Intergalactic Summit

There are a few things I'm hopeful will come about as a result of sharing my personal understanding of the various belief systems across New Eden. The primary thing I'm hopeful for is that in the sharing, I will help others to possibly see any of the faiths in a way that is unclouded by total bias, and in seeing them in a new light they might just find faith themselves. Second among my hopes is that these musings of mine will prompt more genuine discussion above the level of passive aggressive remarks or genuine insults. Finally my third hope for these postings is that the discussion, either here or through other means, will help to further refine my own understanding of the disparate faith systems across the cluster.

With those three things in mind, I submit the first of what I hope to be many of my questionably useful ramblings on theological and spiritual matters.



Being the faith I was raised with as a child, this seems the natural place to start. That said, in the eyes of the Empire herself, I am but a citizen theologian and not an actual ordained authority on the matter.

The traditional Amarrian faith is easily the oldest surviving religion in today's world, which is in and of itself an accomplishment of note. The primary tenants of traditional Amarrian faith include a value and respect for toil, living a morally good life, offering assistance to those in need, and the spreading of the faith through example as well as the controversial use of force. Faith, any faith, can be a very powerful motivator for a person as well as a whole society, and the Amarrian Empire is perhaps the best example of what a near totally unified people can do with their faith pressing them onward.

The first notable facet of traditional Amarrian faith, the value of toil and struggle, is in my mind, a cornerstone of the entire belief system. Without the specifically religious overtones present, the point alone is still very valid and respectable. With hard work comes good results and a sense of satisfaction and pride in both the result and the work itself. Many other cultures have a similar guiding principle, though it's not always ingrained into a religion. Regardless, this particular point of Amarrian Scriptures is, by comparison, rather clear and forthright. Any Amarrian, from commoner to the Empress herself that is utterly unwilling to do a task that they would hand to another, is being negligent in their faith.

The second aspect I made note of for this is the principle of a righteous or morally upstanding lifestyle. Again this idea is not unique to the traditional Amarrian faith, and is in fact universal to all the surviving belief systems I know of personally, and even evident in some that have died out. However, the specific moral guidelines of a society are rarely as universal to all of humanity. This particular notion within Amarrian faith is, essentially, a reminder to adhere to the others. Among traditional Amarrian faithful, a righteous lifestyle cannot be maintained if a person does not work for those in their care and for themselves. It cannot exist if a person does not show compassion toward the less fortunate, and beyond simply showing compassion they must do something to improve the lot of the less fortunate. Obedience itself is central to a righteous lifestyle, perhaps moreso in the Empire than in other cultures and faiths. But it is not obedience for the sake of obedience itself, but for the sake of social harmony and the good of all involved. Naturally there are limits to this obedience. As it is righteous to obey those good people above you, it is also righteous to rally in disobedience should those above your station stray from a righteous life themselves.

My third primary tenant of traditional Amarrian faith is in a word, charity. As the Empire grew beyond the shores of it's founding island, beyond the gravity of it's planet, and beyond the reaches of it's parent star, social wellness of the whole became more and more prevalent in the lives of every Amarrian. From the small local efforts of a wealthy merchant helping to endow a school with funding, to the organized and far reaching efforts of myriad large-scale charities unified under a Civil Service core, the hand of even the minutely "better off" became the foundation of bettering not just the local community, but the whole of the Empire, and even humanity itself. When an Amarrian no longer seeks to help others, they might as well not be Amarrian at all.

The last of my primary cornerstones of the traditional Amarrian faith is the one that raises the most ire among some in the Empire, and a great deal more from those outside of it. The insistence that the faith must be spread to all. In and of itself this notion isn't a terrible thing, but it can be used to justify terrible things. The Reclaiming is the symbol of this tenant of faith, and as such is just as conflicted of an effort as any other human endeavor. Traditionally speaking, and with historic precedent, using soldiers and fleets to stamp out an alternative faith, while at the same time throwing a new belief system at a people has actually worked. It has also failed in some cases, the obvious one being the chief cause for conflict between not only nations, but between two very different thought processes. In the eyes of traditional Amarrian faithful, using force is but one acceptable method of spreading the faith. It is however only one method among many.

This is an interesting reading.

I am personnally versed into more esoteric matters, though, where I do think that the main and core tenet and goal of all Amarr religion is about knowledge. Everything else is an ideaological and sometimes political "sugarcoat" that helps define the Amarr society as a whole.

If you're going to start tossing the word science around, please make sure you do so correctly and accurately.

Science, depending on the usage of the word, is the systematized collection of testable explanation and predictions of the universe. It is not the only path to knowledge or wisdom, and there are in fact certain types of both that science cannot quite make sense of.

Religion, on the other hand, is merely a system of beliefs held to (often arduously) with faith. It is more about a cause or principle, which more often than not is not simply to spread it to others. Much of religion is metaphoric historical accounts and codified law, as well as personal teachings for wisdom.

Your statements border on the biased and bigoted. You also do a disservice to science by claiming just as zealously that it is the only path to knowledge.

I think everything, including spirituality, is related to science eventually, but we just do not have the sufficient knowledge currently to pull them together (yet) so we have to conciliate both as much as we can. Though of course, I truely apologize if I contributed to derail anything in your thread.



Of course the quest for knowledge is called Science... You confuse everything and do not know what you are talking about. I am not refering to the various imperial dogmas that have come to existence in the Amarrian religion over the course of History. They are mere facts that eventually are part of the whole picture (History with capital H), but I was just refering to the Scriptures as a whole.

I could argue over it endlessly but I think I should keep it brief in the case I am still out of topic, for which I apologize again if this is still the case. I hope it is not, though, as I consider it a fundamental principle deeply rooted in the core of Amarrian faith. What are the Scriptures ? I mean, not the most public and controversial bits you have obviously read, but the whole Scriptures ? It is about litterally everything related to Amarr, and now, probably partially to New Eden itself considering they have met other cultures in the process, cultures that have also contributed to this sum of knowledge. Anyway, (almost) everything is written here, be it about the last laser weaponry to that famous cake that is cooked in that particular city on Athra. Or so it is supposed to be, but this is another debate.

With this in mind, how can people forget that the first and original purpose of the Scriptures was about knowledge ? Because of dogmas or changing religious doctrines ? Maybe, or maybe not. It has obviously been forgotten a bit, and this is at least a little true, but the first quest of Amarr that has always been described in the Scriptures is the quest for God. Whatever God is supposed to be - again, I am not refering to religious dogma - , he has many names, which includes before all a symbol, the source of all Creation and the answer to everything. Therefore, looking for God is looking for the Truth (capital T). The only one and absolute Truth that governs everything. So, yes, this is a quest about knowledge which is supposed to bring us everyday closer to the concept of God.

Whatever are our little and personnal interpretations of this, and all our little personnal uncomplete truths we believe in, it is hard to deny that very first purpose of the Scriptures. What has been done besides, Reclaiming, dogma, way of life, traditions, is how unperfect beings define their own world and shape themselves through their own personnal truths.

Again, I am sorry if this was not the kind of answer you expected, Ms Fehrnah.

Science has its limits. It's very good at telling us how something happens, but it's hopeless at telling us why it happens. For that, one needs spiritual enlightenment.




You clearly know nothing about our religion then.