HELENUS: Do you believe in God?
This is an interesting question. Given the history of persecution against both of his parents’ religions, and given Hal’s father’s pretty ardent anti - religious tendencies, one would think Hal would have shirked away from the idea of a higher power ( or powers ) . But that isn’t quite the case.
The fact is, Martin Jordan always felt religion was to blame for the Ott*oman persecution and Ge*nocide of his people. He was a first generation immigrant child of Ar*menian Ge*nocide survivors and blamed both I*slam for the actions of the Ott*oman T*urks, and Ch*ristianity for not protecting his family and people. Of course, this stance was an oversimplification and acted more as a rationalization for a man who needed to rationalize everything about the world around him.
Jessica, meanwhile, was Mi*zrahi Jew*ish from Pal*estine whose family first moved to Leb*anon to stay with relatives during the A*rab - Israe*li war in 1948, before relocating to California during the Le*banese Civil War. Her faith was incredibly culturally - ingrained, but she refrained from explicit practice out of respect for Martin’s disdain.
Despite all of this, Hal and his brothers were raised with a strong sense of morality founded in the basic tenants of the Abra*hamic Faiths. When Martin died, Hal found himself wondering if maybe God was mad at his father for having been disdainful, but Jessica’s view of a higher power was never rooted in spite or anger. To that effect, Hal’s opinion of who or what ❝ God ❞ could be is not based in Fear, largely thanks to his mother and her positive influence.
All - in - all, the short answer is ❝ yes ❞ while the long answer is ❝ yes, but ❞ —— and even Hal himself isn’t sure at this point.
