Fiction:Spodism/Origins

"And the Truth was thus: ALL IS ONE, ONE IS ALL. And so the Prophet saw the truth, and his eyes became PURPLE HEAVENS For false were the gods of jungles, nothing more than THINGS The only god was in the heavens, the god that is ONE AND ALL."

- Scrolls of Faith 1:4:1:6

Religious historians theorise without end on the origins of the Spodean faith. These debates are almost as ancient as Spodism itself, having started with the theologians of the old Church, and despite all the work of scholars both secular and religious, even after 100,000 years consensus is yet to be reached.

One of the reasons behind this is the convoluted early history of the s, known to be the first species in the modern era to revere Spode, if not the founders of Spodism in general. Indeed, the origins of the Radeon race are deeply connected with both the Rades precursors and the Isio'Nar, and it is thus impossible to speak of the origins of Spodism without taking into account the belief systems of these two ancient civilisations, which are themselves quite enigmatic. One cannot also disregard the biases that all researchers, Spodist or otherwise, have towards this issue. With the great impact Spodism had on the modern Gigaquadrant's early history, such as the Jaharani Crusades, few civilisations are ambivalent towards it, and this lack of ambivalence inevitably skews the perception of scholars.

For centuries, the only accepted "theory" that explained the origins of Spodism was the gospel found in the Scrolls of Faith themselves: today this view is referred to as Literalism. For literalists, the Faith had always existed, unchanged, and was simply revealed to chosen mortals through its Messengers, as described in scripture, The Radeon prophet Al'khear is universally seen as the first of these chosen, and the line of prophets then continues through various other enlightened beings, depending on the branch of Spodism in question. Literalists may argue amongst themselves about the validity of different prophets and their revelations - the first Clericarch Seranai, Jaharan, Tadjamad and many others - but none would dare even suggest that the Scrolls of Faith may be, in some way, incorrect. While still espoused by some hard-line Spodists, Literalism with its fundamentalist ideas is widely rejected nowadays as outdated and dogmatic.

However, one reformist branch of Literalism, once deemed heretical during the early days of the Church, survived and became widely accepted today. Known as Viatorism, it originated back on Vendespode with the Anointed Society, but only truly gained traction when the s first encountered other sapient species and realised, for the first time, that they were not a unique phenomenon in the universe. Viatorism rejects the notion that the Radeons were the first to receive Spode's revelation: they were preceded by countless other enligthened species, and their prophet was but one of many. The Messengers that appeared to Al'khear were merely members of these enlightened species who sought to spread the word of Spode to the Radeons, just as the Radeons themselves spread it to other civilisations.

Viatorism enjoys great popularity in many Spodist communities, from to the  and the s, and is even accepted by some non-Spodist scholars, particularily in  where it is conflated with the local belief in the. It is perhaps because of this popularity that Viatorism is one of the most diverse theories on the origins of Spodism. Traditional Viatorism postulates that the line of prophets is "like a chain with no beginning and no end", and rejects the idea that the first enlightened beings can be found at all. This belief is promulgated, for example, among the Corgel in the, who believe that Spodism is simply one form of the "natural drive of sapient beings towards greater order". Nunciary Viatorism, closely related to the Spodist sect of Eolanai, believes that the first Spodists were ascended beings in Andromeda, who were enlightened in their spiritual ascension and then proceeded to spread their truth to other species. Radessic Viatorism gives the mantle of first Spodists to the instead, with their belief in the Universal Truth: it is popular among the more chuavinistic Andromedan Radeons who see themselves as natural leaders of the Spodist world as heirs to their creators.

Alongside these spiritual explanations of Spodism's origins there exist more secular theories, which seek to understand it through the lens of religious comparativism and historiography. The ideas of Shai-Pragmatism, for example, are particularily popular in among s and in the. Pragmatists commonly believe Spodism to be descended, one way or another, from the so-called Death Cults of Shai. A monotheistic mystery religion that coexisted with worshippers during the early days of the Radeon species, members of the Death Cults were said to reject the voices of the plant-gods, and instead communed with the collective spirit of the Vendespode's dead, which they referred to as Shai, Classical Radessic for grave. According to pragmatists, the Shai cultists were not exterminated by the Ley'harites as it is described in Radeon chronicles, but instead survived by syncretising the Ley'har faith with their own beliefs, eventually creating Spodism. While popular, this theory is extremely offensive to Spodists and is thus sometimes avoided by scholars, especially in Andromeda.

Finally, the Syncretist view combines both pragmatist and Viatorist tenets, and views them all as valid, and Spodism as having been created by all these factors. The Rades belief in the Universal Truth may have influenced the Spodist pantheism, while the may have formed the Spodist idea of celestial order. The Ley'harites and the cults of Shai may have influenced the visual aspects of Spodism, especially for Radeons. For instance, the traditional anthropomorphisation of Spode as an old woman in a cloak holding a scale could be based on the similar personifications of Shai, while the concept of Spode's prophets could be taken from the avatars the Ley'har created to direct their worshippers. This theory is less controversial than Shai-Pragmatism, and is even accepted by some faithful Spodists who are conscious of how much their religion was influenced by outside sources, yet see some truth in it nonetheless. It is also widespread in the, where it is seen as both reasonable scientifically and respectful towards the nation's closest ally.