Great Question

The Great Question refers to a collective mystery surrounding the History of Eldarfellsk.

History & Lack Thereof

All across Eldarfellsk, no legitemate records, written or oral, exist before the year -507 MT. Most archaeologists consider this to be a slightly early estimate, since only legends exist between -507 and -497, while after -497 folk tales and oral histories resemble more likely events.

Historians had, since as early as -300, known that the historical record preceding -497 was non-existent or unreliable.

Milverixim and the Birth of the Great Question

Archaeologists, Historians, and Scientists began studying the Great Question in the late -200s, as an extension of a growing rejection of the Cultural Dominance that Western Xasism had developed over its historical reign. Major thinkers, such as the Komarnan Philosopher Milverixim began questioning the veracity of Religious assertations, such as the Xasist Creation Story, citing irregularities. Milverixim questioned why religions from other regions, knowledge of which was just now growing across Komarna, had different timelines, and questioned how one could know such things, famously writing a critique in -196 MT of Religious Explanations fo Creation (generally referred to as the Great Question Column) in the Journal of Thought The Religious Debate, a platform meant to debate the competition of veracity between the world's known religions. When Milverixim submitted his "Note" to TRD, he reportedly did not realise the importance of what he had written, having submitted a hardly legible document, handwritten upon a several blank sheets, torn from a previous copy of TRD. The editor of TRD at the time recognized the importance of Milverixim's thought, and immediately published the Note as the primary article in the next issue of TRD, although it had nothing to do with the nominal topic of the issue (Deurexianism's differences between other Polytheistic & Demi-theistic Religions). The note immediately became a hot topic, not the least because of its lack of satisfying introduction or conclusion, and began a wave of interest in discovering the truth of what happened before -497.

"When assesing the veracity of the Xasist Church, as has been the topic of the Issue of this publiction I have come to be discussing for several months now, how can there be truth found in its teachings when there are disagreements between even the Xasists of Komarna and Tracoti when discussing the creation of all things. If it were that one of those were more correct than the other, surely there must be a way for those outside of the structure of the church leadership to find agreement on which were correct.

It has been known for many years that words which are true tend to find their way into the hearts of the masses over those which are false, because all persons are inherently searching for truth. If that is the case, which other great thinkers have alleged and reasoned many times, then how can belief of the story of creation be dependent on which nation you were born in, and how can religion be defined by cultural and national boundaries. The known religions of the world have grown and shrunk over time, and have battled for the hearts of men, yet there is no clearer answer to which is more true than the others. Great and reasoned men have placed their faith in every religion known to the study of History. If that is the case, then how can any of them be any more true than the other, if even those seeking truth for its own sake cannot clearly come to agreement over which belief is true. Unless, that is, that the truth is that each religion is a deception in itself.

The greatest deception ever written by man could not be any but a belief that permeates every facet of the lives of those who follow it. The greatest deception ever written by man must be such a great lie that those who have accepted it define their entire view of the world by the details given them. The greatest deception by man could not be any except that which threatens the very existence of those who question it, that which eradicates resistance to it through force, through teaching of the young, through permeation of all parts of life.

Those who search for truth have always been blinded by this idea, have been blinded by the foundational truths they have held, that they have not questioned.

Without questioning Religion, upon which all life is based, how can we ever begin to approach the truth. I said earlier that many great thinkers were adherents of various religions. This is true. Few are those who achieved greatness while holding no religious beliefs. Despite such unity, another unifying trait springs clear to those looking; Few are the great thinkers and logicians who, in their pursuit of truth, did not make the leaders of their beliefs feel threatened.

How can the search for truth be so threatening to religion? Were the threat limited to individual religions, it may be argued that such religions may have been threatened by Truth because they were uniquely untrue, but a religion does not exist that has not punished truth-seekers. Xasism has spent close to its entire existence Xasa Venazhata II (Born Chansa) had the Lawyer Tafaye executed because she dared to question how the Xasa could be proven as being Ankrota without using the the teachings of Xasas past. Both the Komarnan and Tracoti divisions defended the execution, even after the schism. It has been alleged and proven many times that organisations act on a greater scale than than any of their members of leaders. It might be presumed then, that a religion that was true would act, regardless of leader or members, in such a way that would not seem threatened by those seeking truth.

The only explanation for how all religions may understand themselves to be threatened by the pursuit of truth is if Religion itself does not hold the truth, regardless of the details of specific religion. Religions act on a large and small scale in such a way that shows they fear the pursuit of truth will result in their being proven wrong, rather than in such a manner that demonstrates confidence that such pursuits will simply continue to validate their beliefs.

Such an explanation leaves several key questions unanswered. The Greatest of these, the Great Question that underpins the whole disagreement between Religion, in one camp, and Logic, Truth, and Reason, in the other, is the creation. All religions are in agreement that, if any one Religion's story of how Creation came about, then the associated Religion must be the true Religion. Therefore, if it can be alleged that if Religions are not truth, then their explanations of the Creation must be untrue as well. If that is the case, then how did the world start. Astronomers have alleged that their study of the cosmos reveals that the cosmos have been in motion for such time that a lifetime passes in the blink of an eye. Yet, in stark contrast to such observations, a review of the histories of all peoples of Elldarfellsk, such as that undertaken over twenty years by the Alkakese Doyinu, shows that events remain consistent (although explanations do not, as would be presumed by errors passed through generations) as far back as the year [-497], beyond that, a further ten years of histories exist, where events begin to contradict between depending on the purveryor of them, and beyond [-507] no unified histories can be learned. The stories from before such a time can be simply disproven by simple logic, or simple knowledge of "basic" scientific truths. What happened before that time holds the truth. The nature of Religous explanations holds flaws based upon circular reasoning. These are the truths of what happened, which we know because our Religion is true. How do we know our religion is true? Because if this is how the world was created it must follow that our religion is true.

I have previously discussed my appreciation of Religion, and it is not my intent with this note to destroy the foundation of all Religions. It is, though, my intent to encourage Religious leaders, thinkers, and citizens to look at the historical proofs their beliefs require, and to invest more than a passing glance into the history of our world.

The Great Question is fundamental to a real understanding of the world, and must be the focus of all future research on such a topic.

Milverixim, A Note Upon History and Religion Which Others of the Areligious Persuasion May or May Not Find Insightful, (The "Great Question Column"), The Religious Debate, -196 MT,