Conviction

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======What the scripture was meant to mean and why======
The revelations were often deliberately unclear, OC because having ambiguity and room for interpretation was more interesting, and IC because they were translated from many different languages and Heaven thought people would be more inclined to value the scripture if they only came to an understanding of it gradually. They weren't IC trying to be vague and confusing, more just not very explicit. Now the game is over though, we can make it all clearer. Characters can interpret the scripture how they like, but these are the reasons the angels, saints and GMs said these things.

> //"When an angel comes to you bearing proclamations and commandments, spread the news far and wide. Engrave the words on stone so that they are not forgotten, and bring them to all the people of the Earth. Engrave them also on your hearts, and follow them always."//
> ---Tabaga, March 1, translation corrected, Tabaga, May 3267
Pretty self-explanatory. Tabaga was setting up the system of scripture itself.

> //"God created the world from which humans arose with neither good nor evil in it. Now, standing between Heaven and Hell, it is your duty to break the balance for good."//
> ---Mana, February 4
This is explained more on the [[eternities:God and Heaven]] page. God could not create the world unless it was neutral with respect to Their desires, and was relying on the living things that arose naturally within it through evolution to turn it into what it was intended to be. Of course, there are several other important bits of information implied here.

> //"The society of Heaven moves in perfect harmony, but Earth is not, and cannot be, another Heaven. You must pursue your own harmony and learn how good works here."//
> ---Tabaga, November 12
Similar to Mana 4 about humans' duty to improve the world, and also the idea that humanity should try to be independent of Heaven. God wanted the principles of safey and trust to be followed within the physical plane itself, not just imposed externally. Heaven and Hell have about equal power to impose their will externally, so humanity needs to do this on their own. The fundamental differences between the spiritual and physical planes imply that applying the same approach won't work in both.

> //"You must find your way to trust in each other. To instantly know that those around you can be relied upon, and they can rely on you. This faith in each other is where you shall draw your strength."//
> ---Pasamama, November 18
Straightforwardly promoting the ideal of trust, linking it to other positive outcomes, and further showing what an ideal society should look like.

>//"When the refugees come to you, running and afraid, invite them in to this house that I have blessed. Everyone who enters shall be perfectly safe. But if one comes to you seeking to harm those you protect, refuse them at the door, and they will not enter."//
>---Takana, August 20
Just explaining how the miracle of sanctuary works. Also kind of promoting safety.

> //"The faithful should learn to see the work of the divine in every flower, and to tend to their spirits as they may tend to a garden."//
> ---Paga, April 24

> //"Wisdom is to consider carefully every danger before it occurs. Cut off every single path leading to failure, however narrow."//
> ---Mana, May 26
Promoting safety.

> //"There are eleven thousand, one hundred and ten angels, and five hundred and eighty five saints."//
> ---Bagasama, September 28
Letting people know a bit more about how Heaven works. OC, there are this many angels because I like things to be neat and tidy, and this is how many angel names of one to four syllables there are. IC, God doesn't care about neatness the way I do, the creation of the angels predates their naming, and it's probably at least partially a coincidence.

> //"Just because a demon is gone, that does not mean the danger has passed. Hexes, like miracles, may last where they are placed."//
> ---St. Narenda, May 53
Certain demons, like Pfmsltr, have the ability to make persistent hexes.

>//“Falsifying scripture is a crime of the highest order, for it upsets the relationship of Heaven and Earth. If it is a mistake, ensure it does not happen again. If it is deliberate, have no tolerance, and nor will we. If the genuineness of a revelation is in doubt, ask and I will clarify.”//
>---Bagasama, January 55 (later amended to clarify that Bagasama may not be able to respond to every prayer and these enquiries should be directed at other angels instead)
Falsifying scripture has always been one of the things Heaven takes most seriously. If people can just go around claiming whatever they like is scripture, how can anyone trust Heaven and trust that the scripture they hear is true? Falsifying scripture is probably the only thing that will always get you punished by Heaven if someone else doesn't do it first (until the events of the game, that is, when it became more possible to hide from Heaven).

