"Lord of Light, come to us in our darkness. We offer you these false gods. Take them and cast your light upon us . . . for the night is dark and full of terrors."
--Melisandre, Game of Thrones (season two, episode one)
Almost two weeks ago I wrote about how, based upon what I had seen of Game of Thrones, having watched all of season one by that time, the inhabitants of Westeros were left with moral skepticism due to having no evidence for one religion being more correct than another [1]. And, now more than halfway through season four, I think that there is some evidence for one religion in particular, though not proof of it. And, yes, being a lover of philosophy and Game of Thrones, I find this pretty damn exciting! But there are some spoilers scattered below.
Evidence is support for something, whereas proof is an absolute demonstration that something is true. Everything is evidence for something, even if what exactly it all is evidence for is obscure or unknown, but proof can only be found in logic and its counterpart/extension mathematics. So there is only mere evidence for one of Westeros' religions, and that evidence is only accessible to some people in the show. Yes, there would by necessity have to be an uncaused cause in that universe as well, but that alone does not enable the inhabitants of Westeros to escape moral skepticism.
The Lord of Light is a fire deity, worshipped by a priestess figure named Melisandre, who is also called the Red Woman and is the religious advisor of Stannis Baratheon of the royal bloodline. This group is introduced in the beginning of season two. On occasion this faction will burn people alive as an offering to the Lord of Light. Elsewhere in the Game of Thrones universe, a vigilante group called the Brotherhood without Banners seeks to rectify past wrongs by enacting what its members perceive to be justice in the name of the Lord of Light. It is through both of these collections of people that viewers learn information about the religion following the Lord of Light.
At one point Melisandre explains that her religion is dualistic in nature, featuring a god of light and love and a god of darkness and fear. She seemingly makes a prophecy in season two (episode one) about the coming of the White Walkers, and in season three (episode eight) she casts three leeches into a fire, reciting the name of three men who want the Iron Throne when the rightful hereditary heir is Stannis Baratheon. And, by the point I have currently reached, two of the three people she cursed have died. Then there is also the fact that she gave birth to a demon-like creature called a Shadow (season two, episode four) that killed King Renly Baratheon. Now, this does not prove her religion, but it demonstrates that she is affiliated with some kind of distinctly supernatural force. As for the Brotherhood without Banners, one of its members is killed in a duel with a character called the Hound (season three, episode five) and is resurrected, saying the Lord of Light returned him to life--as he claims he has been multiple times before, though with each resurrection he grows somewhat weaker.
If the Lord of Light is real then his followers have an actual metaphysical reference point for moral knowledge. Whereas hosts of other people in Westeros can at best appeal to their consciences or area traditions, both of which are fallacious grounds for moral beliefs, those who worship the Lord of Light might actually have somewhat solid metaphysical and epistemological grounds to stand on when it comes to their religion and morality. However, though this evidence is strong, it is only revealed to a fairly small number of people. But it does seem like the Lord of Light may be an actual existing deity in the Game of Thrones universe.
I did not call this information proof. It is mere evidence. There are still many alternative explanations for these events that could be true, however seemingly unlikely. I do not know if later episodes will overturn this evidence or redirect it towards something else, but there certainly seems--thus far--to be rather dramatic but limited evidence in the show for the existence of the Lord of Light. Perhaps there is an ideology that can rescue Westeros from moral skepticism after all.
[1]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/02/moral-skepticism-in-westeros.html
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