[Poll] Could you gather faith for your deity?

Prompt:

Once upon a time you died and your soul got lost. It ended up stumbling into another universe.

In the astral plane of the other universe, you befriended a deity who you hung out with for about one hundred years.

This deity that you befriended was really nice, and you liked them a lot. However, that deity was pitifully weak and impoverished — unable to have any significant powers and could only afford to eat/drink water for nourishment.

One day your deity friend comes to you and confesses that they’re worried they might die soon. The reason for this is that their only mortal worshiper is a single 70-year-old grandma who has pneumonia, and doesn’t have much longer to live. If your friend has zero worshipers, they will completely fade away and “die”.

Your friend is a little nervous asking you this, but since you’re human soul — if you went to the mortal world and worshipped them — at the very least you could keep them alive.

Or better yet, it would be amazing if you could spread their faith and get even more human worshipers.

Your friend explains the system in this world, and mostly everything is based on faith and number of worshipers. Deities who have more worshipers can do more and have more power.

“Magic” is also possible in this world but it is entirely miracle-based and faith-based. Magic borrows the power of your patron deity to accomplish something, and it is nearly limitless in potential. However, it is extremely sensitive to faith. If a single person (observer) in the area doubts that the magic will work, it will completely fail and undo any magic.

For example, assuming your deity had enough power, you could convert dirt into gold if you had 100% faith in this transformation. However, if another person sees the gold and even doubts that it is real gold, it will be converted back into dirt. You should never doubt yourself because you will be completely unable to use magic if you have a single inkling of doubt.

Would you go to the mortal world to help out your deity friend? What proportion of the world (assume population of 5 billion) could you convert into their worshipers?

Note; assume the religious values of your friend are similar to yours​

1. How would you approach this problem? How good are you in convincing someone to convert their beliefs?

2. Do you believe in preaching for your beliefs? Or do you feel like people should have a protected right to their own beliefs?

3. Could you use this magic system effectively?

4. Suppose there is a very popular religious faction in this world, and consequently their magic is extremely powerful as a consequence of their popularity. Would you abandon your deity friend to join this other religion?

 

Hijacking this thread, because why not? Where did you get your pic from? It looks like it's from a manhua?

 

Isn't this essentially Noragami (manga)?

 

I mean, I’d be willing to worship the deity, since he/she is my friend, but I wouldn’t be able to use my friend’s power, as I have too much doubt. I also wouldn’t feel very comfortable with trying to convert other people. Maybe asking new friends I make and get close enough to to explain the situation to think good thoughts the way of my friend would be my limit.

 

Don’t remember, I picked it up a long time ago

It’s actually closely reflected in Japanese Shintoism in general. Lots of things have spirits but they disappear if nobody believes/faith in them

 

Bishamon best girl btw

 

This magic system can onøy actualy work if you are allowed to worship multiple deities at once.
There is also the problem with if only one person doubts it then the magic will be undone, so by raising someone to only belive in one deity you could ruin a whole nation with that oerson, as long as they use magic in their society.

Congratulation on making the most usless magic system in the world. But when i think about it, magic might exsist IRL if it got the same rules as you described @lychee.

 

1) I would pretend that the God I am using magic for is powerful so the people around me have faith in her, then tell them the truth after they've seen the magic.

E.g. in Greece:
"Everyone watch as I channel the power of the thunder god!"
*magic works because everyone believes in zeus*
"That was the power of Thor, see how powerful his magics are!"

I'd start probably converting one person at a time, then using my band of fellow disciples as a crowd to convert people together.

2) In real life I don't care what people's beliefs are, as long as they don't affect their actions.

Only when it comes to someone's actions conflicting with my own morals will I ever take issue.

I'll happily discuss my own beliefs/moral system with someone with no hard feelings if they bring it up though.

3) I think so. When fighting someone, use circular logic to make it so their magic doesn't work.
I.e. "their magic won't work because I don't believe it will work because I don't believe it will work because..."

4) fuck that, I'm helping my friendo. Why would I care about some big organisation? Do I want to be a fantasy salaryman?

 

1. It depends on how advanced or primitive the world is. If it has a very advanced civilization then I would probably struggle to convince anyone to worship the friend/deity. So I'll just collect orphans and other homeless kids and brainwash them to create a religion.
If it was a primitive world it is very much easier to convince them by showing them some magic and teaching them things.
If it was the former the religion would be slower to spread.


2. In real life I believe that people should have a right to have their own beliefs. But if I had the chance to create a religion and become the head/pope whatever and use magic I would absolutely preach my beliefs and try to brainwash people, although I would not go as far as to kill people who don't have the same beliefs as me.

3. Since I already died once met a deity that believing that the magic is real shouldn't be problem. making others believe my magic is real would be problem at first but there ways to work around that.
Although if the magic required me to wholeheartedly worship a deity than it would probably not work at all because I the type of person that wouldn't worship god even if he was real, but I wouldn't mind faking it. I hope that the deity would let me use the magic as his friend and the only person keeping him alive.

4. It would depend on what kind of religion it is, if it is a peaceful religion that doesn't kill off people of other religions as heretics I would stay in my own friend's religion since I would be the one who created it and would have absolute power and say in it.
'It is better to be the head of a small chicken than the tail of a large ox'.
Even If it wasn't peaceful and killed off others a heretics, I'd just abandon the plan to create a large religion and just create a very small religion in some far off villages and let them grow on there own if the religion spreads so be it, of it doesn't at least few people believe in it and the friend would be alive.

