In message <ericp06-022876.15365207022007@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
"Eric P." <ericp06@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> In article <1170870217.425114.167730@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> "psychohist" <psychohist@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> > "Eric P." posts, in part:
> >
> > If you have a setting where no gods exist, there's
> > no sense in having any religions/faiths in that setting, either.
> >
> > In the context of modern player world religion, "faith" is generally
> > used to mean "belief without proof". In that sense, in a game with
> > provably existing gods, you can have religions but you can't have
> > faiths.
> >
> > Warren J. Dew
>
> Very well. Strike "faiths" from the above statement.
>
> - E
OK:
--> If you have a setting where no gods exist, there's no sense in having
--> any religions in that setting, either.
No, I still flatly disagree.
Even in the absence of gods, people still have spiritual needs. True
atheists are the exception even nowadays. If there are no gods, and nobody
has felt the need to invent any - which is rather unlikely IMV - a world
will still have its holy men and mystics. These will usually be people
with
great wisdom and spirituality and/or who are able to attain a suitably
altered state of mind (i.e. via drugs and other means). There's also bound
to be a somewhat larger of numbers of fakers, charlatans and the deluded.
But the im****tant point is that they won't /all/ be frauds, even if most
are.
Such people, particularly the handful who are truly enlightened, will, by
word and example tell or show others how to live their lives. Such advice
still works even in a setting where gods do not exist. And the people who
are wise enough to provide such advice will be justly respected and even
revered as exceptional people. Well, they are. And their teachings will be
recorded and passed on, and others will make honest attempts to follow
such
teachings.
So even without gods, a fantasy setting is still likely to build up a body
of holy teachings from these people. They will be called saints, prophets,
gurus, or other like names, some of them will study and build on the
teachings of their predecessors, and a genuine religion will build itself
from the ground up even in settings where nobody believes in the existence
of gods.
*I* could happily follow a religion like that, and I'm an atheist. A
spiritual religion can still work, even if doesn't have a god.
See dictionary.com, which lists this definition among others: "a set of
beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, /esp.
when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies,/
usually
involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral
code governing the conduct of human affairs."
Note the emphasised bit, beginning 'esp.': while almost all religions
involve superhuman agency/agencies, it is possible to have a religion
fitting the quoted definition that does not involve them. After all, it
only
says '/especially/', not '/invariably/'.
--
Simon Smith
When emailing me, please use my preferred email address, which is on my
web
site at http://www.simon-smith.org
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