Religion in Trithofar Disclaimer

Before I begin to talk about religion in a fictional, made up universe, let me preface it by speaking a little about religion here.  

First of all, I am a Christian.  This is not to say that I am going to be anvilicious about my faith.  I am not going to be writing stuff in the same way that C.S. Lewis did, using his fiction more or less as a tract for his faith, nor am I going to go out of my way to pick fights with other religious adherents using my writing, as seems to be (at least as many perceive it) with other writers (Pullman comes to mind, as well as Douglass Adams, and a few others).  My stories here on this site are about many themes deemed important by characters of the stories, and I will use characters to explore all manner of themes important to me and hopefully to whatever readers I have.  

That being said, I also want to make it clear that, while I may point out flaws in religions I don't necessarily adhere to through parody, satire, etc., I respect people's rights to worship as they see fit.  I respect people's abilities to think for themselves vis a vis religious views.  I understand how people have different faiths and I acknowledge that all people are a denomination of whatever faiths they subscribe to in and of themselves.  As they say in MST3K: just remember this is just a show...relax!  

I say this only to make it clear why I do things the way that I do.  I want to respect others' religions, but also my own.  This will explain why things are as they are.  In designing the creatures behind the scenes in the world of Trithofar, I faced a strange and difficult conundrum.  How to reflect my personal beliefs about God and creation, while realistically representing people's interpretations of the origins of the world, AND balancing that with the fact that Trithofar is not solely inhabited by humans.  What would God have done differently if humans weren't the only animals with souls?  Could different creatures in Trithofar see God in different ways?  This is probably not really an original idea, and I honestly don't know all the fiction novels that have tried this, but my goal with Trithofar is to show that the different races/species can agree on certain things while at the same time continue to be who and what they are.  That is, the ultimate deity of Trithofar does not expect kunjels to become humans to be loved and accepted.  One of my complaints about Tolkien (if I dare) is that it seems the elves are the ultimate voice of morality.  If you are not like an elf (and in fact, the further away from elves you are) the worse off you tend to be.  Orcs are the ultimate insult because they once were elves that have become apostate from elven ways.  Humans are pitiful and stupid and ignorant and need education.  Hobbits are children and therefore innocent.  Dwarves are, basically, protestants who don't like the elf ways, but are hardy and earnest and etc.  They are wayward because they think the elf ways are snooty, condescending, and exclusive.  

But in Trithofar, I want the ultimate deity to be (like the one I worship) an understanding deity, one who values ALL souls, not just the ones that dress in a tie, give generously on Sundays, and attends a particular church.  The ultimate deity values diversity (not anything goes diversity) and ultimately understands his creation.  

Consequently, Trithofar could not be comparable to Earth, nor should the Highest be expected to deal with his creations in Trithofar in exactly the same way.  Trithofar and Earth do not exist on the same plane of reality, the same galaxy, nor even the same dimension or universe.  On Earth, there is only one creature that most people would agree have a soul.  Barring the discovery of aliens, we find that a Great God of the Universe might reasonably have expectations for ALL humans that ALL humans can subscribe to and believe (obviously, this has not happened yet; I'm speaking of capabilities, not actual realities).  All humans, however, can be expected to subscribe to the doctrines that love is better than hate, peace is better than violence, growth is better than regression, selflessness is better than selfishness, life is better than death, victory is better than loss.  Christians make a claim that our religion is the ONLY way to heaven, that God is made of love and life everlasting, etc.  Many other religions do the same. All adherents to anything coming close to faith could agree that love is the goal and to help others is a good thing.  

Because humans cannot agree on exactly how best to worship the ultimate source of creation of our universe, and we are all humans, how much more confusion could be added when you have multiple races, all with souls, who have varying levels of revelation?  Loads and loads.  Trithofar, therefore, ultimately asks the question: what part of faith, religion, beliefs, etc. result from what a person is, and how much of these things stem from who a person is and how they are raised?  It is, in a way, the classic case of nature vs. nurture, but with a little twist I hope will be somewhat original: does a person's genetic makeup have anything to do with their faith, their belief systems, etc.  

