History Main / SoulsavingCrusader

* Jack Chick gets really overboard with this trope in the ComicBook/ChickTract called "[[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1070/1070_01.asp Uninvited]]": The tract features [[HeteronormativeCrusader a nurse who harasses dying AIDS-patients for their "crime" of being gay]]. Of course, as a Soul Saving Crusader, her actions are fully justified, since this is an {{anvilicious}}ly bigoted AuthorTract. The real kick? It turns out that all the homosexuals became homosexuals because they were sexually molested as children. [[ArtisticLicenseReligion More to the point, when a child is sexually molested, she automatically becomes unclean, possessed by a demon of defilement.]] The trope DefiledForever is played straight for everyone who isn't both TheFundamentalist ''and'' a christian. Averted for all characters who are (or become) HolierThanThou.

* In the film ''The God Who Wasn't There'', the Spanish Inquisition is briefly cast in this role. If they really kept all those souls out of hell, then it would be petty to whine about their systematic torture and murder of the people they in fact spared from a much worse fate.

* In ''AxisPowersHetalia'', Prussia child days as the Teutonic Knights was as pious as he was brash. His religiosity however mellowed out significantly by the time the Cold War ended.

* Jack Chick gets really overboard with this trope in the ComicBook/ChickTract called "[[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1070/1070_01.asp Uninvited]]": The tract features [[HeteronormativeCrusader a nurse who harasses dying AIDS-patients for their "crime" of being gay]]. Of course, as a Soul Saving Crusader, her actions are fully justified within the verse of the tract]], since this is an {{anvilicious}}ly bigoted AuthorTract. The real kick? It turns out that all the homosexuals became homosexuals because they were sexually molested as children. [[ArtisticLicenseReligion More to the point, when a child is sexually molested, she automatically becomes unclean, possessed by a demon of defilement.]] The trope DefiledForever is played straight for everyone who isn't both TheFundamentalist ''and'' a christian. Averted for all characters who are (or become) HolierThanThou.

* ''The Grail Quest'' trilogy by BernardCornwell has several of these, one of whom is a primary antagonist in the second book.

Compare HeavenSeeker and The Soul Saver, who do not use so harsh methods, and thus can be good regardless of if the beliefs are justified or not. Also compare {{Psychopomp}}. Contrast WindmillCrusader, who might incorrectly believe himself to save souls, and KnightTemplar, who may or may not actually save souls but either way isn't justified in his over-zealousness. Compare and contrast HeteronormativeCrusader, who depending on the setting might be either a WindmillCrusader or a Soul Saving Crusader. There is significant overlap with TheExtremistWasRight, though the extremist can have any motivation.

Compare HeavenSeeker and TheSoulsaver, who do not use so harsh methods, and thus can be good regardless of if the beliefs are justified or not. Also compare {{Psychopomp}}. Contrast WindmillCrusader, who might incorrectly believe himself to save souls, and KnightTemplar, who may or may not actually save souls but either way isn't justified in his over-zealousness. Compare and contrast HeteronormativeCrusader, who depending on the setting might be either a WindmillCrusader or a SoulsavingCrusader. There is significant overlap with TheExtremistWasRight, though the extremist can have any motivation.

* Jack Chick gets really overboard with this trope in the ComicBook/ChickTract called "[[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1070/1070_01.asp Uninvited]]": The tract features [[HeteronormativeCrusader a nurse who harasses dying AIDS-patients for their "crime" of being gay]]. Of course, [[SoulsavingCrusader her actions are fully justified within the verse of the tract]], since this is an {{anvilicious}}ly bigoted AuthorTract. The real kick? It turns out that all the homosexuals became homosexuals because they were sexually molested as children. [[ArtisticLicenseReligion More to the point, when a child is sexually molested, she automatically becomes unclean, possessed by a demon of defilement.]] The trope DefiledForever is played straight for everyone who isn't both TheFundamentalist ''and'' a christian. Averted for all characters who are (or become) HolierThanThou.

* Basium in ''FallFromHeaven'' is essentially a {{Deconstruction}}. [[KnightTemplar He wants bad people and demons purged from the world and locked back into Hell]]. He also wants to see ''good'' people killed, so they can go to Heaven as quickly as possible. In short, [[OmnicidalManiac he wants everyone dead as quickly as possible,]] [[EsotericHappyEnding because it's the right thing to do.]]

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* The Cybermen from ''Series/DoctorWho'' fall into this, both classic and new series flavors. They are a particularly grim example, who save humans from disease and prejudice and mental weakness at the cost of robbing them of all emotion.

Compare HeavenSeeker and TheSoulsaver, who do not use so harsh methods, and thus can be good regardless of if the beliefs are justified or not. Also compare {{Psychopomp}}. Contrast WindmillCrusader, who might incorrectly believe himself to save souls, and KnightTemplar, who may or may not actually save souls but either way isn't justified in his over-zealousness. Compare and contrast HeteronormativeCrusader, who depending on the setting might be either a WindmillCrusader or a SoulsavingCrusader.

* ''{{Werewolf The Apocalypse}}'': Gaia-affiliated Garou kill bane-possessed people (formori) not only as part of the war against the Wyrm, but [[MercyKilling to free the host from the misery and slow corruption of bane possession.]]

