Three Tenets: An Introspection

[Draiden 326]

The Three Tenets

From the perspective of a Scholar

Writ av Jager Faretto

 

Any member of our Faith knows the three tenets, but hardly anyone will be able to give a definitive interpretation of the tenets. Depending on who you ask, you will get a different answer every time. It is also a widely-held belief that this is intentional, and that the tenets are meant to be vague and undefinable in absolute terms. Many outsiders and even members of the Faith find this concept very confusing, but I find it a very intriguing question to dissect, especially when it comes to how it works into our ideology and dogma.

To those reading who do not know the tenets, they are as follows:

1.  Suffer not the Unworthy
2. Spread the Flame
3. Stand Against the Darkness

The warrior will give explanations on how it is meant to stand as guardians of mankind against those who wish it harm, even if it means to stand alone. The zealot will tell you it is to fight against the Canonists and other religions, purging their heresy with fire and sword. The scholar will say it is to learn, and to spread knowledge wherever you can. So why the ambiguity? The answer is simple. We grow and we change as people. Who we were before may not be who we are now. Similarly, the tenets are meant to change and bend to conform the needs of the Faith and the Faithful as time goes on. This all hinges on a few questions one must ask themselves if they are to find out for sure what the tenets mean to them.

1.  Who are the unworthy?
2. Is the flame metaphorical? If so, what does it mean?
3. How would you spread the flame?
4. If the flame is metaphorical, what would that flame’s darkness be?
5. How would one resist this darkness?

These are simple questions, but in asking them one will find a roadmap of the mind. Of who they are, who they perceive as friend and foe, and what their ideals are. As time passes, these will most likely change, and their views of the tenets will as well, because change is something we can resist, but we cannot stop.