fandomhigh | Hubris from Revelation: the Social Engineering of Ultimate Truths [Monday, Period 3]

"In religion, a prophet is a person who has been contacted by, or has encountered, the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other humans. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy," Ghanima began. "Claims of prophets have existed in many cultures through history, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, the Sybilline and Delphic Oracles practices in Ancient Greece, Zoroaster, the Völuspá in Old Norse, and many others. Traditionally, prophets are regarded as having a role in society that promotes change due to their messages and actions."

"And where prophecy walks, the concept of destiny is not far behind. Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe."

"Some believe that divine guidence may be ascertained by divination. In the belief systems of many cultures, one's destiny can only be learned about through a shaman, babalawo, prophet, sibyl, saint or seer. In the Shang dynasty in China, turtle bones were thrown ages before the I Ching was codified. Arrows were tossed to read destiny, from Thrace to pagan Mecca. In Yoruba traditional religion, the Ifá oracle is consulted via a string of sixteen cowries or oil-palm nuts whose pattern when thrown on to a wooden tray represents the 256 possible combinations whose named "chapters" are recited and verses interpreted for the client by the babalawo. Every society has their own way of fortelling a future, from worm entrails to crystal balls. My empire put its fate in the hands of a family that can walk the veils of time, forward and back, to see what lies beyond, and now they're stuck with the future that the Mahdi chose. Oracles can be a tricky bunch, and you must always assume that they may have a hidden agenda of their own."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As if you're divinely inspired!

Astrid Magnussen

Peebee

Lana Beniko

Take notes, pass notes, etc

Okay, so, Astrid really didn't believe in a whole lot of this stuff. She was open to the ideas of it, with no strong convinctions, but, for someone who was planning on spending her evening hunched over a pack of tarot cards, it was...a little difficult not to read a little bit into the subject matter of the class today.

Coincidence...or something more? Kind of fascinating, if anything.

"To some people, the terms prophet and oracle mean two completely different things. To others, it's two names for the same function," Ghanima said. "Either way, prophecy - and religion - can be easily controlled and distorted through the words of mere mortals. What are the differences between prophets and oracles to you? What are the similarities? If you wanted to control a religious group, which option would you use? Why? Would you be the oracle yourself, or simply twist the words of the divine to suit your own purposes?"

Lana frowned. "I confess I'm not certain of the difference myself. In my galaxy, anyone attuned to the Force may experience visions or dreams - they can meditate to attempt to make them more likely, but they generally simply are. And of course, anyone can claim to have had a vision; it's up to others to determine whether they believe them."

For when you get tired of talking about oracles, you can try your hand at being one. At various stations around the room, Ghanima has set up various fortune telling equipment. Tarot cards, books on chiromancy, crystal balls, the I Ching, and various types of runes. Pair up, and either try to divine your own destiny, or that of your partner, and discuss.

[OOC: As it says, have fun! Feel free to handwave, mod the equipment on your table, or use the power of the internet to get a reading for your character.]

Once she tags in.

Lana is here! And trying to figure out if hearing the Force and having visions would count as an oracle, a prophecy, or neither.

She's here!

too much cold; world has ended.

Hubris from Revelation: the Social Engineering of Ultimate Truths [Monday, Period 3]

Sign-In

Re: Sign-In

Re: Sign-In

Re: Sign-In

During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Discussion

Re: Discussion

Activity: Divination!

Talk to the TA

Re: Talk to the TA

Talk to Ghanima

ooc