[IC] The Worgen condition through the lens of the Anethionean Revelation

OOC:

Your holiness,

I have done scriptural research into the Worgen condition to ensure no leeway is given where the rules are clear and no arbitrary limits are set when they are unjustified. I thank brothers Orthur and Sharif for their assistance with the study. Please consider this work, your word is final on all matters of theology.

A. Is it sinful to be a worgen?

Doctrine of the Sin defines a Sin as a ‘rejection of the holy commandment’ of the Holy Light, as it is whispered to the hearts of all creatures. Rejection requires a choice. If the Worgen curse is forced upon a human, he has no choice in the matter and does not sin. ‘Being a Worgen’ is not a choice, therefore it is not a Sin.

Case of humans willingly accepting the Curse by drinking Worgen blood will be considered in section ‘B’.

B. Is choosing the worgen form sinful?

There has been no explicit revelation that answers the key question: “Is it sinful to alter your light-given form?” In other words, the Holy Light has not yet revealed to us if It cares about our form and appearance. The Revelation, in its current state, does not contain event the implicit answer to this question as far as my studies have revealed. I invite the doctors to theology who are more knowledgeable than me to unearth the proof if it exists.

With Revelation lacking and logical study of existing Revelation yielding no results, only other source of knowledge about Light’s views on the matter is Inspiration. Inspiration is always private, between the subject and the Light. Strictly speaking every individual worgen may choose for himself if he considers assuming the worgen form to be an affront to the Light, no absolute rule can be made at this point as per Ioanna 9. The worgen would be wise to pay attention to words of those who are more Illuminated as their Inspiration is more likely to be correct and Light-inspired. Although nobody may say with any authority that the worgen form is absolutely Sinful, secular authority of the state or even Vicar’s authority as the head of the Chapter are sufficient to ban the form within a particular organization bound to this authority.

The sin may reside in motivation behind the choice of the worgen form. Richard 1 permits the use of assistance in performing our Duty, a desire to better serve the Light through increased strength, speed and senses is therefore a valid motivation. Choosing the Worgen Form for increased power in itself constitutes the venial sin of Ambition. Choosing the Worgen form because it is, allegedly, ‘the true form’ is an unresolved question. Choosing the form for its alleged ‘beauty’, although I have never heard this reason mentioned, constitutes a sin of Vanity. Ironically, I cannot prove that choosing the form out of laziness to undertake the effort required to maintain the human form is sinful.

Short discussion is due to the ‘consideration dilemma’ – the worgen form frightens, offends or disgusts others, therefore it should not be used. It is sinful to offend Light’s creatures, but it is also sinful to treat others based on their race or appearance (Treating with Prejudice). The worgen form offends if and only if the one taking offense has already made himself guilty of Treating with Prejudice, I feel compelled to say that in this case the fault is with those taking offense – not the worgen, even though I cannot provide any rigorous proof of this claim.

Another problem worth mentioning is the ‘Problem of Temptation’. Worgen form exposes one to additional feral instincts, making anti-social and criminal behavior more likely. If we employ the principle that ‘That which creates additional temptation to commit a sin is also sinful’, then we are forced to conclude that refusing sex with your lawful-wed partner is sinful as it increases the temptation of adultery and trying to arrest criminals is sinful as it tempts them to resist arrest. The principle is unsustainable and leads to conclusions which contradict common sense. Bernard two supports the notion that it is not sinful in itself to expose yourself to additional temptations.

C. Is it sinful to choose a feral existence?

First of all, what is a ‘feral existence’?

I will not consider the case of feral worgen running wild among the population, terrorizing the citizens. That is criminal and sinful without doubt.

We shall consider the following features of feral existence:
(1) Life outside of civilization
(2) Solitary existence
(3) Denial of attributes of civilization such as clothing, language, etiquette, ethics and religion
(4) Self-reliance
(5) Collecting and hunting for food like a wild beast

There exists no sin or Revelation to denounce (1) as sinful, (2) is prohibited by Anethion 16. (3) Constitutes the sin of Irreligious Behaviour. (5) Cannot be considered sinful, because the Holy Light has created the wild beasts who hunt like wild beasts and the Light in its all-benevolence cannot create anything sinful. (5) Can only be sinful if it is sinful for a human to alter his intended nature, but this was already discussed in section B. Sapient beings are informed by the Light about the means by which they may do Good for the world, ignoring this call constitutes a sin of Apathy. As long as the worgen still receives Light’s inspiration, it is sinful for him to not actively do Good. Knowingly distancing yourself from the Light by refusing Light’s voice constitutes the sin of Apostasy.

It is not sinful for a worgen to live with no roof and hunt for his food as long as he remains close to a human community, performs his rituals of faith publically or privately and offers his assistance to the community. Worgen who choose to form a ‘pack’ form a community of their own, and as long as they uphold the rituals of the Faith and assist one another according to the Step of Solidarity and strive to do their Sacred Duty, their existence as a semi-feral pack cannot be considered sinful unless the Light forbids changing your nature.

D. Can worgen be considered human?

To answer this question we first need to find a principle to determine humanity, in other words we need to define Human Nature. Let us begin by considering several definitions which are intuitively correct:
(1) A human can be treated as a ‘human’ by the Anethionean Revelation without causing a contradiction.
(2) A human corresponds to the idea of human-ness within the Light.
(3) A human is a subgroup within the Universal Community which share basic physiological and spiritual features.

Let us now consider the definitions one by one.

If worgen are human by definition (1), then they have Anethion as their assigned prophet and may marry and have children with other humans. By having a child, the worgen passes on the curse. Does knowingly and willingly passing on a curse to an unborn child constitute a sin? Knowingly and willingly passing on a magical curse constitutes a sin of ‘Sorcery’, therefore worgen may not have children with humans and are therefore not human under definition (1).

