Q: What is the basis of Vasparak religious law, and what are its basic tenets?
The Four Truths
The first basis for law, and the claimed originator, is King Sufgan, who ruled hundreds of years before Amalgast's Ascension. Uniting the Vasp princedoms, King Sufgan adopted a code of laws and introduced a religion based on the worship of the great feathered deity of the west, the Simurgh. Today, the Simurgh is understood as the first archangel, and not a god. Sufgan's Analects contain a full code for a moral and holy life, with four major truths which remain agreed upon by all in Vaspukaran, including most witches and many religions outside Vaspukaran. To disagree with the Analects, especially on the basis of atheism or heathenry, is to reject all the laws of God's Kingdom. All witches must accept the four truths to not be prosecuted and persecuted.
1. That there is a God, and He is good.
From this comes the fundamental monotheism of the Amalgastene Creed as well as the assertion of a loving God.
2. That to be moral is to live by God's law.
From this is justified theocracy, as secular law is no substitute to a law which defines itself by the divine.
3. That God's law is derived from divine revelation.
From this is reasoned that revelation, whether by a prophet or by other means, is the way by which God's law is transmitted.
4. That the King is he who erects God's law, the rites of mortal life.
That any claim to kingship must be based on the implementation of religious law, which are the rites of human life.
The Seven Tenets
Sufgan's Kingdom splintered after his death. It was destroyed by the Gushan Rohirrate, a steppe empire that sought to dominate the whole continent of Camad. But his priesthood, often hereditary, survived to hear the revelation, and adopt the teachings, of Amalgast. Amalgast's teachings are bound in the four books composed during his long reign as Patriarch, the Tessarateuch. From there, seven tenets are derived that define the boundaries of the Amalgastene Creed. All of the schisms, and orthodoxy (which called itself Sufganarot in honor of Sufgan), agree on these points, and are seen as part of the same faith, with differing interpretation. To disagree with these seven points is to invite charges of heresy or heathenry.
1. There is but one god in many forms, and Amalgast is His prophet and the prophet of God's Kingdom.
From this is allowed the existence of those who may believe in many Gods: these are just God in a disguised form.
2. Amalgast is the ultimate prophet, and no other prophets shall succeed him.
From this is barred the existence of any other prophet after Amalgast, and that attempting to claim as much is heresy.
3. The mystery of god invites progressive revelation through the spiral of truth.
From this is created the idea of the Spiral of Truth, and that God progressively reveals more of himself.
4. The spiral of truth may be unveiled by scholarly debate and the consensus of the wise.
From this is produced the justification for the priesthood, who identify themselves as the wise.
5. No soul shall hold another soul as property, or else put a price upon a human soul.
From this is created the ban on slavery and significant commercial restrictions abandoned later.
6. The kingdom of god is the universal empire of god's grace and the path to heaven.
From this comes the universal drive to convert, proselytize, and expand the Kingdom of God, and define it as the final form of human existence before the end of days.
7. Man is made in the image of god, born free and pure of sin or grace.
From this comes the idea of the soul, free will, and tabula rasa - that man is born a blank slate, and it is by good or bad laws and upbringing that he is made into a good or bad soul.
The First Patriarchate, seen either as a first tragic stage or a cosmic mistake, applied these tenets in the harshest way possible, eliminating heathens and expanding Vaspukaran with deadly crusading force in every direction. Ruled by Guardians of the Holy Ghost arguing that Amalgast could not be succeeded for he was immortal, these blood-descendents of Amalgast kept his bejeweled and dressed skeleton in the Palace of Mushad and spoke on his behalf, a permanent regency of the immortal ghost. Called Gastites, they were the major doctrine of the period. Their efforts constructed a vast empire that dominated the whole of the center of the country.
The Six Precepts
In time, however, the growing power of the melik hereditary feudal princes, crippling heathen revolts, and civil war between guardian-claimants, shattered Vaspukaran. A one-hundred year of period anarchic warfare was ended by the rise of fortress-temples of the Jurors and the Seven Ravs, famed religious scholars and holy warriors. After the end of the fighting the seventh, Rav Obrogras, fell out over the core precepts of what would become the Second Patriarchate. The remaining six Ravs promulgated the Vermilion Bull creating the Second Patriarchate, with its Patriarch, Synodic Circles, Juror Palatines, Missions, Autocephalates and Nahad Chesh. This system, despite alterations especially because of the Grand Sanhedrons, has remained shockingly unchanged for almost 450 years, a testament to its longevity and flexibility.
The term 'rav' itself has become something like saint, or the Jewish Tzadik - a person of such wisdom and grace that they may be receiving ambiguous but not direct inspiration from the divine. Much less powerful than a prophet, but still holy. The difference is that Ravs tend to show their power and holiness by honing a divine craft or scholarship.
Among the many sayings of the Ravs committed to writing in the Vermilion Commentaries which define the covenant of Vaspukaran, six precepts are the most essential.
As said by Rav Yatoni, "That the immortal soul of Amalgast, so transmigrating as to evolve revelation, passes from body to body, possessing the wisest of his faithful."
From this is derived in their commentaries the Great Synod, the Patriarch, and the doctrine of transmigration.
As said by Rav Karogen, "that the rule by blood in God's Kingdom is forever over, and those that seek its swift or slow return shall usher in a rule of blood, until they are destroyed."
From this is derived the barring of blood-inheritance in all Vasparak titles outside of the Autocephalates.
As said by Rav Hastata, "that the purpose in life is to sanctify the family, to honor God through thought and creation, and to obey the boundaries of his Kingdom."
From this is derived divisions in social status, the examination system, and the sacralization of everyday life.
As said by Rav Tologda, "that the exaltation of God, and the revelation of his mystery, shall be done by investigations mystical and scholarly, to unveil the truth of soul and body."
From this is derived scientific investigations, the division of soul and body, and ordinary revelation.
As said by Rav Zurah, "that there shall be no non-believers in the Kingdom of God, but those who deny God's word are not evil but the bewitched, in need of wisdom and not cruelty."
From this is derived witchdom and the mission system, which allows the existence of non-believers in Vaspukaran.
As said by Rav Rongen, "that peace shall rule in the land, that the strong shall not harm the weak, and God's Kingdom shall not raise its righteous arm save in a war of just defense."
From this is derived the much-mocked claim that Vaspukaran has never invaded another country except in self-defense, and the Grand Jury.
Schisms dispute some, most, or all of these precepts, or simply interpret them in ways that are displeasing to orthodox religious authority. Breaching the precepts is considered blasphemy when not covered by one of the agreements of the Grand Sanhedrons, a charge below heresy but still with considerable sentences and in the past, death.
A/N: I figured this would help current discussion.
