Church Militant/Playing With

Basic Trope: A religious order is armed and specializes in fighting.

• Straight: The priests of the Crystal Dragon are trained warriors, always ready with gun and sword to fight evil, wherever it may appear.
• Exaggerated: The priests of the Crystal Dragon mow down demons and infidels with napalm and air-to-surissiles.face m
• Downplayed: The priests of the Crystal Dragon carry a ceremonial shepherd's crook that they also know how to use as a fighting staff in case that becomes necessary.
• Justified: The country is a theocracy, and the church also handles the military.
  • The community is in a war torn area and has to fight to survive. War is a part of their religion just like every other necessary part of life is part of their religion.
• Inverted: All priests of the Crystal Dragon are committed pacifists, sworn to die rather than harm a living or undead thing.
• Subverted: The priests of the Crystal Dragon look tough, but somehow they are always end up "forgiving" any villains, even the really vile ones, rather than fighting them.
• Double Subverted: But that has changed now that the invasion from the Evil Dimension has started.
• Parodied: The Crystal Pope is a tiny, wizened old man, but he's packing a robe full o' guns and is flanked by specially trained Ninja Cardinals.
• Zig Zagged: The Crystal Popes keep changing their minds about the proper role of the church and canceling their predecessors' policies and then uncanceling them when the Evil Dimension does a surprise invasion or is defeated supposedly for good. At any given time many priests aren't in line with the official line.
• Averted: There is no church, or the church concentrates largely on spiritual affairs, with decisions about whether to become a warrior or not left to the individual follower.
• Enforced: "We don't want that cleric guy to be an albatross around the neck of our Five-Man Band. Let's have him belong to an ass-kicking order!"
• Lampshaded: "It's a good thing these priests have little interest in saving souls. I wouldn't like my soul full of bullet holes."
• Invoked: "With the seal on the rift to the Evil Dimension weakening, we must make sure that there will be a strong force of goodness to oppose the coming invasion."
• Exploited: A villain manipulates the Church of the Crystal Dragon into declaring a holy war against the heroes' home country.
• Defied: "As the Crystal Pope of the Church of the Crystal Dragon, I will not condone abandoning our pacifistic ideals."
• Discussed: "Watch out for the priest! He's one of the militant types!"
• Conversed: "Father Robert sure fights a lot on this show, being a priest and all."
• Deconstructed: In a cruel and seemingly never-ending war against the infidel where both sides commit terrible atrocities, the priests of the Crystal Dragon suffer from various realistic mental issues and many lose their faith in their patron god. Others learn to enjoy the slaughter, certain in their piety.
• Reconstructed:: This causes a movement to reform the church. In the end, strict ethical rules are put in place, and only defensive violence is allowed, except against vampires.

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