch evil in the face!
@@inklypse4248 While also not high diving headfirst into carnage at every chance, just standing your ground when danger stops by.
I am LDS too. Anyone, LDS or not, who reads the Book of Mormon finds out that much of the narrative consists of God-fearing people being forced to fight for their lives and families. It definitely explains a lot about Latter-day Saint culture.
@@loganbagley7822 same
If people are wondering, the voice actor for him is Keith Szarabajka. He’s an awesome voice actor not only for Joshua but also for Warcraft and Company of Heroes with how flexible he can be.
He's also the Dark Elves in Skyrim and even appeared in multiple episodes of Supernatural (Donatello Redfield).
Damn, even combine knows Szarabajka is good.
That would explain the Skyrim music!
And one of my favorites, Harbinger in Mass Effect 2.
He's also slate in bioshock infinite
One of the most well written Christian characters in modern literature. Who would've thought one who perfectly encapsulates the trials of a follower of Christ, short of martyrdom itself, would come from a video game made to capitalize off of the momentum and popularity of the previous title.
?What
Isnt he Mormon? Not Christian
@@MkadinA01 Mormons believe Christ was the son of God and redeemed the world. they follow the teaching in the Bible and try to follow Christs example. They are as Christian as any other denomination by definition except for the most rigid.
@@ProfessorSmoothBrain Christians with a new DLC
@@ProfessorSmoothBrain here here for the most part I don't believe there is anything that prevent a Mormon from getting to heaven and their beliefs so far as I understand them do not contradict the biblical teachings any more than Catholics Lutheran's or anglicans at least two of three off wich most Evangelical denominations still consider true Christians
It's also worth noting that when Joshua is inspecting the pistol, he checks the rifling, but does not look directly down the barrel, which is one of the first things people are taught when learning how to handle a firearm. Unlike the Mick & Ralph's kid.
I dunno man. If you can see down the barrel, it's pointed right at your face, whether you angle it a bit or not.
@@bluedistortions He's not looking all the way down the barrel, just at the very edge inside, where the rifling is. If the gun were to go off while he is inspecting it at that angle, he would be unharmed.
@@bluedistortions If you are 100% certain it's unloaded, there is no risk at all lol
That's one of the reasons I never keep a round chambered, even on my CC. It's very dumb to do so, in my opinion. Unless I'm about to/planning on firing my weapon, nothing goes in that chamber, EVER. That's how very easily avoidable accidents end up happening.
People like to argue that "that half a second could save your life" but unholstering my concealed firearm and chambering the round is practically all one motion and I refuse to risk shooting my dick off lol
@@TyranasauruzFlex6669 it's your risk to take. Also it's not that it's unsafe to look down a barrel ever, imo it's just just a bad habit forming. I've always stood by NEVER looking down the barrel.
@@nanerpusjay This is the real lesson, yeah. It's not that it's always dangerous. It's just that one day it could be lethal if you keep doing it and building a bad habit. I always keep mine triple checked empty before putting them away. Helps feel less risky.
I still remember playing on the Xbox360, and I got the dialogue where Joshua just casually threatens you, and feeling a genuine chill. It’s just so casual “I will find you.”
Y'know the entire time Joshua was talking about revenge, a verse was on the tip of my tongue and I couldn't remember it... until Joshua mentioned "leaving the revenge to God" then it came to me: Romans 12:19 "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." What a beautiful story... gives me major "book of eli" vibes.
His epiphany on vengeance reminded me of James 1
"19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."
Killing Salt-Upon-wounds it's not a righteous action, it won't save him and it won't abate his anger.
"26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Only the Lord can give him peace and only through right action can Joshua be granted it.
Someone used Joshua Graham lines to prank call of a prayer line, and you get some real gems.
"I want them to suffer" -JG
"No sir, we don't pray like that. Not even when the enemy comes to kill steal and destroy."
