Here's a little thing I created a while ago for a shared worlds game. Not particularly realistic but still a fun piece.
Babylonian Nestorianism, an analysis
Babylonian Nestorianism is an intriguing offshoot of Nestorianism. In a schism from the main Nestorian church in the late 800s, the Babylonian Nestorian church emphasised that God and Marduk were one in the same. In this way, they split themselves off from the rest of the Christian world. Babylonian Nestorianism contains much doctrine taken from Judaism and various forms of Christianity. Rejecting the mainstream Christian view of Christ, and the Nestorian view, they propose that each person is actually composed of three ‘Persons’. There is their physical person, seen normally. There is the Spiritual person, which is their mind and soul. Then there is their divine person, which they only see when they die and go to Heaven. According to Babylonian Nestorianism Christ is the only Human being to have been composed of all three at once. In a normal person, the Physical and the spiritual person are constantly at odds. However, Christ has a much larger Spiritual person as compared to his physical person, and his divine person is active while he is alive. According to Babylonian sages this is what allowed him to do the deeds which he did. Marduk is the only being composed entirely of a Divine person, and Angels are composed of Spiritual and Divine persons.
The only way to get into heaven is to have your spiritual person defeat your Physical person, thus allowing your spiritual person access to heaven. In this way you have freed yourself from materialism. In order to allow your spiritualism to get the upper hand, you must do a large number of different tasks. One of them is attending church in the local ziggurat. The sessions are held in the highest point of the ziggurat, as you are closer to your divine person. Furthermore, Marduk’s blessings are closer to you, allowing you to more easily defeat your physical person. In addition, A 20 day fast after the New year is exemplary. You starve your physical person, once again allowing your spiritual person to get the upper hand.
Being killed in battle automatically rids you of your physical person, in accordance with Babylonian law. Your spiritual person has thus won the battle, and your get a warrior’s procession in heaven. Another way to get allowed into Heaven is to study the holy scriptures of the new Testament, and Nagabla, the holy Babylonian book. Those who study the book their entire lives overcome their physical being as their spiritual being feeds on the energy studying these holy scriptures provides. Your physical person is actually in league with Baalibek, the Anti-Marduk. He fought Marduk in the great war of the gods. In that war, Marduk, with the help of Christ, destroyed all the other gods but one, Baalibek. Baalibek hid in the nether regions of the earth, hiding and plotting. His retribution for his defeat was the creation of the physical person.
There are some dietary constraints. Pig is allowed, but only at festivals. Horses are not allowed, as well as most bird species. Fish with no fins and scales are not allowed. All insects are allowed, but there are specific rituals regarding them. Eating carnivores is prohibited and eating sheep is not allowed. Goats are the harbinger of desert and are not allowed in any way shape or form. They eat the life-giving trees containing the essence of trapped spiritual persons. Cutting them or their shoots is only allowed in limited amounts.
As for the sciences, pursuit of it is encouraged. The zero represents the manifestation of Marduk’s will, and mathematics are the way to unlock his secret. Scientific method must be done correctly as is stated in 1:2 Nalhazzar of the Nagabla. Prayers must be done correctly as well. Once everything is completed, you must thank Marduk for allowing you to access his knowledge in your scriptures. The gentiles, or heathens, are important. They have no divine person, and their spiritual person is minimal. To kill a gentile is not murder, it is the path to defeating Baalibek’s minions.
There are various ways to not be allowed into heaven. The most common is to neglect to support your spiritual self in the battle against your physical self. Others include breaking the Ten Commandments, which have been modified for what Marduk has explained them to be. Breaking the ten commandments is considered a Galaza sin, or a huge sin. This huge sin is punishable by death. The people who kill you are known as the religious Police, and they are the defenders of the faith. Making a Galaza sin will allow them to execute you. Execution is explained by various sources. Saint Napolabassar explains that the cut must be completely clean in order for as little pain to be done. This is usually done by beheading. The spinal cord is the connection between the spiritual and physical parts of the body in the brain and torso respectively. Severing it allows the spiritual body to be free. The physical body is to be locked up in Hell, while the spiritual body is allowed to make the trip to heaven. Unfortunately, they will have a 1000 years of purgatory before they can transition to their divine soul. This is because of the fact that the Galaza sin cannot be ignored so simply.
Heathens like heretics play a large role in the religion. While gentiles(pagans) are to be killed when caught, Jews and other Christians are a different story. Jews are a very important part of Babylon, taken there by Nebuchadnezzar himself. Though a lower class than the rest of Babylon, they are not to be harmed. It is believed that Jews have a very large spiritual person, and their physical person is generally smaller. Their reputation as accountants and mathematicians has finally redeemed in the eyes of Marduk(2:4 Bala-Hazar). Christians of different sects are known to be misguided. They are only to be harmed if they do a Galaza sin or if they do a Naganu sin, despite the fact that Naganu is generally not an execution worthy sin.
A Naganu sin is a less severe sin. Examples of it include the cutting of a tree when it is not allowed, stealing an animal under a specified height in cubits, and the failure to recite a preliminary prayer before Scientific method is completed. A Naganu sin will usually be let off with a warning or a few lashes. Repeat offenders will be cursed and their spiritual persons will suffer in their battle against their physical persons. Naganu sins have an expiry rate, and there is to ways to rid oneself of a Naganu sin. Generally the easiest way is during the 20 day New Year fasts and festivals. By starving out your physical person you weaken it and put the balance back into the battle between your physical and spiritual self. If not, the expiry date if apathy is committed is seven years. That is the Ovel year, when slaves are allowed to pay for their freedom if they can and more offerings are given to the Ziggurat than normal. Then all your sins are cleared. If you rack up five Naganu sins without fasting correctly and without seeing a priest to clear up your sins, you are liable to have a Galaza sin and will get a visit from the religious police.
Finally, the most important person in the kingdom is the Priest-King. He is blessed by Marduk to lead. Elected by a council of priests, the Holy Conclave, he is the descendent of Nebuchadnezzar. His divine person is much larger, and he has almost no physical person. On his death, he leaves to a special part of heaven and a new Priest-King is voted upon. The Priest-King has a holy war council, and the generals he chooses are to fight his wars for him. If his generals attempt to overthrow the Priest-King and are victorious, it is a sign that the Priest-King is false and that the General is in fact the correct Priest-King.