From:	Stephanos Piperoglou <steve@*******.HOL.GR>
Subject:	Re: Gods/Heaven/Hell
Date:	Mon, 18 Sep 1995 19:34:35 +0300

On Mon, 18 Sep 1995, Ioannis Pantelidis wrote:

> n shadowrun world as a true east religion and philosophy magic system,
> way of unerstanding about life and death. there are some clear things.
> THEY are not ANY GODS. They are only powerfull spirits which they help
> the mortals. All the mortals when they die their soul goes to the astral
> plane and they are also spirits as ones that they shamans call.
> Heaven does not exist (in sr world). Not even hell.(in sr world)

Uhmm... beg to differ.

There has been *NO* analysis of religious FACTS in SR. There is a difference
between BELIEFS, such as those we know as religion today, and FACTS (in a
fictional universe) such as those presented, say, in AD&D. The Christian
churches (which BTW are supposed to have much less of a following in 2056)
have simply accepted magic, the astral and so on as natural phenomena. It's
the same thing as no longer persecuting Newton for his theories (actually the
official pardon was issued three years ago by the Papacy. Up to 1992, Newton
was officially a sinner for his ideas. Just a tidbit of info there).

I remember seeing some short treatise on religion somewhere in SR, but I
don't remember where, but anyway there are many possible sets of beliefs,
just as there are today.

Totems are not gods. They are totems. Full stop. They are *NOT* entities,
*NOT* spirits, *NOT* deities.

--
Stephanos Piperoglou -- steve@****.hol.gr
"Beside the everlasting `Why?' there is a `Yes', and a `Yes', and a `Yes'!"
- E. M. Forster, "A Room with a View"
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