"He gave no mercy to-" JG
"And God said that he would would be our vindicator. He would be an adversary to our adversaries"
"Yes" - JG
"So we don't have to live in that kind of hate"
"But we can't expect God to do all the work" - JG
"Well sir, I don't pray those kind of prayers, God said vengeance belongs to him. So you have a blessed day-"
"No..." - JG
That reminds me of something I heard in the military. "Vengence is mine saith The Lord..... but he subcontracts". I never believed it more then the time a pair of A-10's wiped out part of a mountain and our Taliban problem. Not long after they took out a few vehicles including one my buddy was in during an ambush.
@Knights_Oath shouldn't have joined the military they don't care anyway just another body 2 them
He speak out of a basic Christian needs and doesn't preach from on top of a mountain. He is the meek preaching quietly in a cave. He gives his friend kindness and someone to talk to and his enemies something to fear. His views are simple and neat, basically it speaks to all Christians!
Holy cow. The work that went into creating all of the supplementary footage, not just recreating Joshua's backstory, but even recording alternate angles for simple dialogue, is amazing. Above and beyond work, seriously.
Joshua Graham's words literally inspired me to start going back to Church.
John Moses browning is the most prolific gun designer of all time period. He was an insanely skilled engineer. He had a hand in pretty much every modern weapons system you know, whether it be the gas system, ammunition, firing group/assembly, it is genuinely amazing how much of modern firearms and war era firearms were defined by him.
And still being used to this day, no less
@@falloutfreek1992 god made men, and john browning made them equal.
@@evansoutdoors4022 “God made Man, Sam Colt made ’em equal, and John Browning made ’em civilized.”
Sam Colt's revolvers made it so every man, woman, and child stood on equal ground in a fight. AKA defend themselves.
Meanwhile, John Browning made talking things out, look a lot better an idea than pulling out your Peacemaker.
@@namastereciprocity4549 I thought I was missing part of the quote, thanks for filling it in.
John Browning is also a Mormon in his own right and the 1911 is so iconic in US history, Utah has hade it the official firearm of Utah.
It's amazing that even though I am a Hindu, Joshua's way of describing God and him telling us the moral standards we should maintain to not face His wrath made me talk to my parents about our Gods again and during my darkest days I visit the local temple and seek strength from a higher power to face all my ordeals physical or mental as it may be.
I wish you strength in facing your problems.
@@_TkiT_ many thanks for your well wishes
Trust in kindness, when we help others, we actually help ourselves!
Hope you'll recover from these struggles soon (i know you will, so dont give up!) :)
@@Inzpectre thank you for your wise words
May God help you and help you find the Truth. Even if we may not believe the same thing; we are the children of the same creator, and I pray we may both be brought to Him in the end.
The thing about Joshua is that he's one of the few characters, in any game, who feels genuine in his actions and words. Were they right? That's up to interpretation, but you have no doubt that he is fully and completely behind his every word and action. A depiction of a person with purpose and drive.
When Joshua says "God willing, you will not leave this valley." It's a serious threat to make even the most genocidal of playthroughs give pause and consider not pissing him off.
It does a great job of illustrating how faith can be genuinely powerful in a person's life. He has done terrible things, and has survived the impossible. In those moments he saw purpose and meaning and was only driven to further heights of devotion.
I personally like to read him in opposition to the character of Caesar. An old man, wracked by illness and at the head of a host driven by fear and hate who worship him but do not understand his goals.
They are equally alien to their followers, but Joshua holds himself as an example of what not to do and tells his people that violence is a tool and nothing more. A man of faith and introspection stood against a man blind to his own folly.
that's actually well spoke, also love how he seems so mysterious still, like how we only see his eyes is kinda fitting
He inspires me in the fight to destroy Count Dracula.
It’s like real life right now. Even the part about how the good people are so SO vastly overpowered by the monsters with all the money and influence in power.
True Goodness can come from the smallest of men. Evil is often bound to the “great” men of history. Hitler was technically a “great” man. He nearly conquered the world. But it’s no coincidence that he is reviled as one of if not THE most hated person in history. He deserved so much worse than he get in that bunker.
a guy so well written and voiced that when voice AI became popular the first thing nerds do is have joshua read the bible
Like we should have to teach the AI spirit the word of god by two greatest gods
"I have been baptized twice, once in water, once in flame. I will carry the fire of the holy spirit inside until i stand before my Lord for judgement"
jesus christ this was one hell of a badass line.
