questions from my friend.
I’m a chinese fan of the Realms. As is known to all, the official idea of PRChina is atheism. Thus, many, if not all, of us chinese fans don’t really understand the difference between “believe”, “worship” and “faith”. (1 If the "atheist" will be judged as the Faithless, so as an "atheist" I do worry about my (character's) soul.
My first question is, what's "the difference between faith and belief"?
And there are a series of scenarios below, will this be judged as "worship" a god? (2— coolguy (@coolguy73360922) September 29, 2019
4) Someone respect the teaching of a god, but will not entrust his life and soul to the god.
Sorry for my poor English, and many thanks to those answering my question. (4
— coolguy (@coolguy73360922) September 29, 2019
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Hi!
In the Realms, all sane sentient beings “believe” in the gods (= know they exist and affect the world), because they have seen avatars or divine servitor beings (e.g. aasimars, celestials) and/or see signs and spells from……the gods and/or been shown dramatic evidence of past manifestations of divine power (e.g. a god blasting apart a mountain with magic “from the sky”) and/or seen priests work real, lasting magic through prayer to their deities.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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…and “believing in a deity without hard proof” and therefore taking the existence of the deity “on faith.” In the Realms, the first meaning is widely used and understood, the second is not (why? See above).
“Worship” means…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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…part in rituals and prayers.
In the Realms, everyone ‘believes in’ ALL of the gods, and although a lot of humans (priests, paladins, and lay worshippers) ‘specialize’ in one god (worshipping that one deity more than others), …#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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…and give offerings to Umberlee to NOT sink the ship, and if that same merchant was trying to use new technology to make their goods faster or better or both, he or she would also pray and give offerings to Gond, and so on.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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So you can see that there’s a lot of ‘lip-service’ worship of deities by people who otherwise don’t care overmuch about that god or their faith. The gods want obedience AND worship because they gain power the more they are…
#Realmslore…worshipped and have influence in the mortal world, so YES, they would count someone participating in celebration of one of their holy days as worship.
In the Realms, deities have portfolios, and Tempus is the god of war and…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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…doing as the god wants you to (or the god’s clergy tell you to), working to advance the aims of the god (which might even mean fighting on behalf of the god), and making offerings to the church (coins or items), and taking…12)
…exploit that mortal’s achievements, to increase their divine influence. So, yes, they would still count the deeds of that mortal as worship—but they would also constantly send clergy AND dream-visions to that mortal to try…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
…wants them to obey (behave in certain ways), and donating coins to a temple is definitely worship.
And there are many mortals who respect the clergy, teachings, and deeds of a particular god, but don’t entrust their lives…14)
…wants them to obey (behave in certain ways), and donating coins to a temple is definitely worship.
And there are many mortals who respect the clergy, teachings, and deeds of a particular god, but don’t entrust their lives…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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…(including donating a few coins from time to time) as worship, even from a mortal who refuses to dedicate themselves. They will also tirelessly try to persuade that mortal to accept them more fully.
Hope this is of help!#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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…“manifestations” (glows or visible-to-all temporary images moving in the air, smells, and visitations by birds or creatures associated with the deity, etc.) of their favour or disfavour or interest, that awake people can…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019
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…see. These usually appear above altars during prayers, or at a spot where someone has just made or is making a sacrifice to the god (including sacrificing their mortal lives), but can also appear elsewhere, to convince or…20)
…reassure non-believers or mortals who doubt what the right thing to do is.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) September 29, 2019