So. Much. God.

The author of Prose Merlin does a really good job of including God as a character of this story of Merlin to reconcile religion with supernatural. God is literally everywhere as a way of telling the reader, “Hey, I know a lot of weird stuff is happening. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re super Christian. Super. Christian.” Some of this is demonstrated just in the dialogue. On page 310, a woman says, “unless God puts it right.” On page 341, there’s a “God willing...” And, on page 350, Queen Helaine is the most beautiful and worthy woman “know to either God or man.” And there are SO many more examples. Basically, these moments of referencing God show that no matter what is happening, God is at the forefront of everyone's mind, and that is why they’re able to accept Merlin’s supernatural abilities. It’s explained over and over: “[Merlin has] knowledge of all things done and said in the past and that it comes to [him] from [his] demonic origin. Our Lord, who is all-powerful, has also given [him] the wisdom to know the things that are to come” (327). Every time this is mentioned, I imagine the writer saying, “MERLIN ISN’T SPECIAL. YOU KNOW WHO IS SPECIAL? GOD’S SPECIAL.” Because even though there is some demonic stuff going on, God is always presented as the stronger of the two. Demons gave Merlin “knowledge;” God gave Merlin “wisdom.” There’s a difference. By saying “demonic origin,” there is an absence of action. In comparison, God “has given” Merlin his ability, which casts God into more of an active role.  Also, Merlin doesn’t just say, “God gifted me this cool thing.” He has to add in that side note, “WHO IS ALL-POWERFUL," in case people forget that God’s a big deal.