Fuckin A
JC: Yes, it was.
🙄
😐
The comments are a war zone, but I’ll leave this here. I think Joshua is a great example for anyone of any creed or belief. He does not talk down to you for not being religious, and he discusses things with you in that awesome calm voice of his. The world needs more Joshuas.
Except maybe the whole post apocalyptic murder part of his character, We need less of that
more vengeful warmongers?
@@VainSickto be fair it is fallout
No. The world needs more non-religious people.
@@spankyjeffro5320 You're being very closed-minded because you have your own personal reservations so the previous arguments both in the video and in the comments have completely slid off to the side for you. Why not consider what they are saying and maybe try it out some time?
As a very spiritual person (who was once agnostic), there are many reasons why I love Joshua Graham so much. He is not only the only religious character I can think of that is neither a hypocrite nor close minded, but he represents everything I believe religious people should be: repentant of their mistakes, worldly aware, altruistic, seeking personal growth. Not to mention how extremely well written his story is. He's my favorite character in all of video games.
he is everything religious people aren't
@@justyouraveragehumanbeing7411 I wouldn't exactly say *that*.
Perhaps those are the only one's *you've* seen. I've seen people nearly fitting of such a description.
Astonishing how little can be found in media that's anything like this-- Joshua is very much like a great many people I've had the privilege of knowing. The only other example I can think of concerning a nuanced and positive portrayal is Shepherd Book from Firefly
In the most respectable way; This is where I think a lot of religious people fail to understand that not just religious people should be "repentant of their mistakes, worldly aware, altruistic, seeking personal growth" but I think everyone should be striving towards these regardless of your beliefs, you don't have to be religious to be a good person. And most importantly being religious doesn't make you a good person.
@@somelaser5906 I never said that being religious makes you good or the vice versa, or anything that would even imply that. However, religious people have a reason to be that way, because it's ideal for fostering a relationship with God. An atheist can be that way too, but it would be for no reason or because they just simply want to.
I was playing skyrim with this in the background and the music at 15 min actually think a dragon was attacking
I’m glad that I don’t need to watch more than 20 seconds to know exactly what he’s about without ever encountering him
Yeah, looks like i don't need to know any more about this meme/joke
Honestly... yeah. And I say that as someone who has played this game and this DLC and talked to this guy multiple times. At the end of the day, he is a murdering religious fanatic with a traumatizing background, it's not all that complicated... He is written pretty well, but only someone insane would feel inspired by him. Then again, in the Fallout fan community you don't have to dig much to find Lanius simps even, so...
@@Arbaaltheundefeated bro you are on an athiest cringe crusade in these comments you are obviously the one with trauma
@@jackeronie6490 Oh, did you already manage to get shadowbanned by TH-cam? Not surprised.
@@Arbaaltheundefeated I mean, in game he is not a fanatic tho, he just wants retribution for the tribe that killed all of his people, he doesn't care much if you believe or not either, he acts instead of praying
There's a secret ending to Honest Hearts. If you let Joshua kill Salt-Upon-Wounds and then immediately kill Joshua before leaving the area the story that is narrated is something like this: The White Legs threat is ended in Zion but with Joshua dead the Sorrows do not turn into a warrior tribe. The Dead Horses and the Sorrows both come to view Joshua as a martyr of sorts and remember his sacrifice for them. They continue to follow his teachings and even Daniel is content with remaining in Zion and with what happened between the Sorrows and the White Legs. The Sorrows and Dead Horses defend Zion but do not expand and wage war against other tribes; they remember Joshua's sacrifice and that violence always comes at a cost. Daniel even bequeaths Joshua's things to you before you leave, all you have to do in this ending is live with knowing you killed Joshua Graham...
Pretty sure thats how it goes, it's been a long while since Ive seen this ending but if you dont believe me go play New Vegas again and find out.
Kind of poetic..they do say if you are seeking revenge dig two graves.
