The Light of the Dark Side

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From: argrath@aol.com
Date: Fri 22 Apr 1994 - 05:52:23 EEST


Re: Stein Illumination
IMHO, the Socratic method works better at exposing the inconsistencies and lack of grounding in people's beliefs. I got a lot of this in law school, but the professors always stopped after you had successfully argued back to first principles. But why do we have first principles? Why do we value consistency? Why am I asking so many questions?

Re: Discovered Tricksters
Greg Stafford's answer appears in the booklet coming from David Cheng (flogged in X-RQ-ID: 3689). It is not much like those proposed here. In short, a trickster needs a powerful patron to keep people from lynching him.

jonas says (BTW, these multiple >>>'s get very confusing. Wouldn't quote marks be easier?): 

     "Only if you find me a quote where Eurmal actually _uses_
     Death, instead of just giving away franchises. I will admit
     that I have no basis for the other aspects you mention,
     apart from my 'feel' for what a Eurmal trickster would get
     up to."

At the risk of irritating people by referring to non-published sources, let me point out that some expansion of the "murderer" aspect exists in print, and one day may be published. But, if you look at page 71 of GoG, you'll see "Strike (Murderer aspect)." And on page 70, "a murderer" is listed as one of his
"shapes."

Re: Malkioni as analogues of Christianity or Islam Consider:

ANCIENT CHRISTIANITY MALKIONI EARLY ISLAM Theology:
Trinity (some say all single high god single high god equal, others not)

Central figure represents:
incarnation prophet prophet

Legal teaching:
reaction to old law new law given new law given

Important role-models: 

saints                   saints              saints (Shi'a only)

Cause of internal divisions:
heresies                 heresies            dispute over
                                             succession to
                                             caliphate

Teachings about What the World Is About:
messianic                non-messianic       non-messianic
millenarian              non-millenarian     somewhat millenarian
salvation from sin       laws from God       laws from God

church/state relations:
separate                 unity          unity

Martyrs?
many                     maybe          few

Reaction to Visible Gods:
Adopt some as saints, Same as Xian Reject condemn rest

Attitude toward the world:
In but not of In and of In and of

Central rites: 

Eucharist, baptism,      ???            fasting, pilgrimage,
marriage, unction,                      prayer 5 times/day,
ordination, penance,                    alms, confession of
confirmation, etc.                      faith

Dietary prohibitions:
no meat on Fridays       ???            pork, alcohol, blood,
                                        anything which dies of
                                        itself, 4-footed
                                        predators with canine
                                        teeth, birds of prey with
                                        talons, asses, mules,
                                        ravens, bustards, etc.

I see as much similarity between Malkionism and Islam as between Malkionism and Christianity.

BTW, there is a little-known schism (nay, RANKEST HERESY) in the stodgy old Presbyterian church these days. Seems that some members of the church have added a new deity to the religion, by name of Sophia. She represents the feminine dimension of the divine, I guess--I don't have full details. (Really, I'm not making this up--I couldn't have come up with something so simultaneously mundane and shocking.) It's like something out of Credo!, where you can end up with a Sol Invictus creed.

"There is but one god,

and he is the sun god,
Ra! Ra! Ra!"
--Martin

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