The Church of Tehlu
Throughout the Four Corners of
Civilization, the most dominant religion is The Church of Tehlu, also
know as the Tehlin faith. It is an organized religion that is
practiced in at least three of the major countries of the world. The
religion is exceptionally prominent in the Commonwealth as the church
has political power. In this part of the world, all criminal
offenses are put before representatives of the church to be judged.
With the church in favor, the society becomes strongly influenced by
this religion. Therefore, there are many parts of the religion that
are important to the story.
The Tehlin faith is based around the teachings of a god and prophet named Tehlu. This character shares many similarities with the Christian faith. Tehlu, like Jesus Christ, is both mortal and divine. As the story goes, Tehlu was a god who gave birth to himself through a mortal virgin woman. Much like how God impregnated Mary without contact, Tehlu was said to do the same, except the child quickly grew into a man who was Tehlu himself. Tehlu did this so that he could help the world that was at the time corrupted by demons and show the people a better way of life.
The Path
In the story following Tehlu's birth, he performs a ritual that helps define the religion that later arises. Tehlu goes from town to town, gathering up all the folk that live there. He draws a line on the ground and told them that it represents two paths in life. He gave them an option to stay on their own path of pain and wickedness or to cross to his side and follow a path of faith and security. When each person crossed they were told to repent and he would punish them initially for their previous sins by stricking them with an iron hammer. He would then heal some of their pain and grant them new names. In every town there were said to be seven people that refused to cross; each were beaten to the ground and not given the following compassion or healing. The book of Tehlu's teachings that was later formed was named “The Book of the Path,” because Tehlins live following Tehlu's path.
Some of the people that were stuck turned out to be demons, which Tehlu would search out and cast away. There was one demon who continued to run away and gave Tehlu the biggest problem. This demon's name was Encanis. Tehlu eventually caught up with Encanis and punished him in a cruel way. Since demons were believed to hate fire and iron, Tehlu built a big iron wheel with six spokes and chained Encanis to it. He lit a fire beneath the wheel and watched as Encanis suffered for his crimes. Encanis almost broke free when Tehlu threw himself on him to hold him on the wheel. Tehlu told the people that he is sacrificing himself for the sake of humans. Both Tehlu and Encanis were sacrificed on the wheel. The wheel with six spokes later became a symbol of the Tehlin Church.
A Comparison of Religions
As I have briefly mentioned earlier, Tehlu has some similarities with Jesus Christ. They are both born of virgin mothers and a god, sent to direct mankind to the right path. They both perform miracles as Tehlu grew from a boy to a man in about 20 days and Christ performed such tasks as walking on water and curing the blind. Along with this, they both sacrificed themselves for the good of mankind. Christ died on a cross and similarly Tehlu died on a wheel. Both the cross and the wheel became important symbols to the respective religion.
The contrast that stands out the most in the church of Tehlu and Christianity is the fact that Tehlu is seen as a vengeful god, and Christ is seen as non-violent and compassionate to all. Tehlu was said to be angry at mankind before showing them the path, but Jesus is never seen as angry in the bible. Tehlu strikes his followers to punish them for past crimes, whereas Christians believe repentance is enough to be cleansed of sins. I think some of Rothfuss' reasoning for creating a character similar to Christ, but much more vindictive is to explain the nature of the people in the world. Since myths are meant to have a moral meaning, more than a story of accurate events, it shows that people of the place and time of the Tehlin faith believed in strong punishment for their sins and did not tolerate blasphemy/heresy. This is supported in the Kingkiller Chronicle when Kvothe is often publicly whipped for his misconduct in the university, and as Skarpi is arrested for telling stories that do not coincide with the beliefs of the Tehlins.1
The Church of Tehlu may be better compared with an early form of Christianity. Though Christ may be compassionate and forgiving, The Old Testament God was often vengeful and cruel. An example of this is a quote from Genesis where God acts in vengeance, “ Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven.”5 Such stories from the Old Testament may have influenced Rothfuss to create a vengeful god that has so much in common with Christianity. Not only does the explanation of the Church of Tehlu help the reader understand the society in the books, the similarities with Christian faith, one of the worlds biggest religion, would cause the reader to be more understanding and empathize with the characters of the books. A Different Perspective
Not all the characters in the book seem to have the same beliefs as the Tehlin Faith. One of these characters is Kvothe, the protagonist. He suggests that some of the Tehlins' beliefs are misconceptions. Kvothe says, “They took it to the priest. He did all the right things for all the wrong reasons.”1 He is referring to a spider-like creature that Kvothe knows to be called a scraeling, but the priest buried it thinking it was a demon. There is also evidence in the series that suggests that Tehlu may not be a god or creator of the world. At one part of The Name of the Wind, Kvothe, makes some sort of joke where he says the universe was created by a being named Aleph, depending on your version of the story. Also, in another myth found in the book, Aleph gives Tehlu and a number of other characters an angel-like appearance for following his orders, implying that Aleph is a god-like figure instead of Tehlu. The differences in the views and myths give the books a mysterious quality. Since different people believe diffent things, it is hard for the reader to judge what is accurate and what is not. It is the mystery element that draws the reader in. Since people in our society believe in many different religions, it is a very realistic worldview.