@@Aliyah_666but I’m going to kill way more than two people
@@Aliyah_666There was need of more than two graves.
I really wish this was true
@@Sarcasmos-ft7gz it is
“In a world filled with misery and uncertainty, it is a great comfort to know that, in the end, there is light in the darkness.”
My personal favorite video game quote from my personal favorite video game character
from my personal favorite video game
but it's such a common wisdom though? Crack open any given fortune cookie, chances are you'll read it.
No light lasts forever -Rubick
Two characters that I like compilately on opposite ends :/
*"One does not simply expect God to do all the work."*
-Boromir
you are a legend,
I've always found it interesting how Graham's reaction to threatening him is almost identical in tone to his reaction upon hearing that Caesar is dead. There's no fear, pride, happiness, malice, or contempt. It's just him. Also it's beautiful to me that when "threatening" you, he ultimately states that you would hurt yourself worse than he could ever hope to.
He's such a refreshing character. I've watched a few Netflix shows and the amount of times they portray Christians as insane fanatics is eye-rolling. Our society definitely wants positive portrayals of people of faith.
Edit: I'm aware that a lot of people's experiences with Christianity has not been positive. I do not dispute that Christians have a long history of violence between themselves and others. But there are good sides to Christianity too. What I argue is that popular culture only depicts them one way: as evil cultists worse than Cthulhu worshippers. The pendulum needs to swing the other way.
Also try playing "blasphemous" its a nice brutal game based on spanish catholicism, I love when games like these make you interested in religion
He's not perfect either. He's a heinous character that died, and returned to forgive. Essentially what Jesus preaches, forgiveness.
@@porkerpete7722 I'd like to add that that's what makes him so compelling. How he's what most Christians really are at the core (or at least, what I'd say we should be), imperfect people trying to do the right thing but pulled to old ways and struggling with it. It's not an easy life trying to basically live anew and turning away from old habits is difficult. Forgive, repent, and turn away are essentially what Christianity should be teaching.
@@Marki9029 most christians I know in life are probably one of the most righteous people to exist on earth. Most of them are participants of war and are former terrorists but it's rare to see a former terrorist and a former assassin and now a priest sitting in one bench conversing about the importance of life and the value of virtue and righteousness.
Yep they too are horrible people but the fact that they atone for their sins by serving their god and serving the people and even make a lot of wholesome programs for kids. Most people I know who converted to Christians are really broken people seeking commune and searching for a sense of belonging.
@xensan76 that’s just art imitating life. You’ll see more positive portrayals of Christians when they all stop acting like insane fanatics. The problem is that Christians are notoriously terrible at not being complete and utter bastards to everybody else, and even to other Christians!
About 5 months ago I was in a shitty position in life. I was an alcoholic and I didn’t care for ALOT of things and just was a downhill spiral. Eventually it’ll all come back to bite me and shit it the fan hard for me. I don’t wanna get into details or anything but just know it broke me completely. I didn’t know where to go or who to turn. Until one day I decided to play NW, it was either go get drunk or play new Vegas. I then played the honest hearts dlc and that’s when I met Joshua. His words , his goal, and his passion of his god hit me to the heart. I then looked up lore and found your video and it changed me even more. I am now 5 months sober and I work out almost every week(other weeks I’m just busy) and I’m in a healthy relationship with my lady , family and friends. Thank you Leon talks a lot. You’ve helped me so much💚
ALMOST A YEAR SOBER MY BOYS!!!
@@chrisgomez6261Congratulations, bro
Congratulations man.@@chrisgomez6261
@@chrisgomez6261 maybe a late reply but im proud of you keep the shit up man you deserve to have a happy life
I am so proud of you, keep it up@@chrisgomez6261
As soon as the guy shot the screen after leon said "Do I believe in any religon? No." The second the bullet got shot, an ad came up. I fucking swear
I like how while he's being a religious person, even a zealot in a way, he's not a fanatical mad man. He is fanatically religious, that's correct, but he's driven by a reason, not faith. He has faith in what he's doing, but he understands that what he's doing is practical. That what makes him reasonable character and does not create a dissonance, even if you don't understand his beliefs.