 

It also sounds similar to Danmachi.

 

What would happen if I used this magic to get food/drink and lived on those for awhile, and then encountered a disbeliever...

Would the "stuff" I ingested and integrated into my cells, blink out of existence or return to where ever it came from...
With the result of my cells imploding and possibly me dying?

 

Miracle/Faith builds will never work no matter what preparations you try...

 

The doubt needs to be specific and targeted and serious — so it depends on the imaginative capabilities of the doubter.

“Doubting everything” doesn’t really work.

To give an example, “I doubt that arm is real” could cause a magical prosthetic arm to poof.

However the doubt has to be specific and genuine. You can’t just say: “I doubt that the sun exists” for the heck of it. You actually have to have a genuine real doubt.

Furthermore, if someone has a fake eye and you never notice it (or consider it), you can’t doubt it.

The same goes with respect to food. Are you going to doubt whether their liver is made up of real cells? Or the kidney? Unless you can pinpoint the specific thing you are doubting, it’s not going to work.

 

1. How would you approach this problem? How good are you in convincing someone to convert their beliefs?
Master dog may be a dog but he is also the greatest exterminator in the world. Master dog will start a pest extermination company and a cooking company. I shall then get people to believe it's the cooking of the divine entity itself. MUHAHAHA
2. Do you believe in preaching for your beliefs? Or do you feel like people should have a protected right to their own beliefs?
Preaching is not how you get people to believe in a God. It rarely if ever works.
3. Could you use this magic system effectively?
What need does master dog have to use this? Master dog is the Holy Dog of All everyone worships master dog deep in their heart completely and utterly. Master dog would thus be the strongest ever being in this world!
4. Suppose there is a very popular religious faction in this world, and consequently their magic is extremely powerful as a consequence of their popularity. Would you abandon your deity friend to join this other religion?
That religious faction is clearly the religion related to worship of this master dog. So of course I would be able to include new friend in this religion!

 

1. How would you approach this problem? How good are you in convincing someone to convert their beliefs?
I would become a healer in this new world and help as many people as I could. My only request would be to think positively of my god and patron...I wouldn't try to convince them. Actions speak louder than words, and you are only a true believer if you choose to be so yourself.

2. Do you believe in preaching for your beliefs? Or do you feel like people should have a protected right to their own beliefs?
Preach all you want, but don't expect people to listen. I'd probably end up making my friend the god(dess) of honor and friendship if I preached...and yes, I believe people have a right to their own beliefs.

3. Could you use this magic system effectively?
I certainly hope so. I have gone through death and rebirth and have hung out with my friend for a century, if I couldn't muster up at least enough belief to help heal someone- well, I might just be a failure.


4. Suppose there is a very popular religious faction in this world, and consequently their magic is extremely powerful as a consequence of their popularity. Would you abandon your deity friend to join this other religion?
What? No. I'm here specifically to help keep them alive! I wouldn't abandon my friend for power...even if I am a weak healer, I will still be doing good in the world. Hopefully that will be enough to gain my friend some more followers. It wouldn't be much, but it would be something. And that's all that matters.

 

Believing is slightly different from worshipping.

It’s possible to believe that a deity exists — yet not worship it.

The game-breaking thing is denial (or doubt structured in the form of: “That doesn’t exist” or “That’s impossible”

 

Go out into the wilderness of a mountain. Use magic to make myself a castle built into the mountain. After all if i died and spent a hundred years with one someone as my only company. ... well id either go insane or have incredible strong belief in them. Possibly both.

After I make my castle inside a mountain with magic such that it was there all along and inpenetrable. I will create mentor robots of the various arts to tutor me one on one and a library for me to study.

Also a pair of always stay on magic glasses that made my vision perfect and translated both spoken and written text. And had a gadget like existence

Then I'd make myself an elixir of longer youth and study then after learning exit the castle and magic up an abandoned village with good foundations that looks old and covered in forestry.

Then i'd fill it with vaguely human like statues doing everyday things and have chests of old villager clothing lying around. I'd equip some of that villager clothing with a cloak to cover my head and get some non magic'ed stone dust from the mountain and rub it all over my skin and the clothes too

.then i'd wander down the mountain and use villager wilderness survival skills i learned from a highly advanced android robot tutor leaving a very obvious trail behind me that leads back to the village thats a bit away from the castle in the mountain.

Evemtually I would encounter someone hopefully if its 5billion population and ask for directions.

If they got curious and pried i would mumble something about my village beimg lost and now i am lost too, with only my god as my aide in this bleak empty world.

I wouldnt go into specifics.

I would ask if i could accompany them to the nearest town as a humble tailor in need of work.

 

Whats with the poll options @lychee

who can have the confidence to convert others? its the others decision, saying you'll get someone without considering them... thats sure to not get you that person

 

Number 4 is a big wtf 凸(｀⌒´メ)凸
I'd try to get as many worshipper as possible so that my friend wouldn't die (●≧ω≦)9

 

It all depends on the world. You know, if there's Internet then you could make a website. If there isn't any Internet and it's set on ancient times then it'll be harder, but you can try to achieve something great enough for people to know your name. And if you're successful, then you can tell them about your deity without including the fact that the deity is actually your friend. You can say lots of great things about your friend and maybe some people will convert. If it's a world filled with magic, whether modern or ancient, you can try your best in becoming stronger. Well, in the end, all of that depends on the ways of the world, which you didn't give out much details about.