The Tehlin faith is based around the teachings of a god and prophet named Tehlu. This character shares many similarities with the Christian faith. Tehlu, like Jesus Christ, is both mortal and divine. As the story goes, Tehlu was a god who gave birth to himself through a mortal virgin woman. Much like how God impregnated Mary without contact, Tehlu was said to do the same, except the child quickly grew into a man who was Tehlu himself. Tehlu did this so that he could help the world that was at the time corrupted by demons and show the people a better way of life.
The Path
In the story following Tehlu's birth, he performs a ritual that helps define the religion that later arises. Tehlu goes from town to town, gathering up all the folk that live there. He draws a line on the ground and told them that it represents two paths in life. He gave them an option to stay on their own path of pain and wickedness or to cross to his side and follow a path of faith and security. When each person crossed they were told to repent and he would punish them initially for their previous sins by stricking them with an iron hammer. He would then heal some of their pain and grant them new names. In every town there were said to be seven people that refused to cross; each were beaten to the ground and not given the following compassion or healing. The book of Tehlu's teachings that was later formed was named “The Book of the Path,” because Tehlins live following Tehlu's path.
Some of the people that were stuck turned out to be demons, which Tehlu would search out and cast away. There was one demon who continued to run away and gave Tehlu the biggest problem. This demon's name was Encanis. Tehlu eventually caught up with Encanis and punished him in a cruel way. Since demons were believed to hate fire and iron, Tehlu built a big iron wheel with six spokes and chained Encanis to it. He lit a fire beneath the wheel and watched as Encanis suffered for his crimes. Encanis almost broke free when Tehlu threw himself on him to hold him on the wheel. Tehlu told the people that he is sacrificing himself for the sake of humans. Both Tehlu and Encanis were sacrificed on the wheel. The wheel with six spokes later became a symbol of the Tehlin Church.
A Comparison of Religions
As I have briefly mentioned earlier, Tehlu has some similarities with Jesus Christ. They are both born of virgin mothers and a god, sent to direct mankind to the right path. They both perform miracles as Tehlu grew from a boy to a man in about 20 days and Christ performed such tasks as walking on water and curing the blind. Along with this, they both sacrificed themselves for the good of mankind. Christ died on a cross and similarly Tehlu died on a wheel. Both the cross and the wheel became important symbols to the respective religion.
The contrast that stands out the most in the church of Tehlu and Christianity is the fact that Tehlu is seen as a vengeful god, and Christ is seen as non-violent and compassionate to all. Tehlu was said to be angry at mankind before showing them the path, but Jesus is never seen as angry in the bible. Tehlu strikes his followers to punish them for past crimes, whereas Christians believe repentance is enough to be cleansed of sins. I think some of Rothfuss' reasoning for creating a character similar to Christ, but much more vindictive is to explain the nature of the people in the world. Since myths are meant to have a moral meaning, more than a story of accurate events, it shows that people of the place and time of the Tehlin faith believed in strong punishment for their sins and did not tolerate blasphemy/heresy. This is supported in the Kingkiller Chronicle when Kvothe is often publicly whipped for his misconduct in the university, and as Skarpi is arrested for telling stories that do not coincide with the beliefs of the Tehlins.1
The Church of Tehlu may be better compared with an early form of Christianity. Though Christ may be compassionate and forgiving, The Old Testament God was often vengeful and cruel. An example of this is a quote from Genesis where God acts in vengeance, “ Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven.”5 Such stories from the Old Testament may have influenced Rothfuss to create a vengeful god that has so much in common with Christianity. Not only does the explanation of the Church of Tehlu help the reader understand the society in the books, the similarities with Christian faith, one of the worlds biggest religion, would cause the reader to be more understanding and empathize with the characters of the books. A Different Perspective
Not all the characters in the book seem to have the same beliefs as the Tehlin Faith. One of these characters is Kvothe, the protagonist. He suggests that some of the Tehlins' beliefs are misconceptions. Kvothe says, “They took it to the priest. He did all the right things for all the wrong reasons.”1 He is referring to a spider-like creature that Kvothe knows to be called a scraeling, but the priest buried it thinking it was a demon. There is also evidence in the series that suggests that Tehlu may not be a god or creator of the world. At one part of The Name of the Wind, Kvothe, makes some sort of joke where he says the universe was created by a being named Aleph, depending on your version of the story. Also, in another myth found in the book, Aleph gives Tehlu and a number of other characters an angel-like appearance for following his orders, implying that Aleph is a god-like figure instead of Tehlu. The differences in the views and myths give the books a mysterious quality. Since different people believe diffent things, it is hard for the reader to judge what is accurate and what is not. It is the mystery element that draws the reader in. Since people in our society believe in many different religions, it is a very realistic worldview.