Bethany Sloane is the main protagonist of the 1999 Kevin Smith film Dogma. A not-so-devout Catholic who works in an abortion clinic, she is nonetheless approached by the Metatron - God's messenger - to embark on a holy crusade to save the world. She is portrayed by Linda Fiorentino.
History[]
Prior to the film's events, Bethany was a married woman and a devout Catholic. That all changed when she suffered a uterus infection that left her unable to bear children, leading her husband to leave her. Since then, Bethany worked in an abortion clinic, and while she continued to attend church every Sunday, she did so only out of a sense of obligation rather than faith.
During the film, Bethany is approached by the Metatron, the voice of God, who informs her that a small church in New Jersey is planning a celebration of plenary indulgence, thereby absolving the sins of all who pass through its doors. However, Bartleby and Loki, two angels exiled from Heaven, intend to enter the church since doing so will apparently overturn God's decree and allow them to return to Heaven. What the angels are unaware of is that by doing this, they will prove that God is fallible and thus will destroy all of existence. Bethany is hesitant to accept this quest at first, but after meeting the so-called "prophets" Jay and Silent Bob, she reconsiders.
Along her journey, Bethany is joined by the thirteenth apostle Rufus and the muse Serendipity, all of whom help her to rediscover her faith and make her aware of her true importance: Bethany is the Last Scion, the last blood descendant of Jesus Christ. Later, she and her companions are informed by Metatron that God is "missing", having taken on mortal form so that He may indulge in skee-ball. However, while in mortal form, God is as vulnerable as any other human being and so the group conclude that He must have been incapacitated somehow.
After arriving in New Jersey, Bethany and the others meet with Cardinal Glick to discuss cancelling the plenary indulgence celebration. Glick refuses to listen and it appears that nothing more can be done, so the group decide to wait for the impending apocalypse in a nearby bar when they are approached by the demon Azrael, the one who made Bartleby and Loki aware of the loophole in Catholic dogma and had planned for them to enter the church in order to destroy the world, all so that he would never have to go back to Hell. Azrael and the Stygian Triplets hold Bethany and the others hostage while the renegade angels go on a killing spree outside the church, but Silent Bob attacks Azrael with a golf club he stole from Cardinal Glick. Glick had blessed his club to improve his game, thereby making it an instrument of God and capable of smiting demons. With one strike, Bob kills Azrael and Bethany and Serendipity kill the Triplets by blessing the water taps behind the bar, making the water holy. The gang then head for the church to confront the angels.
Death and rebirth[]
While Rufus, Serendipity, and Jay confront an insane Bartleby, Bethany and Silent Bob run to a nearby hospital. Jay mentions that a John Doe is there and is being kept on life support, and Bethany suspects that the John Doe is actually God. She proves to be correct as she finds the John Doe and unplugs him. Immediately after being unplugged, God awakens and a flash of holy light emanates from Him. Exposure to the light appears to wound Bethany as she suddenly starts bleeding from her abdomen.
A short while later, God is reborn and kills Bartleby. Silent Bob then returns to the church, carrying Bethany's lifeless body in his arms. Metatron explains that the Last Scion is a martyr and is fated to die in service to God. However, God restores Bethany to life. Not only that, but God also restores Bethany's uterus and blesses her with a child, as Bethany is stunned to find out that she is pregnant.