A Visit Between Faiths (Open)

[Beatrice]

The Inter-Faith Dialogue

My counterparts,

As you are undoubtedly aware a meeting of Abrahamic faiths is presently taking place largely under the narrative that the Abrahamic world is somehow under attack. This comes as Patriarch Alexy  increasingly employs language that seems to be geared toward fomenting a "holy conflict" of sorts between the Abrahamic Faiths and those which have no ties to the Abrahamic Faiths. Given the history of the Rosari Faith with Christianity and the rhetoric we are seeing from the Patriarch I felt it was prudent that our Faiths should meet to discuss how we should move forward in this new and uncertain era, and to promote a path for the maintenance of peace between the Faiths of Mundus.

I thus invite all of you to the Caelestis Curia, Templum Septem, in Pyrettania so we may address the challenges of the present era we find ourselves in. I look forward to your responses and our meeting to find the best path forward in these uncertain times, as well as manners to diffuse the language presented by some in the Abrahamic community. The Rosari Faith holds no ill-will nor animosity to our Abrahamic brothers and sisters, yet we cannot proceed without addressing the issues which face all faiths that are not Abrahamic.

Until we should meet;

Lady Yuna
Grand Maester of the Rosari Faith
Most Humble of Islyna

[DaveIronside]

The Cult of Helus does not share the view of the Grand Maester.

We believe that the MCUR does include articles that are of a nature that goes against several major religious beliefs. The Cult shares the view that while having the right to do something is one thing while actually doing it is another. For example while the MCUR has articles permitting gender reassignment surgery the Cult believes that while an outward change may take place that does not mean a person's gender is actually changed as this is something assigned by Helus. As East Moreland has effective separation between "Church" and state we would not have advised King David to have signed the document. We therefore can see why other religions may have taken to opposing the MCUR.

We also feel that pointing that the Christian faith is somehow likely to pose a threat is not accurate. I would remind the Grand Maester that we have witnessed two religious genocides in the last five years, once in Royal Seleucid and once in Mavrosia, both against Cultists, and both carried out by people not from the Christian faith. To my knowledge we have not seen Christians target any faith in recent history.

Finally we ourselves take umbrage . In a recent speech you stated " one can be Rosari while also being a Christian, Muslim, Cultist, or Namist". This is not true. You can not be a follower of the Cult of Helus and another religion. The worship of Helus is not some menu from which a person can pick or choose which bits they select, or which bits they change to suit their own tastes or interpretations. Our faiths have fundemental differences. We believe that one day the Underlords will return and that there will be a battle that will see a new world rise from the ashes. Meanwhile your faith believes in a  'transition' where the physical world will be transformed into a new, higher form. These two views are incompatable. Another significant difference is that you believe Islyna is the goddess on justice, meanwhile we believe this is Frossaj. You may say this is merely a difference of understanding but then that is not the Cult but rather a different faith. Your belief of a soul being weighed against a strand of a Goddesses hair at death is also very different to our belief of standing before your ancestors and the Gods. We shall not ever support your view that the Cult of Helus and any faith are capable of being compatible. Anyone claiming to be a Cultist-Rosari will not be able to undertake a sword ceremony nor may their remains be permitted to be stored on Temple grounds, these honours are reserved entirely for those faithful to Helus and Helus alone.

Should you still wish to discuss religious co-operation on other matters we would naturally give you our attention. It is our belief people must choose to serve Helus and those belonging to other faiths can still make a positive contribution to Mundus. All faiths must be respected and none are our enemies.

May The Gods Watch Over You and Your Nation Know Peace

Skye Maddix
High Priestess of the Cult of Helus

[Beatrice]

Let’s move things here. https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=2021.msg17805#msg17805

[Beatrice]

OOC: Consider this a soft reset.

The Inter-Faith Initiative

I look forward to meeting with you all as we discuss the issues facing the Faithful across Mundus, especially in areas which aren't welcoming of faiths other than those prescribed by their Government, or those who are seemingly hostile to faith itself. For those unable to come, such as Akasha Di-‘nh-mi-Re, I thank you for your pledge of support for the initiatives we are setting forth.

1. The Inter-Faith Legal Defense Fund: A fund which will be established to cover the legal costs (including bail and fines) of individuals facing religious persecution and intolerance. The IFD will also partner with attorneys licensed to practice law in their respective nations to ensure that each person accused by the State receives the best defense possible.

2. Inter-Faith Dignity Fund: Following the release of those Faithful who are imprisoned, the Dignity Fund will be established to assist them in their lives post-release. This will include funds for housing, as well as assistance in finding employment. If no employment is available due to stigma for their faith, cooperation with friendly governments will be sought to offer them employment opportunities at foreign-based companies within their nation or, failing that, embassies and consulates, pending there are no security concerns.

