From: Peter Metcalfe (P.Metcalfe@student.canterbury.ac.nz)
Date: Wed 13 Nov 1996 - 02:07:36 EET
Oliver Bernuetz:
================
Me>>Does the Invisible God tell his worshippers that he's bound by the
>>compromise? Does Pamalt? Does the Dragon-Emperor? Does the Nidan
>>Decamony? Then why do you assume Yelm must know of the Great
>>Compromise but chooses not to tell his worshippers?
>Why do any of these deities have to tell their worshippers anything? It
>ain't a lie 'til it's denied.
I faintly recall a Divination spell in da roolz. I've never heard
of any plausible suggestion as to why a god would lie to his worshippers
(unless he was the Trickster).
Me>>The appearance of an divine intellect which one can talk to is an
>>artifact of the worshippers IMO. This persona only knows what its
>>worshippers know.
>Personally I don't like this approach to religion. This is IMO a RW
>philosophical approach to religion and I like to imagine that there actually
>are deities that were once capable (allowed?) to do great things.
You misunderstand. I'm not talking about the nature of these gods, I'm
talking about the human perception of these gods. Yes, the Sun is a
divine being in glorantha, but the fact is that several cultures all
claim differing names for him (ie Ehilm, Yelm, Somash, Elmal, Yelmalio
and the female sun goddess of Vorumain) and claim to be able to talk to
a being of that name. What I am suggesting is that this divine intellect
is largely a human construct in terms of trying to comprehend the God and
that it varies from culture to culture. Y'know the story about the six
blind men and the elephant?
- --Peter Metcalfe
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