> //"Let it be known! Whatever you say, God hears. Whatever you write, God reads. Whatever you sign, God sees."//
> ---Tabaga, June 59
I hadn't realised until now that this is the first instance of "Let it be known!" on the scripture page. It's just meant to signify that the angel/saint intends what they're saying to be scripture. OC, this was a key part of the game's premise, so it seemed worth having a revelation about it.

> //"Let it be known! Sex outside of marriage and multiple simultaneous marriages are forbidden."//
> ---Sapa, September 60
Sapa, who specialises in preventing infectious disease, was just trying to prevent the spread of STDs. I considered having a more complicated rule, but this seemed more reliable, and in line with the general theme of sacrificing other values in the service of safety. OC, it was also intended as an example of scripture being updated for changing circumstances.

> //"The most important thing is to deal with the body quickly, before it can begin to putrify. Dispose of it where it cannot cause contamination, or else destroy it."//
> ---Sapa, December 62, responding to a question on funeral rites
Again, preventing disease.

> //"If there is something that cannot be done safely, it is best to not do it at all."//
> ---Takana, July 66
I realised part way through the game that the big cultural emphasis on caution wasn't as clear as I wanted, so I added this revelation and Mana May 26.

> //"The angels are not alone in Heaven, for those mortals who best follow our guidance and God's will live on with us there after their deaths."//
> ---Bama, July 96
Explaining what saints are. OC, this was intentionally a bit vague, and possible to take to mean that all good people get into Heaven, not just the best of the best who become saints. IC, Bama wasn't intending to be confusing, but after people started misinterpreting this revelation, Heaven deliberately didn't correct them because the promise of a reward after death was a useful motivator.

> //"Let it be known! In every single accident and every single injury, there is blame to be assigned and fault to be corrected."//
> ---Tabaga, August 131
Heaven wants humanity to aim for perfection in pursuing safety, not just good enough. Also just making a point about learning from your mistakes. Maybe you didn't know what you were doing was dangerous, but why didn't you know that? Is there any sort of procedure you can use in future to make sure you do know? Even if you didn't cause the accident, is there anything you could have done to prevent it?

> //"Let it be known! The trade of species between their native lands endangers the balance of our lands. Beware their unfettered spread."//	 
> ---Tamapa, March 151
This was written in response to a question about whether red squirrels exist in Bexgate. Yes!

> //"An understanding of the will of God is best pursued together with one's community, to avoid misunderstandings and aid cooperation."//
> ---Datatada, October 168

> //"Do not worry, your injury does not prevent you from praying. The gesture is merely traditional. Simply address us aloud by name, and we will hear."//
> ---St. Viktor, April 251
Explaining how prayer works. The "aloud by name" is the crucial bit.

> //"When you are struck, you may wish to stay out of harm's way by avoiding the one who struck you. If instead you find your way to believe in their goodness again, even before they show it, it will be for the better of all."//
> ---St. Ananda, June 292
Promoting trust. God doesn't fundamentally care whether trust is justified, only that it exists.

> //"Let it be known! A demon's hold on a witch is only as strong as the power of their grasp. Neither rely on avoiding the debt they claim nor lose all hope that you might."//
> ---Pasamama, 303
Heaven didn't want to completely explain how witchcraft and damnation worked, for fear that would make people more willing to try working with demons, but at the same time, they wanted people who has already made deals to have the confidence to defy the demons (like Abius and Teresa did).

>//“With the demons in Hell reside the damned, subject entirely to the demons' whims and cruelty. This fate awaits those who allow themselves to be tricked into it.”//
>---St. Naram-Sin, November 357
Again, being a bit vague on the details they don't want to admit to, Heaven is trying to make people more scared of demons.

> //"Let it be known! Mix oil with an extract of wood ash in water until it reaches an even and frothy consistency. This mixture should be used to improve cleanliness and prevent disease."//
> ---Sapa, August 403
Soap is one of the few things invented by angels. They're usually not very creative. As usual, Sapa was trying to prevent diseases. OC, this may have been motivated in part by the fact that it gives originalists (who insist on following Sapa's exact recipe) and essentialists (who realise that pretty much any amphiphilic substance will do) something do disagree on. Unsurprisingly, the essentialists are right here. Sapa doesn't care what soap recipe you use, so long as you avoid spreading disease.

