Everything you have said in your post is very true, and something to be kept in mind for all faithful.
It is, however, important to remember that our faith is active. God charged us to Reclaim what He has given, he made us His Angels of Mercy and Vengeance, it is our purpose is to cultivate the spirit of mankind. When we falter, it is we who must correct ourselves, Reclaim ourselves, lest we, as you say, fail one another in our duty to God. Even if we will never see the changes in our lifetime, pursuing those changes is still our responsibility. To sit back and do nothing, thinking that Amarr will right itself on its own in the passage of time, to push off our duty to the next generation, and the next, and the next, is laziness and cowardice.
âBe Careful. Pure Thought is the Instigator of Sin.â
Iâve never heard of a gentle death. All death is violent in one way or another
I have heard tell of an Ancient Gallentian phrase of âun petit mortâ which means âa little deathâ and apparently had another meaning as well. But never a gentle death. Is that the Caldari version?
Although, I should probably not discuss such matter with Diana for my own well-being right now.
Now thatâs just plain silly. Iâm sure even the Empire knows the saying âa chain is only as strong as its weakest linkâ. The more people you introduce to the process, the more human beings you have involved, the more the chance of corruption increases. After all, one corrupt actor whom others trust can poison the work output of the whole group, just by introducing a few small errors here and there. And thatâs without getting into âthe workâ being a body of text as incomprehensibly large as the Amarr Scriptures.
Say what you like about how Iâm an unbeliever and an outsider, most of the Amarr here know that one thing I do almost compulsively is ask questions about their faith, and the Scriptures that form its foundation. Some may even recall a discussion where I was told, by a number of the more learned Amarr, that the complete body of Scripture is so vast, nobody can know it all. Nobody has time to read it all. It would take longer than the centuries-long lifetime of an Amarr Holder.
And if nobody can know it all, then nobody can fact check every single claim and assertion being quietly made in an off-hand manner as a terribly minor, insignificant really, point during a discussion. And then that minor, insignificant point enters into what people are aware of, and can be reminded about. And itâs accepted as âyes, I recall that being discussedâ, and soon other things are being considered on the basis of that formerly-insignificant point. And it snowballs from there.
The larger the group, the larger the work, the more potential there is for corruption. And the only prevention for it is constant, individual vigilance on the part of everyone impacted by it.
But canât that also be said of the weakness that compels people to accept order over virtue? To obey because itâs easier than having to think for yourself? If one is capable, without intermediary, of turning toward God, then doesnât that, in and of itself, mean that person is capable of judging for themselves just what âturning toward Godâ is, in the first place? Isnât that exactly whatâs being decried when Gaven claims
and
?
Right there, youâve established a simple thing that supports Samiraâs position, and utterly eviscerates Gavenâs. If the way to God is always free, because none can stand between God and his creation, then no-one and nothing is needed as intermediary. There is no need for any higher authority to show the way. There is no need for any Theology Council. There is no need to others to interpret Scripture. The seeker has only to place their faith in God, and he will provide to them the understanding he has determined is right for them to have.
Who can stand between Him and His creation? Not a Theology Council. Not an Empire. Not unfathomably endless volumes of Scripture.
So why are you trying? Is it anything more than the fear that sheâand you, with what youâve said thereâmight be right?
Deceivers are always active and anyone not vigilant can fall prey to deception. So while itâs true that all under Heaven serve God, it is also mandated by Scripture that all under Him serve one higher. So despite each of us are to always bear Him first in our thoughts and spend our days in His service, bodies like the Theology Council are still a necessity in order to ensure we arenât led off the True path by the wicked.
Itâs one of the main reasons why corruption within the Theology Council is so very alarming. Even one or two sinful voices on the council could lead to disaster if not removed quickly. If the wrong people were to get on the Theology Council, entire regions of the Empire could wind up in the hands of heretics. Abolishing the Council completely could have similar consequences.
Dealing with possible corruption is the tricky part. Our part is to support the most righteous above us and ensure they have the tools they need to stay watchful, as was recently done when we turned Zashev over to Lord Arrach, leading to arrests in the Ministry of Internal Order with hopefully more exposed corruption on the way. In the worst cases, God will find a way to expel such corruption from His Empire, as He did when Empress Jamylâs miraculous return caused the red Chamberlain, Karsoth, to flee in one of the Empireâs darkest hours.
As the Imperial Seal reflects, the Empire is imperfect⌠but so are we. We need the best among us in positions to work towards a perfect Empire.
And this doesnât strike you as an entirely self-serving mechanism for those who have the power to insert themselves between God and the faithful? Isnât it funny how the only people who are able to determine who holds power in Godâs name⌠are always the ones who already have the power?
How involved is God that he would have Amash-Akura reign of his own merit against his enemies - Molok the Deceiver himself, no less - but intervene and miraculously revive Empress Jamyl to expel the Red Chamberlain?
For that matter⌠why has God not yet seen fit to revive her again to expel the Bloody Duke of Fabai?
