Although I don't go into the details in my campaign, because I'm an unoriginal and lazy gamemaster, I am very impressed with the idea that each learning of a divine spell consists of a minor heroquest. Like I said, I can't come up with a different one for each spell, much less the variations that must exist between cults or even the SAME cult.
For instance, lets say that a guy in Boldhome decides to learn Shield from Orlanth. The Quest that he goes on basically involves him "becoming" Orlanth in a ritual dressing for the fight with the Emporer. However, when the same Orlanthi visits his cousin in Whitewall (before it falls, of course.) He visits the Orlanthi temple and wants to relearn Shield. When the priest opens the door and shoves him through, he finds him in a Barracks hearing an alarm bell ringing. Being a bright barbarian, he figures out whats going on, gets lucky, and manages to get to the Armoury and into his armour before the hoards arrive. Now, if he wasn't quite so bright, or the renewel quest wasn't quite so simple. (Or I could think of something interesting or challenging...) he probably wouldn't get the spell back.
So, this leads to a branch of Gloranthan Socialogy that probably developed the Godlearners. (Ick, blech, pttt pttt.) What I mean by that is this. Say that in your campaign you've decided that Humakt really IS a specialization of the Orlanth cult that has split from it and developed into its own religion. One way the curious might discover this is by attending both the regular worship ceremonies and the spell renewel quests of the different cults. Obviously, very few people will try to do this. In fact, if they do it on PURPOSE, chances are somebody will react poorly and string 'em up.
Here is my point: If an Orlanthi goes to his ally "Father West Wind"'s temple and attempts to relearn his divine magic, there may be a chance that it will work. First, if they really are the same cults, then there is a very good chance that the ceremonies will overlap and seem familiar. If the gamemaster wants to keep the question ambiguous, maybe SOME spells work, and some don't. Maybe it takes a ceremony or a luck roll.
One point I'd like to make though. If Orlanth is really this horrible Godlearner construction, an amalgam of three different gods or something, then there would be a much greater chance that different temples will celebrate in different ways, and have different paths mapped out for gaining divine magic. A cult like Y.T., which was pretty much built from ground zero might be more consistant. (Unless, different temples stole different quests from dissimilar Humakti temples, etc.)
Oh, and whoever posted the thing about divinations being right about 50% of the time was brilliant. I see it like a magic eight ball.
And the bit about "the first against the wall" cracked me up.
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