You guys helped. Please read. Christian here! - Posted several times here before. Recently played Dragon Age Inquisition for ps4 and had an epiphany.

Id like to begin by saying hello. Ive loved my conversations here each time ive come, though after my first post i feel compelled to state im not here to argue.

My first post here mentioned i was a reasonable christian, and i pride myself on being led only by facts. Many of you showed me many holes in my logic regarding religion. And i thank you.

Recently ive been doing lots of reading and research. But my epiphany, strangely, came from a game. Get ready. Here we go.

Okay. The world of dragon age has many religions ranging from polytheism to monotheism to symbolistic religions and even worship of strength. One of the most popular religions is the Chant, spearheaded by the chantry.

The chantry believes as follows:

Hundreds of years ago "The Maker" (god) revealed himself in a vision to a woman named Andraste. He told her he was the real god and original head of creation. However. As humanity began to worship the gods of the land he drew away from them. Now, he saw andraste was just. And asked her to be his wife. Andraste declined, as she was married. But she did form a military for the maker and began a holy war in his name to spread the gospel of the maker. The crusade swept the land but she was given over to the current main religious power of the land by her own husband to be killed.

After her death, the "disciples of andraste" rose in her wake to preach of andraste and eventually formed the chantry, a religious organization whose head is "the most holy". This chantry however broke off into sects creating multiple worship systems for the same god, the maker.

The maker lived in the "golden city" in "the fade" a world only accessible through dreams. The fade is real, and proven to be real. Eventually, acording to legend, mages used black magic to enter the fade physically, but in doing so contaminated the gold city, turned it black, and became demons, unleashing the blight of darkspawn on the world. This part, regarding the mages entering the fade and becoming darkspawn, is true. What is not proven is the maker inhabiting the golden/black city.

However, in one game a mage who was amongst those who broke in is heard crying, asking why he is being blamed, for according to him the golden city was already black when they got there.

The chantry and andraste are accepted as the truth by basically the whole world, but the game never takes it further than legend, and never verifies its truth. In fact, apostates (atheists) are a big part of the world and you yourself can be one.

I, for one, do not believe in the maker. Nor the chantry. The chantry is corrupt, and abusive, using its influence only to subjugate, but according to them its for "the greater good". Atleast thats what i discern.

Heres where it gets good.

Andraste is almost exactly the same as jesus. As is her story and her claims. And her crusade.

Her being turned over and killed by her husband and the empire is similar to judas and the romans or jews.

The chantry is identicle in structure and practice to catholics.

And the sects identicle to all other sects of christianity.

Ultinately i realized this:

I dont believe in the maker because there is no proof of him, no communication with him, and claims of him creating things are just as crazy as claims of the land being born from a blight eons ago.

And everything else about his people on thedas seems just as fake as he is.

Then i realized. Whats the difference between my atheism in dragon age and the real world?

Is the fact that it is a game making it easier for me to see it how it is?

Is it possible i am a victim in the real world of tradition and forced teaching, but unable to see that because of how long ive been taught that?

Dragon age religion is exactly like the real world. But seeing it in a game has made me see how ludicrous my claims seem in real life.

Could it be that I am...

Indoctrinated?