> //"It is most honourable to share your home and resources with those who have them not; kindness is always honourable."//
> ---St. Kunich, November 615
You've got to have scripture for a Tabby turnsheet (in this case to back her up in asking people to open their homes to refugees following the rift), and it felt like this was something that would have been said at some point.

> //"Do not eat the soap!"//
> ---Sapa, March 566
Due to Sapa's previous revelation, and in particular its vagueness on how soap should be used, a tradition of consuming soap as a medicine or ritual started. Once it became clear that trend was sticking around, Sapa corrected it. OC, of course, I included this because I thought it was funny. It's also an example of a seemingly arbitrary rule.

> //"Bright sunlight holds hidden dangers. Sunburn remains deadly even after it heals."//
> ---St. Otto, March 657
This is one of many revelations warning people about the danger of something it would have been difficult for them to discover was dangerous themselves.

> //"There are no words and no languages in Heaven. We live in a state of spiritual communion."//
> ---Pagasa, June 684
Angels (and demons) using non-linguistic communication, directly communicating the concepts themselves rather than symbols, seemed more interesting than having a language of Heaven.

> //"We endorse Prince Ranil's claim to the throne."//
> ---Tafasasa, March 745
IC, this revelation avoided a war of succession that would otherwise have occurred, and Ranil seemed most in-line with Heaven's goals at the time out of the likely candidates. OC, this was added as an example of the lead-up to the [[eternities:history_of_the_world#years_700_800_ish|Holy Wars]].

> //"The majority of diseases are caused by infestation with invisibly miniscule creatures. They are the essence of uncleanness. Keep track of what materials might have become infested, and avoid contact with them, to avoid disease."//
> ---Sapa, August 757
Self-explanatory.

> //"Those who are following God's will can acheive any goal, for it is the one common banner under which all the world may unite."//
> ---St. Quintus, March 762
Indirectly promoting the Holy Wars.

> //"Wage no wars and fight no battles in My name. No matter who your enemy is, all mankind are My people."//
> ---God, June 905
Condemning the Holy Wars

> //"The bedrock of a strong and stable community is our common faith."//
> ---St. Vittoria, February 1020

>//“To take vengeance on those who could not have done otherwise is to merely let your anger overcome your better nature.”//
>---St. Viktor, August 1052
Vaguely related to safety, and to a lesser extent trust.

> //"Most commands of Heaven are not intended to be absolute. If you find them considerably harder than most, we can forgive you for pursuing good in your own way."//
> ---St. Elizabeth, April 1102
Most of the revelations that give instructions are kind of just guidelines that Heaven expected would usually help, but the point isn't the rules themselves, it's trust and safety. If someone is really struggling with a particular rule, it probably isn't serving its purpose for that person.

> //"All things are all things are all things."//
> ---St Xiuzhen, September 1455

> //"Divorce is permitted, but remarriage is not permitted until a year has passed."//
> ---Damapada, February 1558
The point in marriage, as far a Heaven is concerned, is mostly avoiding STDs (and maybe a bit of promoting trust too), so it doesn't have to be for life to serve its purpose. The year's gap is again an STD thing, kind of like a period of quarantine, so that people don't just get married at the start of a one night stand and get divorced at the end of it.

> //"No human alone can be a match for a demon, whether monstrous or disguised, but your strength is not in yourselves alone. Your weapons defeat castle walls, and the demon is not stronger than that."//
> ---Fasada, April 1792
Up until this point, defending humans from demons was mostly the work of angels and saints, but technology was progressing to the point where it was becoming possible for humans to defeat demons themselves, and as usual, Heaven wanted to reduce humanity's reliance on them. This is one of the few cases where, of multiple popular interpretations, the literalist one is correct. Fasada was referring to seige weapons, not the power of friendship.

> //"Your illness is not a punishment, and nor is your death. I am so sorry it had to happen this way, but humans need to be mortal if we are to figure out how to live."//
> ---St. Inigo, June 1974, responding to the prayer of a woman dying young.
This is meant to give an explanation for why Heaven doesn't just heal everyone. If every injury and disease were healed by miracle, there would be no incentive for medicine to progress (also, there aren't enough angels and saints that they'd even be able to heal everyone if they wanted to). The "figure out how to live" here is meant more like "how to survive", and is referring to advances in medicine, not some sort of death-gives-life-meaning philosophy. OC I deliberately phrased it in a confusing way.