He very much feels like someone you can have a conversation with, unlike other examples both in media and real life where its like talking to a brick wall.
I like to call this faith with works
@@Toxic-cd4yh "faith with deeds"?
@@Rinesmyth ye
@@seasnaill2589 even irl the loonies are rarer than the internet makes them out to be
My favorite character in all of the entire fallout universe.
This was masterfully put together and worded, especially where you mixed in different cuts and angles during the dialogue.
I am completely shocked to realize that there is a better 3rd ending, almost a decade after I played it last. I'm going to have to start up another run because of this video.
Seriously, excellent work and presentation my dude.
I think he is a very well written character in modern media. Easily my favorite. There are some I could think of that are comparable. But none of them exist in this franchise.
He demonstrates the best and worst of humanity. And acknowledges his suffering and what he has caused others.
He wishes to be redeemed through bad avenues similar to those that landed him in his current situation. Because he's powerless to do so he turns it all into a revolving door.
Sad, sweet, intense, faithful. But he's just vengefully protective in the end.
I'm going to be honest man, it was your video (this one in particular) that got me into fallout, and fuck me am I grateful, I love the series and it helped me get away from an emotional low, I've never loved a series as much as I love fallout.
Just now going through Honest Hearts, let's see if I can be converted lol.
Remember guys, War, War never changes, but men do :D
Joshua Graham is one of my favorite characters in any piece of media. He's behind one of my all time favorite quotes from any video game ever:
"I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me."
There was a time I was considering getting that line, or something representing it, as a tattoo.
Him and Shishio Makoto are my favorites characters ever
Same! I still want a new Vegas tattoo tho
that quote often gets misappropriated to justify being an asshole in public or online and surviving because you are "stronger" than the haters. In actuality, the quote is unfinished. The fire inside is the fire of love.
Wow that’s actually powerful bro. I wonder how that would look in Japanese lettering.
I am an atheist, and I absolutely love Joshua Graham. Wonderfully written and voice acted.
Same on both things, amazing character
Refreshing to see religious characters portrayed accurately
Same on both parts of this
Same
Atheists arent allowed to have opinions
@@no_nameington lmao no name
You know you made an amazing philosophical character when their characteristics is so good that it inspired people to fight against adversity. Thats an alive character that inspires like real people.
What do you mean fight against adversity?
@@justinkimberlyrowley4465 fight any challenges they're facing. face it head on
@@dzaesonp8599 TRUE
Obsidian would never write a character like this today.
@@fandyus4125 Believe it or not, Josh Sawyer created and wrote Joshua Graham and he's still at Obsidian, so not entirely true.
He was a main theme in my Philosophy 451 (basically the best of the best from my university go to this class it’s only the top 12 kids in the school) and the class delves into pacifism & war, when is war it justified , is terrorism itself justified by pacifism. All of this centered around him I’m so glad you made a video
I can personally attest to this. Joshua Graham singlehandedly got me back into reading the bible and believing in god. I was in a very dark period of my life when I first played New Vegas and he seriously stuck a chord with me
Same brother, Christ be with you
Next step is Mormonism lol. Me and my brethren ironically go shooting in the mountains with 1911s and all manner of brownie produced weapons. Who was a Mormon gunsmith along with his sons who gave us superior weapons early in our history. The height of their inventions was the first gas powered machine gun mass produced later in WW1. On every one of our weapons originally was carved Holiness To The Lord. During the destruction of Nauvoo and our diaspora his prototypes were used by a few hundred men in Spartan Band who held off thousands for weeks as we escaped across a frozen river.
Anyways i appreciate the attention to detail by the game makers in him teaching about our insistence on making covenants with God and daniel teaching the basic gospel. Old and New Testament basically.
So a murderous fanatic got you back to believing in God... I really hope I never meet you in real life.
