tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924177687424620844.post2025009790323415966..comments2023-10-12T12:39:14.159+01:00Comments on Nyki Blatchley, Fantasy Author: Fantasy and ReligionNyki Blatchleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07707481035530963855noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924177687424620844.post-64551758142594635282014-01-17T12:02:11.570+00:002014-01-17T12:02:11.570+00:00I think on the whole that's unlikely, although...I think on the whole that's unlikely, although it might happen on occasions. Generally speaking, traditional religions seem to evolve from animism, via local cults and rituals that gradually coalesce into a whole system.<br /><br />On the other hands, certain steps in that process could have been down to a specific religious leader. There are signs of a radical change in religious practice in Neolithic Britain, possibly starting in the Orkneys, and it's not impossible that had an element of revelation.<br /><br />What is possible, of course, is a sophicated culture that's had a revealed religion and then devolves into a more primitive culture where the teachings fragment into apparently random rituals and taboos. As far as we know, that hasn't happened in our world (though it could have) but there's no reason why it shouldn't in a secondary world.Nyki Blatchleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707481035530963855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924177687424620844.post-32535339568443348832014-01-17T11:51:35.211+00:002014-01-17T11:51:35.211+00:00Sorry, I thought I'd explained "revealed&...Sorry, I thought I'd explained "revealed" religions sufficiently. They're essentially religions whose teachings come from a single source (or at most a small group of connected sources) as opposed to religions whose laws and beliefs grow organically over the centuries (or millennia). Of course, it's not an absolute distinction, since traditional religions might belief in specific revelations that tweak their doctrines, while revealed religions tend to evolve naturally after they've been founded, but it's a convenient distinction to make.Nyki Blatchleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707481035530963855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924177687424620844.post-55669530552823750462014-01-17T04:02:24.733+00:002014-01-17T04:02:24.733+00:00I think this is something that's often missing...I think this is something that's often missing from fantasy, aside from a little creative swearing from time to time--the effect that religious belief has on the daily life of the characters, whether it's the presence of little shrines in people's houses, someone thanking a god or spirit before a meal. And of course the role of priests in festivals, weddings, funerals and so on. Of course heroic tales tend to take place apart from daily life, so the characters aren't spending much time at home. But it's cool when a writer has little ways of sneaking some of these details into a tale, even if it's simply a character praying to a god or spirit for guidance, or stopping by a temple to make an offering. This is something I'm trying to slip into my own world building as I polish it up--those little touches that set the world and culture apart from the so-called real one, but also those little things that establish the differences between the beliefs of the three main characters.<br /><br />As per the revealed religions versus traditional--is it possible that traditional religious beliefs started as revelations, perhaps even from the prophecy of a single charismatic leader who believed, at least, that he or she got a message from a god or gods, but the origins were long enough ago (and prior to a time when people wrote everything down), so the origins are now lost in the mists of time? I ask because it seems like the rituals, sacraments and taboos of even a traditional religion must have had their origins somewhere, even if there's no record of the beginnings.<br /><br />E.L. Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05631080231126783838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8924177687424620844.post-77845120937872334302014-01-17T01:36:48.360+00:002014-01-17T01:36:48.360+00:00Excellent article with some practical advice I kno...Excellent article with some practical advice I know I can use. One thing, though. While you did a good job of comparing the various religious categories. I didn't quite come away with a definition of "revealed religions". I got what themes it shares and doesn't share with other religious categories, but not what it is in itself.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07748695280619099640noreply@blogger.com