Please, do not misunderstand.  Not all of my stories set in Trithofar will have something to do with religious beliefs or even this question.  Some of my works will have to do with other things, of course.  However, after seeing an episode of The Simpsons, ironically, I came to realize something peculiar about my own religion.  Many people believe (like the ladies' circle in To Kill a Mockingbird) that culture is the same thing as religious beliefs.  In the Simpson's Episode I'm referring to (do not know the title), Bart plays a game where you shoot Bibles at 'pagans' and 'heathens' and convert them not into upright righteous people but into people wearing business suits.  I don't think God expects a tribe of natives in the jungle to suddenly wear clothes when they convert to some religion or another; therefore, in Trithofar, belief in the 'correct' or 'accurate' or 'most true' belief system should not force a kinto-shah to become a kunjel, or a human to become a hial, etc.  The clothes we wear, the trappings of culture, are not necessarily the things that align people with a god.  Yes, I understand that in some religions and in some cultures, people do equate subscription to culture with subscription to beliefs, and therefore subscription to a god's ideals.  But where one draws the line is the issue I have here.  

Furthermore, in this world we live in, magic is not really something that the ultimate god allows.  In my faith, God is against magic and magicians.  However, in some faiths, he's not only behind it, but encourages.  Trithofar is not a place where I advocate true sorcery as is seen on Earth.  Trithofar people have magic because Trithofar is a much wilder and stranger place.  Consider Trithofar to be an experimental sort of world, where the discovery, and attempts to discover, the truths behind love, selflessness, beauty, wonder, power, right and wrong, etc., is what is most important.  The creatures of Trithofar attempt to find universal truths, universal goodness, and must negotiate their genetic/biological differences to seek it.  Magic, as is the case with Harry Potter, the mutants of X-Men, is nothing more than a source of alternate technological advancement and yet another source of genetic diversity and ability.  A reader could compare magic in Trithofar (not entirely 1:1, though) to someone's abilities with technology, or someone's prayer life.  Most people have had a grandmother or older person who, when they pray, they get answered; or some people know someone who can fix everything, or knows more about guns, knives, toasters, building, etc. than everything else.  Magicians become, therefore, the ultimate 'ability' with a certain aspect of the world of Trithofar, the steroid users of athletics, the Einsteins and Hawkins of Physicists, etc.  

Finally, and really concluding, when I deal with religion in Trithofar, I am not necessarily advocating for or against religion in general on Earth.  Because issues of the spirit are important to people (not just me, I hope) and because WE don't know everything about the spiritual realm, neither will people in Trithofar.  The Greatest God, who is referred to as The Highest, is a god that represents my personal views, but in Trithofar, he is not as directly involved as practitioners of my faith believe he is on Earth.  He is, however, the originator of all creation, a loving and understanding deity, but at the same time a god who values justice, righteousness, purity, uprightness, etc.  He is a god who hates hypocrisy.  He has sent among the people of Trithofar various types of 'saviors' in the form of the aaviri, but which ARE NOT his sons/daughters or in any way comparable to himself, and only passingly comparable to Christ.  

They are more like angels/demons or perhaps like the Japanese interpretations of Oni.  The Aaviri are very powerful, immortal, but not omniscient and not omnipotent.  They cannot create from nothing (as any real deity could).  The Aaviri see more of the will of the Highest, they see more of the BIG PICTURE than humans and other mortals do, and they are closer to the Highest's Heart.  Consequently, the aaviri play for keeps and do not change their opinions of their relationship to mortals or to the Highest easily.  The 'bad' ones are really horrid and will try and undo any plans they perceive the Highest to have, trying to do as much damage to him and to the world he loves as they can before he responds.  The 'good' ones attempt to do as will please the Highest and lead mortals to do the same to the best of their ability.  Mortalkind in Trithofar has the difficult task to choose to follow or not follow the guidance of the aaviri based on how they interpret goodness, mercy, love, etc. for themselves.  The aaviri await judgment based on how they inspire people to be good/bad and how beautiful the souls in their 'possession' become.  To sum up: what have you done with the talents you've been given?  Have you invested them and made yourself and the world around you a richer, better, more loving place?  Or have you served yourself and harmed others and made the world worse?  Alignment with love, mercy, peace, patience, wisdom, goodness, innocence, etc is alignment with the Highest, and therefore is what gets a soul in Trithofar towards heaven, if such a thing is important with fictional characters.  This is the essence of the religions of Trithofar.  

To follow: What religions are in Trithofar.