The Old version:
Despite the obvious presence of Gods and Goddesses throughout Yliakum, some deny that these beings are worthy of worship. Most people consider atheists foolish at best and a condemned object of pity at worst. Athests will bear the worst effects of the penalty for dying since no god will grant them succor from it. The atheist does not look outside itself for truth. People attracted to this faith: People who have had a bad experience with religion, anti-social people, staunch individualists, and the irrational.
The New version:
Despite the obvious advantages of worshiping a god or goddess, some deny that these beings are worthy of worship. Many people consider atheists foolish at best and condemned objects of pity at worst. Atheists will bear the worst effects of the penalty for dying since no god will grant them succor from it. Atheists do not look towards higher beings to answer questions of meaning, self worth, and purpose. People attracted to Atheism: Those who feel the gods have wronged them, stubborn people, and the young.
Line One: Despite the obvious advantages of worshiping a god or goddess, some deny that these beings are worthy of worship.
Why the change: The new wording clearly distinguishes between the two senses of Atheism. Players will now understand that one sense of Atheism simply does not exist in Yliakum, and the other sense does exist but comes with consequences. The words “god” and “goddess” should only begin with a capital when in reference to a specific god. When the word is being used to denote a specific class or category, it must be written in lowercase. Also, it is not enough that the gods simply exist for it to be common sense to worship them. The benefits of worship must be cited as the reason it is common sense.
Line Two: Many people consider atheists foolish at best and condemned objects of pity at worst.
Why the change: After Eliseth’s explanation, I understand the integrity of this sentence. Atheists might not be foolish and are yet still considered foolish. “Condemned” means condemned to a life without support of the gods. One change I made was to correct the grammar. There was a change from plural to singular mid-sentence. Also, I changed "most" to "many" to better reflect the game culture.
Line Three: Atheists will bear the worst effects of the penalty for dying since no god will grant them succor from it.
Why no changes: None needed!
Line Four: Atheists do not look towards higher beings to answer questions of meaning, self worth, and purpose.
Why the change: The line in its original form was highly problematic and ambiguous, but I very much enjoy Eliseth’s interpretation. The original implied that Atheists don’t look for truth in other persons, in literature, philosophy, the natural world, and so on. There are many sources of “truth” that are outside and beyond ourselves and yet are not the gods. Also, an Atheist might look to the gods for truth, and yet not worship the gods. Also, the new version is still open ended. Atheists might look towards higher beings for answers to questions, but the implication is that they’re skeptical of the answers the gods give them.
Line Five: People attracted to Atheism: Those who feel the gods have wronged them, stubborn people, and the young.
Why the changes: “This faith” was replaced with “Atheism” because if we are to call Atheism a “faith”, then every single opinion must also be called a “faith”. I think this is too liberal an interpretation of what it means for something to be a faith.
“People who have had a bad experience with religion” replaced by “Those who feel the gods have wronged them”: One can have a bad experience with religion and yet not become an Atheist. If I have bad experience with the church of Talad, I might simply become a follower of Laanx! And one can be an Atheist and yet have many good experiences with religion. We should be as direct as possible: One does not worship the gods if one sees the gods as unworthy of worship. One may see the gods as unworthy of worship if one feels the gods have wronged them.
“Anti-social people” replaced by “Stubborn people”: Anti-social people will worship Drakku. Rejecting help is the mark of a stubborn person. Atheists are rejecting the help of the gods.
“Staunch individualists” removed: One can easily be an Atheist collectivist, or a Deist individualist. There’s no association between individualism and Atheism that I can see. Since it doesn’t serve roleplay, the settings, or realism, I removed the line. I thought about adding “prideful people”, but there are many very proud deists!
“The irrational” replaced by “the young”: Again, we’re back at mixing the different senses of Atheist. It’s irrational to believe the gods don’t exist, but to claim that they aren’t worthy of worship is something else. Not worshiping the gods isn’t irrational so much as it’s the result of inexperience. And who tends to be inexperienced? The young! I think this is a much better fit. There are other reasons why this is a good change, but explaining those reasons requires a conversation on axiomatic systems, the true meaning of rationality, and so on.
I think these changes solve a lot of problems people were having. I hope you like them too.
Edit: I just notice that a forum mod moved my thread to here.... I guess the forum mod thinks that the current description of Atheism is an inconsistency!