> //"Bama has chosen to honor me with beatification. I promise to perform the duties of a saint with kindness and fidelity."//
> ---St. Renagi, December 2036
Tabby looked up every single revelation St. Renagi had given at one point, and this was one of them, even if it's not terribly important. She was kind of just letting her family know she was okay.

> //"Opium leads to neglect and moral decay. Its use is forbidden."//
> ---St. Mxolisi, December 2080
Promoting both trust and safety.

> //"I feel your pain and I wish I could have done more. Please believe that I am doing all I can. Our limits are not mortal limits but saints have limits still."//
> ---St. Renagi, February 2148
St. Renagi struggled for a while with Heaven's rules on not using her powers to help more people. That's not quite what she's referring to here though. Just like humans doing physical work, there's only so much a saint or angel can use their miracles before getting tired out.

> //"Any flammable building of more than one room that is regularly occupied by people must have surprise tests of its fire evacuation procedure conducted at least twice annually."//
> ---Tanasada, September 2282
OC I was feeling annoyed by my college's early-morning fire drills, and reflecting on the fact that our head porter seems to care only about our safety to the exclusion of our welfare (it's not just the existence of the fire drills, but this is not the place to rant about that), then I realised that Conviction's God has the same attitude, so fire drills even in residential buildings became a thing IC.

> //"Many have asked what to do when their duty to their fellow man conflicts with their duty to God. I can only answer this: do not ask so much of anyone that they will have to make this choice."//
> ---St. Renagi, May 2593
Keeping promises is a very important instrumental goal towards creating trust, but there's no general rule for whether that's more important than other rules. It depends too much on the circumstances, hence Renagi declining to answer.

> //"All things are created, and they are created in their own shapes and with their own virtues."//
> ---St. Borchu, October 2811

> //"Let it be known! Those who hurry though life hoping to become saints quickly will never be able to reach Heaven. Follow our guidance and bring God's ways into your heart and serve Them faithfully in your life on Earth for as long as you are able."//
> ---Bama, February 2925
Anyone with enough commitment to safety to deserve to be a saint should almost certainly have a long life. The role of saints is to guide humanity to live in accordance with God's will, so what use is it if they don't do that themselves? Don't rely too much on an afterlife to the exclusion of the one you already have. Hurrying in a more general sense also tends to be unsafe.

> //"Those who invent devices have a grave duty to consider their dangers. Not all learning is good."//
> ---St. Ranjit, January 3494
An example of sacrificing other values (technological progress and the many advantages it brings) in service of safety.

> //"If we know more about the world, it is because we see more deeply."//
> ---Fanasa, July 3538
A combination of general "We know better than you." and an allusion to the magical senses they have.

> //"If your brother should fall, pick him up. If your neighbour's harvest fails, feed them. If one is lost, find them."//
> ---St. Muse, February 3602
Promoting both safety and trust. The list is meant more to get across the general idea, with the specific examples being less important.

> //"Only the foolish believe a demon. No unprofitable truth has ever passed their lips, no profitable lie has ever gone unsaid."//
> ---St. Mlungisi, August 3659

> //"Let it be known! Do not reduce your green spaces to naught but grass. Make provisions for the bees, as they have made provisions for us. One bush of lavender may mean joy for humans and life for the hive."//
> ---Fasa, February 3660

> //"If you suspect that your senses are not accurately reflecting the world around you, do not ignore that suspicion."//
> ---St. Bodo, January 3670

>//“If you invent forbidden and dangerous things, not only will you face the punishment set for the crime, but your learning will be confiscated too. Do not hope what you have made will be worth what you face, for you will not even have it.”//
>---Matafada, March 3686
Again, discouraging irresponsible invention, extra relevant now the industrial revolution is well underway.

> //"Do not rely too much on heaven's aid, but we will help the mortal saviours who are doing God's work. The people of Wesmarch may call on me in times of need when a telephone is not available, and I will direct the fire brigade or the police to them."//
> ---Nafafa, March 3710
While this is in a way humans relying on Heaven, it's the people who actually go to the scene of the emergency who are actually doing the most of the work. Nafafa is just helping them do that, and for such a great benefit (that people can almost always pray but may lack other means of communicating, and their lives will often be saved), it's worth it.