@@joshuaanonymous868 I don't necessarily believe everything the Mormons believe but the book of Acts is very clear this is from the story where Paul was taken before the Sanhedrin the argument was not to interfere and execute the missionaries leading the early church for this reason one of the most epic Bible quotes
Acts 5
36 "some time ago Thaddeus Rose up, claimed to be somebody, and a group of about 400 men rallied to him. He was killed, and all of his followers were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 after this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and attracted a following. He also perished, and all of his followers were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I tell you, stay away from these men and leave them alone. For this plan or this work is of human origin, it will fail! 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even be found fighting against God."
One thing I cannot deny is the persecution that the Mormon church has endured and now almost 100 years after the passing of Joseph Smith Their branch of Christianity maintains to this day and in fact grows every year
@@joshuaanonymous868 what is the destruction of Nauvoo?
My favorite part is the voice actor for Joshua also voices quite a few very religious characters in Elder Scrolls. A servant of Mara, in Erandur, and of course Joshua Graham.
Isn't he basically the voice of all male dunmers in Skyrim?
@@han16al46 oh damn I think you're right. His voice those sound familiar. That's cool.
He also voices the Didact in Halo 4
Just noticed that the slide of joshua's gun has "και το φως εν τη σκοτια φαινει και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν" inscribed on it, which in greek is a verse from the gospel of John translating to "and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness can not overcome/extinguish/overpower it". Nice detail having actual greek scripture
It's also quite cheeky as it describes the flash of firing.
I never noticed and wouldn't have been able to tell what it said despite having taken Greek 101 twice. Thanks!
As a Mormon myself, Joshua resonates extraordinarily strong with me. I have my own struggles and he's pretty inspiring to me, personally.
I'm not a Mormon (I'm a Jehovah's Witness) and I haven't really played fallout but I love Joshua's character which really shows how great his character is that even people that don't play fallout know who his character is and his light in the darkness speech is 10/10
The voice actor also did a great job in voicing the troubled being that Joshua was
You know I found the simple quote “it is better to be clean than comfortable” very impactful to me
I was an atheist for most of my life. The form of Christianity in which I was exposed to most of my life, Protestantism, always felt barren, disconnected, and uncomfortable. When I played Honest Hearts for the first time, something about Joshua really struck me. His words and faith reached me in a way I had never experienced with any denomination to that point. While Christians wouldn't consider Mormons actual Christians, he definitely planted a seed in my journey of faith. Several years later I was baptized into the Orthodox Church. Glory be to God ☦
Orthodox beard game too strong man
Glory to god brother.
Lord Jesus Christ, son of god, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Joshua Graham is Mormon you dinghus
I have had an experience recently as well playing GOD of war ragnarok when Kratos and Thor were having a disagreement Kratos said WE BE BETTER, that struck some in me like man if Kratos has better morals now so should I lol
Joshua's gun inspection animation was actually mo-capping, Josh Sawyer provided both the acting and the firearm (unloaded and safety on of course)
The safety couldn't have been on. It prevents you from pulling back the slide on a 1911.
@@Ragedaonenlonely was ab to say the same
Being born French canadian & indigenous....the Christian and native in me really related to this dlc even though it was the first and hardest dlc I played.
My older brother traded some zippo lighter fluid for an Xbox 360 and fallout new Vegas had ALL the dlc ALREADY installed. My buddy was surprised cause he had the game but not the dlc and we both stayed up all night playing. One at a time. My fav was big mountain and now I really want to play this and dead money. Knowing what I know now ten years later. I was christian. Now I respect anyone who devotes themselves to anything good. I felt something with Joshua and many other characters in new vegas but now not so much. Don't even want to touch Stanfield even though I was excited for it. I helped my fellow salt upon wounds. Still convinced Josh to do the same? Idk anymore but everyone lived
The Honest Hearts dlc also has one of the best environmental stories I've experienced in Randall Clark, the survivalist. You find different hideouts, stashes, diaries and eventually a skeleton and rifle of a man who survived the great nuclear war in the Zion valley. It is heavily implied that he secretly helped a group of children from the shadows which eventually became what are now the Sorrows tribe. They still worship him as the Father in the Cave. Just amazing story telling for a character who has been dead for generations.
