Doctrine of Pure Good
“If the people shall not come to the gods, verily, verily,
we shall bring the gods to the people.”
—From Saint Hefasten’s A People,
A Doctrine, A Faith
The Doctrine of the Great Church can most easily be
described as pure good. One should strive to
give, not take; to love, not hate; to befriend,
never shun. It is the moral imperative of
every mortal to try to do as the gods
have done, offering shelter to the weak,
raging against terrible wrongs, and
protecting their families.
Of course,
the Church knows the world is filled
with fallible people and believes if
mortals ask for forgiveness, the gods
will forgive them as they once forgave each other for great wrongs.
The Church also believes, however,
there are sins that cannot be forgiven:
trying to topple the gods as Kador
did, making bargains with devils or
demons, and giving up one’s soul for
any reason. These behaviors take one
outside the realm of forgiveness, and
offenders become as demons in the
eyes of the faithful.
All else, including
the most heinous crimes against another person, can be
forgiven by the gods, though likely not by the law. It is in
this that the Church’s lawful side is seen, for while its faith
in the gods is one of pure good, the Church professes a
very legalistic worship of the gods. The clergy discusses the
laws and commandments of the gods that all people should
obey. The Church sees itself as bringing the rule of the gods
to the uninformed.
The Great Church has two great schools of thought in
approaching this doctrine, and while they usually operate
in harmony among church elders, they are occasionally
drawn into conflict.
Gods’ Work
The first philosophy, one adhered to by both the clergy
and deacons, is the ministry of the gods’ work. According to this school of thought, the Great Church exists to
spread the legends and worship of the gods, particularly
to foreign or barbaric lands with different faiths. Part
and parcel with this is the Church’s goal to consolidate
its power base and make sure the lands where the gods
are worshiped never lose sight of the faith. This involves
making sure the Church has many chapels and cathedrals
throughout the land. One of the many reasons the Church
puts such a focus on secular matters is that it serves the
Church’s goals to have close relations with the nobles who
own the land and run the nations.
It would be easy to assume the clergy pushes for expansion because its hierarchy is made up of rank opportunists
seeking to line their pockets with donations. In fact, the
Church really is a good organization (as far as anyone can
tell—GMs might have other plans) and most of the clergy
believe deeply in this idea. It began with Hefasten, the
first Supreme Patriarch: he whom the gods commanded to
end their quarrel, and solve the riddle of the holy statue.
At the core of Hefasten’s teachings is the notion that every
person’s life is bettered when she comes to pay proper
homage to the gods.
When Hefasten was writing his earliest screeds, most people had no idea how to pray or pay
proper respect to the gods; instead, they let their priests
do it for them. Hefasten believed in the democratization
of faith, and it is still important to the Great Church that
the ways of worship be made understandable to anyone, so
everyone can pray to the gods themselves. This is clearly
a good goal, even if the Church’s rate of expansion and
political power threatens other churches.
Oppose Evil
The second major branch of Church philosophy states
that the Church’s mission is to tirelessly oppose all forms
of evil. One can see this requires a very different mindset
than actively spreading the religion, and over the years,
the two doctrines have led to a friendly split in the clergy.
While most focus on the strengthening of the Church
and the spread of the faith, a core group of adventuring
clerics seek simply to do good in the world in the name of
the Gods. Supporting this group of “good works” clergy is
an entire holy order dedicated to fighting the good fight:
the paladins
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