> //"The penalties associated with fornication have been harsher than necessary. To rush into an unstable marriage for no better reason than lust is harmful and irresponsible."//
> ---St. Mxolisi, July 3719
By this point, other methods of avoiding STDs (like antibiotics) had been invented, so the old rules were obsolete, especially given that God likes when people take risks that are mitigated. OC this was also intended as another thing where originalists and essentialists could differ on the interpretation, as to whether this revokes Sapa September 60 entirely.

> //"When you find your way to follow us with joy in your heart and trust in God, that is when your greatest works will be done."//
> ---Dadanama, February 3736
Promoting trust, and also the idea that following God isn't meant to be a painful process. If people find a way to follow God's will and also like it, that's much more stable.

>//“The capacity of your society to prevent witchcraft is intolerably poor.”//
>---Dababa, August 3758
This revelation, and most of the others from this point on, are reactions to [[eternities:history_of_the_world#section3757|the first attempt]] to kill God, taking a much harsher stance on witchcraft and heresy in order to avoid it happening again.

> //"Justice for witches means death."//
> ---Fasada, September 3799
Again, taking a harsher stance on witchcraft.

>//“The agents of God's Commission must be granted whatever rights they need under the law to carry out their mission of combating demons, witches and heretics, for it is a mission whose importance surpasses that of the other functions of the state.”//
>---Dababa, July 3807
Heaven didn't exactly say the Commission should take over the world, but that outcome was still in line with what they wanted.

> //"Unreported evil flourishes like mushrooms in shade. There shall be no place in Heaven's plan for those who shelter evil by their silence."//
> ---Damapa, July 3810

> //"Work together to achieve vigilance against demons and those who would aid them. All should seek to play their part in ensuring justice."//
> ---Pata, January 3813

> //"Those who fail due to their trust being betrayed are not blameworthy for the fault, but if you trust a demon, all the harm and loss this brings is your fault alone."//
> ---St. Irina, December 3818
A compromise between promoting trust but not so much that people fall for demons.

> //"The surest way to avoid damnation is to avoid all contact with demons."//
> ---St. Rudzani, December 3823
Basically true, if a little misleading. It incentivises the behaviour Heaven wants though.

> //"The development, training and execution of neural networks and analogous nonlinear techniques containing over 500 parameters is forbidden."//
> ---Sasamasa, June 3847
Computing technology had advanced to the point where superintelligent AI, while still a distant prospect, was something that needed to be prepared for very carefully. 500 parameters is very low, because Sasamasa intended that not only would no legal AI possibly achieve superintelligence, but also no AI that could be extrapolated quickly from legally developed methods by just increasing the network size and amount of training could possibly achieve superintelligence, with a wide margin for error.

> //"The influence of demons is a corruption on all that they cause."//
> ---Damafada, September 3850
General anti-demon stuff. It may not be true in quite as literal a sense as some take it, but anything that a demon does will almost always be contrary to God's will, and should therefore be prevented. It also implies a degree of vigilance against trickery by demons. You can't trust that you understand their plan because they're very good at deception, you should just assume that whatever they caused to happen is probably what they intended, and is therefore probably bad.

> //"The destruction of Pessenta was the direct result of the interference of the demons Ksl and Fnshn. All of the witches involved were killed in the blast while the demons survived, discorporated. Let this be a warning to anyone who thinks a demon is helping them."//
> ---Madatasa, September 3856
Pessenta was destroyed by a nuclear bomb, Heaven just didn't want to go into too much detail in case it gave anyone ideas. The demons were unable to create the bomb themselves because of the restrictions God placed on them for just this reason, but with the collaboration of some witches, they succeeded. Nukes are one of the technologies whose development Heaven had been preventing. Also, with a single world-spanning state, there's less war anyway. Apart from just announcing what happened, Madatasa is of course using it to hammer home the point that demons are bad and can't be trusted.