Lady Yuna
Grand Maester of the Rosari Faith
Most Humble of Islyna

Templum Septem, Pyrettania

Grand Maester Yuna awaited her counterparts within the Templum Septem, prepared to begin the proceedings upon their arrivals. With support for the funds being evident, it would be a matter of addressing such incidents in nations beyond NA.
OOC: I know there's one or two others interested, so just show up and tomorrow or the day after I'll be posting Yuna's opening remarks.

[Achkaerin]

The Achkaerin Inter Faith Forum is an initiative which has existed for a few years now and has become a very friendly and thoughtful environment where through the lens of our faiths we explore social issues, meeting in each others respective places of worship, experiencing as far as we can each others acts of worship and while our debates and discussions do become passionate at times we always begin and end as friends with respect for each other and there are times we contact each other during the days between meetings to discuss something that was said that has stuck with us, we have found that there are many similarities in our viewpoints but equally many differences as well. One such difference is the Hyphenated of the Rosari, while we respect the Rosari believe that "one can be Rosari while also being a Christian, Muslim, Cultist, or Namist even because all faiths route back to a truth which is indeed universal, and one which is at its heart, good." we as the leaders of these faiths in Achkaerin disagree with this assertion, we don't say that the Rosari can't choose to believe this is possible however we look to our own beliefs, our own scriptures which challenge that assertion for example the first sacred tenet of the Cult of Namis is "Pay homage to no God other than the Trinity." meaning the Goddess's Namis, Kisara and Xiaoyu, additionally the book of Exodus chapter 20 verses 2-7 states:

"I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Abydos[1], the place of your slavery. You must not have any other God but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affections for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected - even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish in unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name."

So taking both of these scriptural passages as examples it is hoped that the Grand Maester can see how the concept of the "Hyphenated" is perhaps contrary to other faiths, it is noted that if one were to read a little further in the Exodus to verses 13-16 one would read "You must not commit murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely against your neighbour." these are indicative laws that underpin, in one form or another modern society across multiple nations where the dominant faith is different, whether it be Achkaerin, East Moreland, Vaguzia, Tytor, Samantra, Rayyu, Nya Aland, Lodja, Rokkenjima or Tamora and each faith makes known in its own way that such things are not to be done. So while we as a forum note that faiths have times when they are similar whether it be how the Abrahamic faiths share a common history or how the Namist and Rosari faiths delve into nature, there are times where naturally we disagree.

Turning now to the situation that has developed over recent times, the Forum notes its disapproval of the Emir's statement of Mundus being "an ultra liberal world order devoid of Gods guidance." we believe such a statement to be inflammatory, unhelpful and unnecessary as it implies that actions of those not of the Abrahamic faiths are not guided by the Divine, such disrespect is unbecoming and only escalates a situation. Speculation around the conference called by the Emir is "it may be an alternative approach to human rights than the MCUR. The move however may just be an attempt at forging closer relationships with people the Emir believes would likely share a common outlook on world affairs." This sounds very much like a political agenda being pursued rather than a theological one, so a spade should be called a spade - it is well documented that the MCUR has come in for a great deal of criticism over the years, generally from nations who despite what it says choose to twist its words to suit an agenda, the most obvious example of this in recent times being Pharaoh Akasha of Clysperis, she claimed that Seaforth enforced the MCUR against her nation - a falsehood that she was successfully challenged on, for the simple reason that the MCUR's jurisdiction is within the borders of its signatories. That means that there is no conceivable way that the MCUR could be used to do that as Clysperis is not a signatory, in truth what happened was that a nation with a strong anti-slavery, anti-servitude principle sanctioned Clysperis. In the same vein it is not surprising that nations who believe in equality and stand for that would pass comment on something that appears to be condoning inequality. The Emir is entitled to seek his alternative MCUR document should  he choose to however we remind the Grand Maester that any such agreement, if one is reached, would face the same point on jurisdiction that the MCUR does - regardless of any law applying in Samantra, a Samantran travelling to Achkaerin is subject to Achkaerinese law just as an Achkaerinese citizen in Samantra is subject to Samantran law. It is not a threat nor do we expect it to manifest as such.

