>>
>>> 1. Why does Illumination work, how makes oneself immune from gods
>>> retribution?
>>
>The *real* reason why Illuminates can avoid divine retribution is because
>they discover the secret that the gods are hollow and empty shells
>created by the priests; the gods have no will or power, they are
>mindless, inanimate shells into which people focus their power to create
>a pool from which the priests can draw; that every person has the spark
>of divinity within himself, and that the working of magic can be done
>without recourse to religious ritual.
What a complete load of guff.
Sorry danny, but this just does not come close to what we know about Illumination. For a start, we know that may cults, particualrly in the Lunar Empire, are dedicated to fostering and spreading Illumination. Tht's a prety strange thing for a religion to do if Illumination destroys faith.
Also, several of the gods are illuminated, so presumably they realise that they are mindless inanimate shells and dissapear in a puff of smoke? Apparently not.
>Who does look after us? Why pray for rain etc
In Glorantha, people pray for rain because they know, and can prove that it works. Also, the vast majority of illuminates remain within the cult system, worshiping and performing cult ceremonies just as they did before and with just the same effects.
Illumination is not the same thing as scientific rationalism. In fact, it is almost exactly the opposite of what you describe. Far from becoming dissilusioned with faith, Illuminates become aware of the place of all things within the universe, inculding all gods and faiths. This is not just my view, it's explicitly how it's described in the sources.
I would answer the orriginal question by saying that Illumination makes the illuminate aware of her place within the cosmos, and thus everyone else's place too. This is why Illuminates sometimes lose their horror of chaos, they just accept it as inevitable and get on with their lives.
As for divine retribution, that's quite complex. My own view is that most Gloranthans have blind faith - they totaly believe the myths and revelations of their religion and are intelectualy unable or unprepared to challenge them. Thus although their faith gives them spiritual power, they are locked into it. Breaking with their faith is a traumatic and dangerous thing to do because they are breaking deeply ingrained taboos and some sort of magical backlash is inevitable.
Illumination allows the illuminate to overcome this awe in which they hold their religious convictions. It does not mean they lose their faith, rather their faith becomes subject to free will. Illumination gives them the ability to experience their own personal relationship with the divine world which they have much more freedom and controll over. Their concience is clear, so they are not vulnerable to attacks of guilt or anxiety which lead to spiritual torment.
> This is the *real* reason why - hey, I'm sure I can smell ozone -
>Illuminates are reviled in that they directly break the religious
>structure of Glorantha.
With the minor factual problem, of course, that they evidently don't, as I have pointed out above. They generaly continue worshiping and using magic just as before and some achieve high rank in their respective cults.
>Not only that, they know the secret of the God Learners which is, of
>ocurse, 42.
Oh... ha, ha, ha, now I get it. You're joking right?
Sorry, I'm having a bad day.
Simon
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