--- RulingNations@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 5/20/04 9:46:08 PM Mountain Daylight Time, > juha.vesanto@iki.fi writes: > >RulingNations@aol.com wrote:> >>No background factors have been described, so that's also a wash > (0). > >> > >>So, where does the -5 come from to make Exquaestio's chances of > >>conversion normal (0), and how come I don't see other player's > actions > >>having the same factor? > > > >Nobody is else growing as fast (ratio-wise) as you are. You started > from > >scratch 8 years ago. Do you have any real-life examples of religious > >expansion that you aspire to? > > The early years of Buddhism and Islam are well documented. In the > second > decade of their existence they were able to field _gatherings of > thousands_ of believers. That wouldn't have been possible for > Exquaestio > even before you lowered the conversion rate. Well, I can't speak to how Buddhism managed to spread so quickly, although at a guess I'd say that it filled a spiritual need, but Islam's spread was considerably helped by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I's insistence on Orthodoxy. Justinian was trying to reconquer what had been the Western Roman Empire, and in an attempt to win the support of the Roman Pope, he ruthlessly supressed all heresies. Unfortunately for Justinian, Egypt, the breadbasket of the empire, was predominantly Monophysite; while Syria, which guarded the frontiers with Persia and Arabia, was predominantly Nestorian. Justinian's alienation of Syria and Egypt made their people more than willing to switch political and religious allegiance. There were other factors, too, such as the Arabs' military doctrine; the paranoia of Byzantine Emperors, which often resulted in the deaths of the most able Byzantine officers; and the methods the Arabs used to encourage conversion of subject populations. For what it's worth, given the Celandran-in-the-street's attitude to religion, if Exquaestio wants to increase its rate of expansion, they must first clearly elucidate the benefits they can provide, and secondly, they must hitch their wagon to those in power. As I said, part of what helped Islam spread was that it wasn't just a religious movement, it was political and military also. Christianity didn't really take off until Constantine the Great converted and imposed the religion on the Roman Empire. If Exquaestio wants to increase their numbers, the best way would be, I think, to target the power players in the Free Cities, and work from the top down, rather than the bottom up. Andrew > Jefferson (Exquaestio) > http://www.picotech.net/~jeff_wilson63/rpg/ > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