> //"Demons may promise you the world for committing some atrocity, but you will find if you accept their deals that you are left with only your guilt. Honesty is not in their nature."//
> ---St. Boris, August 3862
If you pay a demon up-front, they will often just betray you and not give you what was agreed on. The deals are not actually binding, and it's in Heaven's interests to make this known because it makes working with demons less tempting.

> //"Let it be known! The unpublished paper by Wang et al on the myovirus gene therapy system significantly underestimates the rate of dangerous mistargeting. Review how this error occurred, and do not allow it to happen again."//
> ---Manatana, June 3886
Manatana discovered the error using their malfunction-sight. The revelation is just a pretty standard safety thing.

> //"-And the demon Rsmmxn spoke; 'All is more equal than humans can see'."// (The revelation is cut off here, and what remains is a fragment recovered by Jamie Holton.)
> ---St. Irina, September 3899
The full revelation is as follows: "A town was infested with demons, and [one] demon Rsmmxn spoke; 'All is more equal than humans can see. Heaven and Hell are siblings, and serving one serves the other.' This is untrue. Continue to follow only Heaven's words." Self-explanatory. The difference in wording is on account of a slightly incorrect translation that Pastor Holton was working with. The reason this scripture was unpopular was due to the specific mention of a demon's name, which would have allowed people to pray to them. Heaven would, of course, rather avoid this.

> //"The permitted number of parameters in a neural network is increased to 1500."//
> ---Sasamasa, January 3902
Sasamasa, in collaboration with human researchers, had determined that AI safety research had gone as far as it could without more advanced AIs to experiment on, and also confirmed that the level of capabilities the previous limit permitted indicated that this increase would be safe.

> //"Let it be known! The rapid spread of Enkuan Knotweed threatens biodiversity, and stands to leave only poor soil and disaster in its wake. Be tireless in removing it beyond its native land until the threat is ended!"//
> ---Bagasama, October 3914

> //"Let it be known! Those who aid demons in their work know not the harm that they do, nor the danger in which they place themselves. Those who abuse the miracles of God and the miracles of those who do Their work shall bring naught but evil upon themselves and upon the world. True safety for witches is an illusion."//
> ---Manatana, November 3914

> //"It is a vile abuse of a sanctuary to hide there from the righful justice of Heaven's agents on Earth."//
> ---St. Lena, November 3914
In response to word about Bexgate St. Renagi's getting out, many other sanctuaries worldwide were occupied by anti-Commission protesters. Unfortunately for them, the miracle of sanctuary does not protect you from harm inflicted by Heaven (unlike the hex of sanctuary which St. Renagi's had). Heaven still supported the Commission and disapproved of these protests, and wanted to scare them off without just killing them all (even if the Commission would then execute them outside, that's the Commission's business). This revelation was aimed at those protesters as well as the people at Bexgate St. Renagi's who Heaven couldn't actually reach.

> //"The regions marked on this map are cursed. The exact boundaries can be seen by the rifts that have opened in the ground. Entering or remaining in these areas is forbidden. Do not panic, but evacuate in an orderly manner as directed by the authorities. Limited exceptions may be granted, including for the process of moving everything necessary into permitted areas, and patrolling to enforce this rule."//
> --- Tabaga, November 3914 (A world map is included with this text. About half the world is marked.)
Heaven knew that all those people being away from Heaven's sight and influence was likely to go badly for them, so they insisted that everyone leave. Unlike the Bexgate branch of the Commission, Tabaga was not insisting that this evacuation happen on a ridiculously fast timescale. The more time people were subjected to risk from demons, the worse, but it would probably take years to scale up production of necessities like food on the non-cursed land enough to support everyone, and the harm that would have come from a hasty evacuation would be contrary to the ideal of safety. Not that any such evacuation wouldn't still cause harm, but that's a necessary compromise.

> //"Never forget the lessons I have taught you. My saints and angels will be here to guide you, and I have every faith that you will make the perfect world you were destined for without me."//
> --- God, November 3914
God knew that news of Their death would get out soon anyway, and wanted to mitigate negative reactions to it, in particular people giving up on following God's will because They were no longer there. The perfect world was always the plan, and God knows that it's achievable. Having every faith that it will happen may be taking things a bit far, but God is choosing to be trusting.

{{tag>writeupeternity gm_andrew proofread_please}}