The Most Demonic Show On Television Hid A Bible Lesson In Plain Sight

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 16 seconds ago

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the last show that anyone would describe as particularly Christian. That’s partially because it was created by Joss Whedon, who is a devout atheist. The show also went out of its way to make certain demons (primarily Angel and Spike) sexy, something that didn’t always go over well with religious audiences. Throw in the prominent gay relationships and the constant violence, and you have a ‘90s show that often set conservative Christians on edge.

With that being said, there is an almost shocking level of Christian influence embedded in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s storytelling. One great example of this is the fan-favorite Season 3 episode “Faith, Hope, and Trick,” which is a reference to a very popular biblical verse. Interestingly enough, the verse itself helps to foreshadow years of storytelling, all while emphasizing what makes Buffy so special in the first place.

You Gotta Have Faith

“Faith, Hope, and Trick” is the episode that introduces Faith (Eliza Dushku), a new Slayer who was called into service when Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) died for the first time (don’t worry, she got better). While the two Slayers clash at first, they overcome their differences to defeat Kakistos, the ancient vampire who brutally killed Faith’s Watcher. However, one of that villain’s cronies gets away: Mr. Trick, who will become a servant of Season 3’s Big Bad, Mayor Wilerson.

Now, in case you need a Sunday school lesson (better brush up if you want to get admitted into Sunday college!), this Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode’s name is an allusion to the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 13. The verse describes how it doesn’t matter what abilities you have (including a silver tongue, a wise mind, powerful faith, or even the gift of prophecy), if you don’t have love. This Bible verse famously ends with these words: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 

O Come, All Ye Faithful

At first glance, the episode title “Faith, Hope, and Trick” just seems like a fun allusion to this biblical verse. After all, there’s nothing explicitly Christian about this story. However, a deeper analysis of the verse in question reveals how the episode foreshadows the fate of Faith as well as what makes Buffy so special as a Slayer.

You see, 1 Corinthians 13 really hammers home that it’s not enough for Christians to have faith; if they have faith without love, the Bible insists they are “nothing.” A big part of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s third season is Faith realizing that she isn’t as good as Buffy. It’s not because she lacks vampire-fighting skills; when the chips are down, she can throw fists and slam stakes with the best of them. But she is a very selfish character, and her inability to see beyond her own needs leads her down a dark path. She kills a human, and shortly after that, she becomes the evil mayor’s most lethal lieutenant. 

The Downfall Of Faith

Therefore, the name of this very early Season 3 episode foreshadows the downfall of Faith, a character who has all of Buffy’s skills and special abilities but none of her love for others. Without that love, she is, as the Bible warns, “nothing” compared to Buffy. Faith seems to realize this on a kind of subconscious level, which is likely why she embraces the mayor as a surrogate father figure: he offers her the kind of love she craves but that she has been unable to offer others.

Beyond Season 3, however, the message of 1 Corinthians 13 eerily foreshadows Buffy’s own journey, including what separates her from other Slayers. In the dreamy Season 4 finale “Restless,” Buffy confronts a frightening, primitive girl who is eventually revealed to be the First Slayer. This early demon hunter tells Buffy that she can’t have friends and must always work alone. Buffy rejects this idea and continues to fight alongside her friends for the rest of the series. In flashbacks to other Slayers’ lives (and deaths), we learn that Buffy really is an anomaly: every other Slayer fought and died without any allies by their side.

By embracing her love for her friends, Buffy found a greater strength than previous Slayers or Watchers had ever dreamed of. This eventually led to a show-stopping series finale where she shared her power with every potential Slayer around the world. In embracing love over everything else, Buffy effectively embraced the wisdom of the Bible’s greatest lesson. Maybe that shouldn’t be so surprising, though: after all, as someone who died to save the world and was resurrected to lead humanity out of darkness, Buffy is one of television’s most surprisingly Christ-like characters.