I used to be quite involved in real world politics. I'd often find myself having to explain how particular parties would arrive at some odd position, and I'd explain how that decision was a compromise (or outcome of argument, anyway) between two groups within it with quite different conceptions of what the party was all about. I ended up with a rule - that you don't really understand how a political group worked, unless you understood the contradictory impulses that were driving it in different directions, which was then what they had their fights about. And I've found it applies outside politics an awful lot.
I think its a bit the same with cults. Cults have at least two different ideals of what the cult is about held by different worshippers. Many more for a big cult (there are of course . If you want to get a feel for it. Sometimes, in big established cults, like Orlanth, all these different conceptions split off, sometimes they form sub-cults, sometimes the attempt to co-exist.
Which is my way of saying of course Humakt, a death and truth rune cult, has many members who are attracted to the death bit because they are death loving psychos, and some who are attracted to the truth rune because they are honourable, upright, and sane. In our games we used to refer to (and still do, actually) "big Truth" or "big Death" Humakti for the different archetypes, and it made perfect sense that they would remain in the same cult and occasionally duel each other over disagreements, or get fed up with the temple hierarchy and form little mercenary bands of their followers, or whatever. And occasionally one of them would *go too far*, and trouble would result (eg Lead Cross heroquesters), and you'd have a scenario, and for Humakti that scenario would be a bit richer because their characters individual opinions and character, not just their cult, would determine how they reacted.
My take on seemingly contradictory views of things in Glorantha where there seems to be some support for both views is to write the contradictions in, use it. Real world social institutions aren't free of contradictions, why should Gloranthan ones be any different? Glorantha will be the richer if we have several types of Humakti, several types of Vingan, etc trying to co-exist in a cult that ultimately has room for all.
Cheers
David
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