Blaze The Movie Fan Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I think this would make for an interesting discussion, that's why I made this thread. I'm wondering do there exist atheists in RuneScape? That would be silly as there is evidence that Zamorak, Saraodmin, and more did exist at some point, I mean heck there is even a statue of them. Unlike the god of the real world where there is no evidence of. I highly doubt that atheists exist in Gielinor, that would be like denying the existence of dinosaurs in the real world since the evidence of them are very clear. There could however exist characters who don't worship any god, that's probably a higher possibility, but they wouldn't be atheists though as the definition of an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in a god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essiw Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Cave goblins, also http://runescape.wikia.com/wiki/Holstein,_Emissary_of_the_Godless & http://runescape.wikia.com/wiki/The_Godless http://sign.tip.it/1/2/79/260/essiw.png Retired item crew I would like to be credited as essiw at the website update & corrections forum. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodAngel Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 The Elder Gods do not acknowledge the beings the sentient races on Gielinor as Gods and from what I remember they do not see themselves as Gods. So I guess they could technically be atheists. I don't fully remember how the Elder Gods view themselves though so I could be very wrong :p "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arceus Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I wouldn't doubt that there are some people who would call dinosaurs a hoax, despite all the evidence to the contrary :rolleyes: . But yeah there could still be atheists I guess, if they were either ignorant or very stubborn :P. 1 "Fight for what you believe in, and believe in what you're fighting for." Can games be art? --- My blog here if you want to check out my Times articles and other writings! I always appreciate comments/feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire_Hawk154 Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Maybe Gielinor is just a dream within a dream within a dream, it would explain why time goes so slow (it's always day) and all the magical things that happen. Maybe someone wants our character to believe that there are Gods, when there are none :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essiw Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Maybe Gielinor is just a dream within a dream within a dream, it would explain why time goes so slow (it's always day) and all the magical things that happen. Maybe someone wants our character to believe that there are Gods, when there are none :rolleyes:Some NPC's in runescape are aware (making jokes) that we are playing the character. Not to many though :P http://sign.tip.it/1/2/79/260/essiw.png Retired item crew I would like to be credited as essiw at the website update & corrections forum. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sy_Accursed Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I don't think being atheist in runescape would be silly. Atheism after all is that you do not believe in a god as the ultimate power guiding everything. And whilst yes there are figures we call 'gods' and yes there is proof they exist it is also provable that they are NOT divine beings - they are normal beings who have gained immortality/immense power through exposure to certain very powerful artifacts. Saradomin is just a powerful human.Zamorak is just a powerful mahjratt.Guthix was just a powerful Naragi.Aramdyl is just a powerful aviansieetc. Plus the Godless faction is in of itself a nice big slice of Atheism - they do not believe in the "gods" or their right to command mortals about. Operation Gold Sparkles :: Chompy Kills :: Full Profound :: Champions :: Barbarian Notes :: Champions Tackle Box :: MA RewardsDragonkin Journals :: Ports Stories :: Elder Chronicles :: Boss Slayer :: Penance King :: Kal'gerion Titles :: Gold Statue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alg Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I don't think being atheist in runescape would be silly. Atheism after all is that you do not believe in a god as the ultimate power guiding everything. And whilst yes there are figures we call 'gods' and yes there is proof they exist it is also provable that they are NOT divine beings - they are normal beings who have gained immortality/immense power through exposure to certain very powerful artifacts.Elder Gods. I painted some stuff and put it on tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimberly Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 There are no atheists in Runescape as we know them in RL, exactly. Atheism might mean a refusal to believe in a deity, but it's also taken in the 'real world' to be a refusal that those deities exist. In RuneScape, they do exist. And Gielinor has proof of their existence, very much unlike the 'real world'. There are those in RS who refuse to believe in a deity. In a sense they could be considered atheists, but they're probably better described as antitheists (ex the Godless faction) since they actively oppose any and all of the known deities. Not just upjumped humans, aviansies, and ourgs either but deities like those of the Desert Pantheon, who have origins that (as far as we know) aren't connected with an object that enabled their rise to power. They oppose any influence of a deity in the lives of mortals, do not believe deities have any right to it, and believe that involvement is destructive in the lives of mortals. Those sentiments that define their group is much more antitheism than just atheism. