From: Bryan J. Maloney (jacobus@sonata.cc.purdue.edu)
Date: Thu 07 Jul 1994 - 12:17:48 EEST
The way I see Gloranthan gods vis. free will can be best understood in
the results of long-term heroquesting. In order to become a great
heroic power, one is forced to surrender, bit by bit, one's "will". It
is this "will" that powers heroic and divine acts on the heroplane/godtime.
It is already established that an act on the heroplane is a-temporal, in the
sense that one can "go there" again and again and the act is going on
"again and again", but still only for the first time. However, this is NOT
time travel. To change the path as it is requires an expenditure of a bit
of one's free will. This will powers the new path. The more powerful one
becomes in the realms of myth, the less choice one has. Let's put it
another way: Jo Blowgrath, anonymous Sartarite is faced with a solar
cultist who happens to be a Lord of that cult. Jo can say "hiya, Dave,
how's it hangin'?" or anything else Jo wants to say or do. A Wind Lord
has to do the riddle challenge. Orlanth must kill him or rescue him from
hell. A typical person has the option of fighting or running away from
Broo. Storm Bull (the god) MUST fight them. It is his "divine nature".
His myths, which ARE his existence, do not permit him other options.
To be a god is to be constrained by the fact that one IS a god. Thus, it
is mortals who change the world, and it is mortals who actually change
the divine in Glorantha.
Gods do not have "free will" in any way we normally mean this. Humakt
CANNOT suddenly decide to go be the god of picking daisies and singing
"tra-la-la-la-la" (although there is a former Babeester Gor cultist who
was caught doing this in my campaign). Humakt is Death. He has no choice.
Humakt must kill Grandfather Mortal. He has no choice. Orlanth must kill
Yelm. He has no choice. Look at the Holy Dramas every year. Look at
how the gods always do what they must. Remember, myth is not an historical
account of what was, it is a constant view of a transcendent "is".
A western perspective: The so-called "gods" are trapped within the webs of lies and powers they have wrapped around themselves. If they do not maintain their hollow masks, they will lose their power and their following.
A theistic perspective: The Gods are True. They are not like us fallible mortals, who can change and stray. The Gods are always what they are, they do not change. That which does change does not deserve to be called a God. Holy is Holy. Profane is Profane. The Gods have never changed. They may have been misunderstood in the past, but it is WE who change, not the Gods. They are too perfect to change.
A Lunar perspective: Gods cannot change except for those who have embraced the Lunar way, for clean Chaos (as opposed to corrupt Chaos) is the only origin of true change.
A naturalist perspective: Look at the chief. He cannot just scratch his ass whenever he feels like it. He cannot have a tantrum whenever he is mad. His power constrains what he can do and when he can do it. Thus, the big spirits that the stupid build-cave-people call "Gods" are also limited. If they want to keep their jobs as big spirits, they have to act properly. If they start acting wrong, they will be replaced. This has happened, you know--but don't tell that to the stupid people, they'll just get mad at you.
An Eastern Perspective: It is an amusing paradox, is it not, that an Emperor has less freedom than a peasant? Let us look at the petals as they float down the stream.
Just some ideas.
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