This started as a dispute over equality in the light of controversial legislation in Samantra and has since snowballed into something far more disturbing, we've seen where this road of faith vs faith can lead - Royal Seleucid, Mavrosia, Vaguzia and Clysperis. All to some extent have seen violence along religious lines in recent years. Our Forum's Christian representative Cardinal Martin Deed recently warned against the weaponisation of scripture and it saddens the forum to see how this has happened. As people who regularly lead acts of worship in our temples, church's, mosques and synagogues a challenge we face on a weekly basis is how we preach our message, we know that one cannot simply quote the scripture but apply it to the world lest we merely quote history without context. The greatest benefit of the AIFF has been the developing of understanding across the religious divide without compromising our principles and while we understand and feel the offense caused by the Emir's words we are reminded of one of the Forum's favourite worship songs, a Christian hymn, that goes "Will you watch the news with the eyes of faith and believe it could be different? Will you share your views using words of grace? Will you leave a thoughtful imprint?"

Now is the time for grace on all sides of this before it gets out of hand, we are prepared to do what we can to help.

Signed by the following members of the Achkaerin Inter Faith Forum

High Priestess Alexis Minette of the Cult of Namis

Oracle Temari Fuma of the Cult of Namis

Queen of Songs Phoebe Wolfe of the Cult of Namis

Priestess Hannah Barker of the Cult of Helus

Cardinal of Santiago Martin Deed representing Christianity

Bishop of Valor Daniel St Claire representing Christianity

Archmaester Asano Yūki of the Rosari

High Priestess Nimue Jowenys of the Congregation of Rao

Kunieda Koma of the Buddhist Faith

Iman Razeen al-Afzal

Rabbi Jordain Krickstein

Secretary for the AIFF Dr. Brian Raines

1.	OOC - For Mundus purposes Abydos replaces Egypt

[Beatrice]

Grand Maester Yuna,

Circumstances have changed since our last exchange and I'm pleased to inform you that I will be able to attend.

Akasha Di-‘nh-mi-Re, Sovereign of Sovereigns, Divine of Appearance, Beloved of Amun, Chosen of Ra, Lord of the Three Lands, Ruler of Justice like Ra, High Priest of Every Temple, the Eye of Horus, Satisfied is the heart of Ra.
It was the first time Akasha had visited a Rosari Temple, let alone the Rosari Temple. She had seen it countless times from a distance during her studies but in a derelict state due to the Federal Republic's strict stance against the Rosari Faith. As she approached the Grand Maester she bowed, "Most Humble of Islyna, I greet you as High Priest of Every Temple," she said as she rose. "The work and care which has gone  into restoring the Templum Septem is most impressive. I hope we'll see some productive discussions before us today."

Yuna was somewhat shocked, "Welcome and thank you," she returned the bow. "I too hope that we have productive discussions and can do some actual good in the world."

[Cool101jr]

The Cult of Supremacy

The Cult of Supremacy disagrees with the views expressed by the Grand Maester. In regards to the recent comments made by the Emir, we find them to be narrowminded and pointless, we however do not find that these views are shared by all Abrahamic religions and do not see a meeting of these faiths as some form of threat to us.

We find the comment made by the Grand Maester that "one can be Rosari while also being a Christian, Muslim, Cultist, or Namist even because all faiths route back to a truth which is indeed universal, and one which is at its heart, good," to be completely false as many of the tenets and beliefs of Supremacism do not line up with the Rosari Beliefs. The belief in seven Divines goes completely against the Supremacist belief in our God also being our rightful liege, currently residing within Crown Princess Astrid Azurewind-Wesley. We respect your right to have this view, we just want to make it known that this view is impossible.

We will be attending this meeting in Pyrettania to see what strides can be made towards a peaceful future for Mundus and look forward to meeting the Grand Maester in person.

Alice Bennett
High Priestess of the Cult of Supremacy

[Achkaerin]

Meetings of this standing brought with them a sense of formality and ceremony, they also brought something as rare as having all three leaders of the Cult of Namis attend, though for the High Priestess Alexis Minette, the concern was more that from where she sat that the emergence from some quarters of inflammatory, and if her experience at the Achkaerin Inter Faith Forum were anything to go by, downright malicious, obscene and spiteful comments designed to do the job of state propaganda in waging a war of the religious nature in the court of public opinion ignorant of all things to the contrary, this was no theological challenge to her, no this was political opportunism of the most cynical nature. Checking her gold lined white robe, the traditional garb of her office, she took a deep breath and walked into the temple, leading first the Oracle Temari Fuma who wore gold lined red robes and the Queen of Songs Phoebe Wolfe in her gold lined blue robes. Within the Cult the High Priestess had overall responsibility for the faith, preaching, doctrine and the message, the Oracle was an advisor, preacher and oversaw the training of Priests and Priestesses, the Queen of Songs represented the Bardic nature of the faith, many of the tales told in the Holy Books were told through song long before they were written in prose, she was the historical authority.

After greeting Yuna and after introductions had been made, Alexis took a breath "I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of inviting Cardinal Deed along, after all showing unity to those who choose to fan the flames of division seemed like a good idea." she said