Page - 153 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

Reading The Book of Joseph | 153www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 145–171 compartment with a handgun in it (fig. 6). After Nick is sworn into the cult, John forces Jerome to do the same with the player’s avatar. John says (with Jerome reluctantly echoing him): “Will you, deputy, place your hand upon The Word of Joseph [capitalization by in-game subtitles]. And renounce your sins and admit your transgression.” Jerome urges the deputy to “say yes”, suggesting he utilize the hidden gun in the Bible that Jerome is presenting to him but with John still under the impression that the book is his copy of The Book of Joseph. The deputy opens the Bible Jerome is holding and takes the gun out to shoot the Peggies attending the ceremony. In the sub- sequent turmoil, Nick, Jerome, and the deputy manage to escape unharmed, while John, heavily wounded, is assisted by a cultist outside the church. John’s copy of The Book of Joseph is visually different from the white version found elsewhere in the game. This “grey version” features a grey, not a white, apparently leather cover. While the same golden logo is used, the decorative lines are also slightly different. It seems this grey version is reserved for the upper echelons of the cult, leaving the white ones for the lower members. The grey version also cannot be read in-game, and while Jerome’s copy of the Bible is opened, primarily to show the hidden compartment with the gun, the grey Book of Joseph remains closed throughout the whole scene. The Mission “False Prophet” The second time the player comes across this special version of The Book of Joseph is in the mission “False Prophet”. When the player has liberated Hope County jail from the cultists, Tracey Lader tells the deputy to go and destroy the giant statue of Joseph Seed standing on the slopes of some hill not far from the jail. Tracey explains her wish as follows: “We gotta tear down that statue, let all those Peggies know their Father ain’t fuckin’ God. He’s just a man. What do you say, Rook? Drive a big fuck-you sized hole in that thing?” When the deputy approaches the statue and encounters some resistance from cultists, Tracey radios him with a second task: “If you’re lookin’ to cause more trouble, I got an idea. Faith keeps her personal copy of Joseph’s ram- blings inside that thing. Climb in that statue and burn those papers. Show what happens when you fuck with the wrong people.” At the top of the – now destroyed – statue of Joseph (the deputy can still navigate through the inner structures of the hollow object), the player discovers a copy of The Book of Joseph in a semi-ruined shrine. When they approach the book, the player can