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sy_Accursed Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I don't think being atheist in runescape would be silly. Atheism after all is that you do not believe in a god as the ultimate power guiding everything. And whilst yes there are figures we call 'gods' and yes there is proof they exist it is also provable that they are NOT divine beings - they are normal beings who have gained immortality/immense power through exposure to certain very powerful artifacts.Elder Gods. Even then we do not have proof they are a divine godly being - they are being of immense power yes, but they have flaws and life cycles.But it is lesser beings that have inferred the title of god upon them. Operation Gold Sparkles :: Chompy Kills :: Full Profound :: Champions :: Barbarian Notes :: Champions Tackle Box :: MA RewardsDragonkin Journals :: Ports Stories :: Elder Chronicles :: Boss Slayer :: Penance King :: Kal'gerion Titles :: Gold Statue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essiw Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I don't think being atheist in runescape would be silly. Atheism after all is that you do not believe in a god as the ultimate power guiding everything. And whilst yes there are figures we call 'gods' and yes there is proof they exist it is also provable that they are NOT divine beings - they are normal beings who have gained immortality/immense power through exposure to certain very powerful artifacts.Elder Gods. Only a handfull of people know of their existence, so it would make sense to not believe in a divine being as a runescape NPC. http://sign.tip.it/1/2/79/260/essiw.png Retired item crew I would like to be credited as essiw at the website update & corrections forum. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alg Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Even then we do not have proof they are a divine godly being - they are being of immense power yes, but they have flaws and life cycles.But it is lesser beings that have inferred the title of god upon them.At that point, what's the difference? Because at this point it seems like the definition you're using for godhood isn't one that suits the nature of the setting. :v I painted some stuff and put it on tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sy_Accursed Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Even then we do not have proof they are a divine godly being - they are being of immense power yes, but they have flaws and life cycles.But it is lesser beings that have inferred the title of god upon them.At that point, what's the difference? Because at this point it seems like the definition you're using for godhood isn't one that suits the nature of the setting. :v The nature of the setting isn't exactly relevant to how one might define true godhood.For me to be a true god one needs to be an all powerful, infallible, omnipotent entity that exists in-spite of everything else in whatever given universe/reality.Nothing in the Runescape universe meets this criteria. Elder Gods may be a pinnacle of known power, but they are still flawed and have needs and desires and limitations.Pinning Elder Gods with a yup real genuine "god" badge to me is like calling the most powerful world leaders "gods" irl - just because they are the pinnacle of power that we are aware of us doesn't automatically make them a deity. Atheism is never impossible because it is the disbelief in any form of deity. Just because a particular faith groups calls a particular powerful entity their god and it can be shown that entity exists does not mean you have to believe it is a deity and have a religious faith in it - you can chose to simply believe it is a powerful being that exists by pure chance the same way you do and in doing so you are atheist. Operation Gold Sparkles :: Chompy Kills :: Full Profound :: Champions :: Barbarian Notes :: Champions Tackle Box :: MA RewardsDragonkin Journals :: Ports Stories :: Elder Chronicles :: Boss Slayer :: Penance King :: Kal'gerion Titles :: Gold Statue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alg Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 The nature of the setting isn't exactly relevant to how one might define true godhood.For me to be a true god one needs to be an all powerful, infallible, omnipotent entity that exists in-spite of everything else in whatever given universe/reality.Nothing in the Runescape universe meets this criteria. Elder Gods may be a pinnacle of known power, but they are still flawed and have needs and desires and limitations.Pinning Elder Gods with a yup real genuine "god" badge to me is like calling the most powerful world leaders "gods" irl - just because they are the pinnacle of power that we are aware of us doesn't automatically make them a deity.Yes, but in the context of Runescape there just isn't any frame of reference for that kind of god and it wouldn't make sense for anyone ingame to make that argument, because the gods they have are different. While it wouldn't be unusual for someone to doubt the gods' divinity or refuse to worship them, it wouldn't make sense for them to do so on the grounds that the gods are not omnipotent enough. In short, it's meta-knowledge that we the players have because we live in a world where that is the mainstream definition of godhood based on the current dominant religions. 1 I painted some stuff and put it on tumblr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sy_Accursed Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 And?My personal measure for what I would consider a true god does not need to apply to anyone other than myself. Whatever your personal measure is, be you a real person or an npc, all that matters for atheism is that you do not recognise any supposed god-figure as a god.I never stipulated any grounds on which characters in RS need to measure what they think of as the benchmark for being an actual not just given a title by folks god. My point was just because of the context in which Runescape exists does not automatically mean the Elder Gods or Young Gods meet any given characters measure of a true god. Operation Gold Sparkles :: Chompy Kills :: Full Profound :: Champions :: Barbarian Notes :: Champions Tackle Box :: MA RewardsDragonkin Journals :: Ports Stories :: Elder Chronicles :: Boss Slayer :: Penance King :: Kal'gerion Titles :: Gold Statue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saradomin_Mage Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Nothing important was missed :P In real life MMO you don't get 99 smithing by making endless bronze daggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaze The Movie Fan Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 You know guys, you gave me things to think about regarding this that I never thought about before. Which makes me wonder, are the gods of RuneScape very much like Jesus and Hercules? It seems that way to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoko Kurama Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Atheism would be completely irrational in Runescape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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