Honestly it's part of why I hated the dlc, one of the most well written charecters... and you never meet him
@@13Daisys I get why you'd hate it, seeing as it feels like it his presence would open up a "third option" in the DLC ending, but I feel like it would overall detract from the message of the storyline to begin with (not to mention he would no doubt be dead for a long time unless he was a ghoul, which is plausible ig)
@13Daisys well technically you can meet him, he just isn't very talkative. He does have a sweet rifle for you.
Which is great because they confuse the father in the caves, as the Mormons father in the sky so to speak. Even with the fact he lost his son coincides a bit with that Daniel tries to teach the sorrows
also part of the reason noone chose Dainels route
People hate on this dlc but it is for sure my favorite. I love Joshua, the survivalist, the story of the two tribes, the environment. It’s so good
Most hate due its a way to short and offer a little aside of storytelling. Tbh its good DLC.
"The couriers words had stayed Joshua's wrath in his darkest hour, and in sparing Salt-Upon-Wounds, he was changed."
An oddly powerful line. The courier had convinced Joshua that it was not worth losing his faith for revenge, and that mercy was not a weakness, but him giving others a second chance as his god had given him.
This is one of the reasons why I was never particularly impressed with the Joshua Graham character and Daniel. All this rhetoric about revenge, him becoming wrathful and going against his religion because of it. The White Legs, absolutely deserved to be killed, especially Salt-Upon-Wounds. They would all be executed if they had been put on trial for their crimes. There would be nothing wrong with doing so and it wouldn't even be a proper form of revenge since they were bringing people to justice who sought to harm them. They had to ruin the story with a cliche trope of sparing the villain as a form of showing righteousness but not caring about all the unnamed henchmen of the villain that were killed during the fighting. The person who wrote Joshua Graham clearly saw him killing Salt-Upon-Wounds as a bad thing which would turn him towards a path of villainy, even though he's responsible for killing the New Canaanites and could harm other people in the future if left alive, sparing him is not a form of righteousness, it's foolishness. Now, if Graham was obsessed with killing every man, woman and child of the White Legs, that would be revenge, and it would be unjust and go against his religion. But that would require good writing. I don't even think Christianity itself would regard killing Salt-Upon-Wounds and his lieutenants as a form of revenge, Jesus himself was okay with putting criminals, especially murderers, to death. So Joshua Graham is an interesting character but at the end of the day, the writer made a major mistake supporting silly tropes.
@@zekun4741 Good point.
@@zekun4741 He literally wanted to *exterminate* them.
@@zekun4741 no jokes, in history has happened, the viking king (king of Denmark) was spared by the britons after that battle, conmoved by their actions _I've been looking for it, I think it's Harald Bluetooth in 965_ and after this started swiftly the convertion to catholicism for those who were before praisers of the old nordic pantheon
so... is quite on character if at the end he decided to spare his worse enemy
@@zekun4741 bruh i couldnt have said it better, for such a great game that "revenge bad" bullshit was a huge stumble
No one looks at TH-cam comments so I’ll have my little rant here lol.
I started playing New Vegas when I was 12, I had a bad home life and I only knew to express myself through anger. Although the game as a whole shaped me and my path to being healed, Joshua Grahams, especially the scene where he learns to show mercy, changed me fundamentally. I knew then that I didn’t want to be a product of the evil around me but I wanted to make a change and be a better person.
For unrelated reasons, I recently started converting to Christianity (Catholicism) although I was raised atheist. I will be baptized next year at 19 years old, and I find it funny how Joshua saved me once and the Lord saved me a second time. Maybe it was a sign from the beginning 🙂
You don’t need religion to be a good person. All it’s good for is giving comfort to people who can’t or won’t think for themselves of what is right and wrong
It's great to hear you've found the path, God bless.
i was already religious, but he just reaffirmed my faith
Same
Bro the good end made me cry from the joy of forgiveness bruh I’m actually crying
Bro he was a Legionarre who doesnt regret what he has done, just that he failed essentially.
So yeah it fits religous ppl like him lol
the crusader pfp tho 💀
2 bro