If worgen are human by definition (2), then it implies the existence of the idea of human-ness that exists in Light’s mind. According to the Doctrine of the Creation from Chaos, the Holy Light created the world by volition. It cannot will something into existence without having an idea of that something; therefore the Light must have an idealized ‘standard’ for human. If the Holy Light first created the world, then developed an Idea of human-ness and created humans it will mean that the Light saw its first humanless creation as not ideal. The all-benevolent Light cannot create anything that is not perfect, therefore the Light had the idea of human-ness before It created the world. This means that the idea of human-ness exists within the Light and is unknowable, unless by revelation or inspiration, as revealed in Anethion 1. The Light did not yet give us any Revelation of ‘human natute’, therefore if Definition (2) is used each worgen may rely on his own personal inspiration to decide if he is human, or not and every man may choose for himself to treat worgen as human, or not. The Light will be their only judge.

Definition (3) is close to definition (2), except that it declares the people of the seven kingdoms and their descendants as ‘humans’. Those who share their physiological and mental features are also human. The problem with this definition is that it lacks clear-cut boundaries. Is a man who was born without legs still a human? We answer ‘yes’, therefore we formulate a sub-definition 3a: ‘those who are born to two humans, are human.’ Regardless of deficiencies upon birth, ailment or trauma they are still human. Even though the Worgen do not share physiological features, even in human form due to their sharpened senses, they are still human because their parents were human. The worgen are human under definition (3).

Let us consider another, 4th definition that stems from Anethion 10

(4) A human has Anethion as his assigned prophet and Anethionean Revelation as the ideal path to salvation

Anethionean Revelation applied to worgen before they have contracted the Curse, does it still apply? The Light did not yet send a Worgen Prophet, even though we cannot be absolutely certain we can operate under the assumption that Anethion is a prophet for the ‘worgen’, that makes Worgen human by definition (4). Again, this assumption is not based in Revelation and cannot be enforced as an absolute law.

Which definition is the correct one? Definition (4) is the only one that has roots in the Revelation, even though it was not explicitly mentioned as ‘definition of human nature’ by Anethion. Use of Definition (4) as the working definition is compelling, but not mandatory because it was derived by logic. Anethion 10 explicitly states that humanity is a light-chosen race in its own right and has its unique way of worship (Anethionism), reversal of Anethion 10 into ‘a light-chosen race which has its unique, Anethionean, way of worship is ‘humanity’’ is only possible because:

There exists no human for whom Anethionean faith is not the truest faith and there exists no non-human for whom Anethionean faith is the truest faith (Anethion 10)
Therefore, if Anethionean Faith is the truest for an individual - that individual is a human.

Unfortunately we cannot know for certain through logic and reason whether Anethionean revelation is the truest faith for those afflicted by the Worgen Curse. Inspiration goes above religion, even prophetless races are capable of being Inspired by the Light, hearing Light’s Voice and performing their Sacred Duty. If personal inspiration compels a Worgen to adopt Anethionean way, then he is to be considered a human. We can form this as a new principle of ‘humanity by inspiration.’

A human who has been subjected to a change of shape or soul damage feels compelled in his heart to follow the Anethionean Revelation, then he is human despite the alterations to his body, mind and soul. This principle leads to the possibility for some undead humans to declare their humanity and be considered a human. I believe this is not a contradiction due to the accounts of Miracles where the Light restored the undead to their living state. Another consequence is that humans corrupted into demonhood may be redeemed and restored to their human state. Again, there are several miraculous accounts of such happening with the Night Elves and Draenei, and I believe it to be possible for humans.

Conclusion

The worgen question is complicated, Revelation in its current state offering but little clues. Personal Inspiration will always remain the best way of approaching the question, I hope I have offered a worthy alternative in a logical analysis of the Revelation as it is at the moment of writing. Light’s Will cannot be known with certainty through reason of logic, but when personal inspiration is lacking or unclear the logical analysis is a useful tool.

Logic of the Revelation dictates that human-nonhuman problem cannot be resolved with absolute certainty at this time, as such all parties (worgen and those who judge them) may resolve it by personal inspiration and be judged by Light alone. If a worgen is inspired to conclude that he is a human, then Anethionean Revelation is the truest way of worship for him and all rules apply. It is sinful for him to choose the Worgen Form for sinful reasons, but neither the form nor condition are sinful in themselves. Embracing full feral nature is sinful, but certain elements such as wild hunting and life without roof are not sinful. Those who are inspired to assume that worgen are human, must also recognize these conclusions about sinfulness and non-sinfulness of particular actions and choices.

Glory under the Light,
Sister Gwendelyn

Bias, as it is written by a worg. Worgen are clear heretics, punished by the light for their treason!

Lexgrad wrote:Bias, as it is written by a worg. Worgen are clear heretics, punished by the light for their treason!

Impossible. Tyrrean Creed states that 'there is no miracle unless mediated by a believer'. The Light cannot punish Gilneans by sending the Worgen Curse, it can only punish Gilneas by sending faithful men and women to do the smiting for It....or punish Gilneans in the afterlife!

A very interesting read indeed. Brilliant food for thought (although it is just a game) it really does highlight the questions such as "What is humanity" Awwwww :3 Love it!

Aye, for a religion that believes that their ways are only useful for humans, and all humans MUST follow them it is of great importance to decide just what it means to be 'human'

Easiest would be to have some sort of Adam&Eve myth, where all humans are descended from some small mythical group. Then all humans are 'direct descendants of and ' !

Their called Vy'kul You could have an anethionean Arathorian myth of the birth of man perhaps.

Now do us forsaken! Are we sinful?

Very nice read I enjoyed that well written Melnerag. <3