<< if RW folks can recognise that names for god vary more readily than they
spot the difference between rites (you're praying to whom? Vishnu? Ah, must
be their word for God, Father Domingo, they're praying the right way) >>
True, but this doesn't necessarily last very long once you do know anything about the two religions concerned. Maybe a Sartarite visiting Jolar might at first think Pamalt was another name for Orlanth Rex, but as he learnt more he'd probably change his mind.
<< why aren't there more cases in Glorantha where gods with different names in
different parts of the world are generally recognised to be the same being?>>
I think there's a couple of reasons why this doesn't happen more frequently (there are, of course, a number of instances where it *does* happen). Firstly, in Glorantha the magic granted by deities is clearly evident. So, for instance, its obvious Pamalt can't be Orlanth, because he's none to impressive in the thundering department. You don't need to understand a lot of Pamalt's mythology to work this one out, as you might to determine that there's a difference between Vishnu and Jehovah.
Secondly, this was precisely the sort of thing that the God Learners went about doing, and we all know what happened to *them*. Given the distaste that most sensible people feel for the God Learners these days, it is perhaps unsurprising that they resist the temptation to lump two similar-but-different deities together - although if the only significant difference is the name, they might have less of a problem.
Forward the glorious Red Army!
Trotsky
Powered by hypermail