* ''{{WerewolfTheApocalypse}}'': Gaia-affiliated Garou kill bane-possessed people (formori) not only as part of the war against the Wyrm, but [[MercyKilling to free the host from the misery and slow corruption of bane possession.]]

*** The Tau are ScaryDogmaticAliens who are made physically ill by the thought of not doing the ''right'' thing.
**** What they ''think'' is the right thing.

If he showed up in RealLife, any reasonable person would consider him a WindmillCrusader or [[CompleteMonster worse]]. But this is not real life. An in-story audience may or may not know it, but all his actions are completely justified. WordOfGod says he is not deluded, the threats he is facing are not windmills, and given the circumstances... he ''is'' actually doing the right thing.

* An interpretation of ''PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is that [[spoiler: the title character becomes this, effectively killing people before they literally become monsters.]]

* Done in Games Workshop's ''{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' (RecycledInSpace), where the humanity must be protected through Inquisition.

* Done in Games Workshop's ''{{Warhammer}}'' and ''Warhammer40K'' (RecycledInSpace), where the humanity must be protected through Inquisition.

* ''The Grail Quest'' trilogy by Bernard Cornwell has several of these, one of whom is a primary antagonist in the second book.

-->-- '''Fireaxe''', ''{{Food for the Gods}}'', "The Lesson Learned"

This character righteously murders and tortures people for their own good. No, not self-righteously. Righteously. After all, no horrors in life could possible compare to eternal damnation in {{Hell}}. Yes, he is really willing [[IDidWhatIHadToDo to go the extra mile]] to save their souls. Unless they are AlwaysChaoticEvil, of course: In that case he simply do whatever is in his power to [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide exterminate]] them, up to and including finding a FinalSolution.

If he showed up in RealLife, any reasonable person would consider him a WindmillCrusader or [[CompleteMonster worse]]. But this is not real life. An in-story audience may or may not know it, but all his actions are completely justified. WordOfGod says he is not deluded, the threats he is facing are not windmills, and given the circumstances... he ''is'' actually doing the right thing.

* An interpretation of ''PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is that [[spoiler: the title character becomes this, effectively killing people before they literally become monsters.]]

* ''Comicbook/{{Lucifer}}'' contains various subversions of this trope, including the angel Remiel from ''{{Sandman}}''.

* In the film ''The God Who Wasn't There'', the Spanish Inquisition is briefly cast in this role. If they really kept all those souls out of hell, then it would be petty to whine about their systematic torture and murder of the people they in fact spared from a much worse fate.

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* Seen several times in Fireaxe's {{Food for the Gods}}, hence the page quote.

**** What they ''think'' is the right thing.

* Basium in ''FallFromHeaven'' is essentially a {{Deconstruction}}. [[KnightTemplar He wants bad people and demons purged from the world and locked back into Hell]]. He also wants to see ''good'' people killed, so they can go to Heaven as quickly as possible. In short, [[OmnicidalManiac he wants everyone dead as quickly as possible,]] [[EsotericHappyEnding because it's the right thing to do.]]

* JackChick gets really overboard with this trope in the [[ChickTracts tract]] called ''[[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1070/1070_01.asp Uninvited]]'': The tract features [[HeteronormativeCrusader a nurse who harasses dying AIDS-patients for their "crime" of being gay]]. Of course, [[SoulsavingCrusader her actions are fully justified within the verse of the tract]], since this is an {{anvilicious}}ly bigoted AuthorTract. The real kick? It turns out that all the homosexuals became homosexuals because they were sexually molested as children. [[ArtisticLicenseReligion More to the point, when a child is sexually molested, she automatically becomes unclean, possessed by a demon of defilement.]] The trope DefiledForever is played straight for everyone who isn't both TheFundamentalist ''and'' a christian. Averted for all characters who are (or become) HolierThanThou.

* Basium in ''FallFromHeaven'' is essentially a {{Deconstruction}}. He wants to see good people killed so they'll go to Heaven as quickly as possible. He wants bad people and demons purged from the world and locked back into Hell. In short, [[OmnicidalManiac he wants everyone dead as quickly as possible,]] [[EsotericHappyEnding because it's the right thing to do.]]

* The utterly insane and {{Obliviously Evil}} inquisitor Mozgus in {{Berserk}}. His list of activities include: self-mortification by slamming his body into the ground thousands of times a day during prayer, using his sacred book to bash the brains of any "heretic" he comes across (in addition to bludeoning them on breaking wheels), and torturing the rebellions of the poor and starving population (including a young mother) - all under the desire to make those he considers sinful (which means everyone) to repent (by torture) so that their souls will be saved.

* The utterly insane and {{Oblivously Evil}} inquisitor Mozgus in {{Berserk}}. His list of activities include: self-mortification by slamming his body into the ground thousands of times a day during prayer, using his sacred book to bash the brains of any "heretic" he comes across (in addition to bludeoning them on breaking wheels), and torturing the rebellions of the poor and starving population (including a young mother) - all under the desire to make those he considers sinful (which means everyone) to repent (by torture) so that their souls will be saved.