Re: How best to learn about God Learners

From: Jeff Richard <richaje_at_oAM7s1yrcQc6ZqtdCJ9ufWmfT5fLG3RKXNEFxexGu_iX2zUcx5HUhZJqB_8L7xIvWNc9>
Date: Thu, 15 May 2008 08:45:21 -0000


> > A couple of weeks ago I started
> >reading about Glorantha and learned that the God Learners ALSO study
> >divinity, but perhaps not for the same reason as my PC. Which leads
> >to the question:
> >
> >Which book or two (any system, but preferably one available at less
> >than fifty dollars on Amazon or eBay) will teach me most about the God
> >Learners and what and how they are studying (*gods*, apparently)?

OK, if you want to know what and how they are studying, I would go with the Stafford Library book "The Middle Sea Empire". This has much more material about what the God Learners are doing and why than any of the Mongoose stuff. However, it is purely a background book - and does not contain rulesy stuff or scenarios.

> The God Learners are not trying to become divine but to manipulate the
> gods to doing what they want.

That's a bit of an oversimplifcation. The God Learners had substantial theological and philosophical underpinnings behind their explorations into the otherworlds. For example, the Emanationalists held that the gods and spirits of the pagans are but emanations of Makan (Erasanchula) that have been corrupted by the material world. They seek to return the wayward emanations to the Law through ritual and ceremony. Sometimes called the "We'll Fix Them" school or demonologists by critics.

In constrast, the Reconstructionalists believed that the Runes are the essential "atoms of concepts" and can be combined to construct and manipulate the universe. They hold that the original Law of Makan was broken by Chaos and that it is their duty to Reconstruct the Law using their techniques. The Zistorites were an even more radical movement within Reconstructionalism.

In both movements, God Learners studied and explored the otherworld in order to fix it according to what was written in the Abiding Book.

Hope that helps -

Jeff            

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