I suppose I can field this one. The idea is that God will not allow Holy Amarr to fall so long as we give our all in its maintenance, unity, and mission. Now, the story goes that we are responsible for doing those things with all we have, not to ask for any more help than we were endowed with and blessed with. Direct intervention sort of ruins the purpose; weâre instruments of God not pets. However, intervention is sometimes necessary, and the fact is that in the face of overwhelming force, Amarr still yet stands after a rather miraculous series of events.
At present, if our task is to purge Fabai of those elements, and God has not intervened, it is thus imperative that it has not escaped our ability to deal with it personally. So long as God sees it to be within our ability to handle, we would be commanded to deal with it ourselves, not demand His hand to keep us from the hard work ahead. Which was the point of the story of Epitoth, in the end. Molok the Deceiver was defeated when Amash-Akura actually got down to business, and after the Emperor was struck down no less. Without even the Sefrim to guide him, for they were sent away. It was always in our ability, and God was not ours to command the help of.
God absolutely will allow Amarr to fall. It is our duty to ensure that it survives and does His will. God does not protect His people from their own sins. He rewards us for not sinning.
Overwhelming force? A couple of titans and a handful of battleships are an overwhelming force? A single detachment of the Maddam constellation fleet could have handled that. Let alone the Throne Worlds Defense Fleet, which was right next door.
No intervention was necessary, and none was rendered. Jamyl betrayed ShatholâSyn and we forgave her, all because she destroyed a fleet any admiral in Amarr should have been able to do, but didnât, for highly suspicious reasons.
Everything is in our ability to handle, and if it is not, then we deserve to fail. We have been charged with a mission, and it is our duty to achieve it. We are not a passive faith, able to expect that everything will be alright in the end. God will not intervene to protect us from our own failings.
If such is your belief, Samira, then 'tis yours to say. 'Tis not mine. 'Tis only mine to teach. Nomistrav asked a theological question about the nature of divine intervention against the existence of manâs evil, and he received a theological answer.
Iâll leave the modern politicking to your other thread, if you please.
I agree that we should have been able to defeat the fleet without the Miracle of Jamyl, but we didnât. The wicked powers that were intentionally allowed the fleet to wreck havoc on the Empire, likely because Karsoth and his Blood Raider allies wanted the Empire to fall. Jamylâs return to do not what we couldnât have done, but what we didnât do was a sign for us all to heed.
If the corruption gets beyond the point of no return, I believe that He may bring her back again.
So the Lord sent forth the Chosen,
to bring forth the light of faith
And those who embrace his love
Shall be saved by his grace
For we are his shepherds in the darkness
His Angels of Mercy.
But those who turn away from his light,
And reject his true word
Shall be struck down by his wrath
For we are his retribution incarnate
His Angels of Vengeance
-Reclaiming 4:45
Funny how all of that conveniently aligned to support Jamylâs return and ascension.
If thatâs the case then why would God not intervene at Kahah?
If God sees that it is within the capability of man to handle these things without his intervention, and it was man that extinguished the lives of Kahah slaves prematurely; curtailing reclamation, then is it not then Godâs will that those people were never going to be brought back into the fold in the first place? Without adequate time to be reclaimed and subject to effects of Deathglow, those slaves could neither be held culpable nor be saved, and despite that they are permanently barred from heaven? Surely you can see how incredibly cruel this all seems?
I think because youâre not raised in the faith, Nomistrav, or it seems likely (and I apologize if Iâve assumed incorrectly), I think youâve missed the crux of the point of what Iâd spoken of. And that is that we are purpose-built instruments here in Creation. It is our task to resolve these issues, and Godâs intervention is not to be expected (else in the example you mentioned, God would have stepped in at the situation) but appreciated when it arrives in the most dire of circumstances. As it were, God expects us to be able to solve these problems ourselves; indeed, this is our purpose. We are not here solely to be coddled, we have work to do.
So God did not intervene at Kahah because Kahah is manâs fault, and manâs task to repair and resolve. It was ever within our capability to resolve these issues with less death and destruction, if that was what we had resolved is important in the cluster. And we who resolved unto death and sectarian division before peace and unity bear the responsibility, and are more than capable of having prevented such death.
In short, God is not here to take care of our problems for us, only to keep us strong enough in spirit to walk in His path, and perhaps rarely to step in when we clearly cannot handle what we are dealt with. Kahah is a human problem, no matter how catastrophic, and itâs our business to deal with. Thatâs essentially the âpointâ of humanity.
Then Kahah is manâs fault, and manâs task to repair and resolve. Even if it is manâs responsibility, the individual soul prevented access to heaven on the basis of being short-changed on the reclamation through no fault of their own is still a cruel one. One I have extreme difficulty abiding by.
The thought of a person being born into slavery for crimes an ancestor committed, living (dutifully) as a slave with the best intentions, and then being put to death as a slave because they were under the influence of a toxin unwillingly administered them⌠and the end result being barred from heaven despite? Because it was manâs responsibility to see a better outcome but failed? No. I canât even fathom the callous indifference God would have to have to allow such a thing to transpire.
Please tell me that I am incorrect in this determination, Baracca. Tell me this is just the errant thoughts of someone who doesnât yet understand your faith.
