Religion of the Cleric: 5th Level Spells

Continuing my discussion of how Clerical magic can help us understand his religious beliefs. This spell list is spread across the Expert and the Companion sets as will be the 6th level spell list.

The OD&D Cleric
Analysis of Level 1 Spells
Analysis of Level 2 Spells
Analysis of Level 3 Spells
Analysis of Level 4 Spells
Analysis of Level 6 Spells
Analysis of Level 7 Spells
Conclusions

From the Expert Rulebook:

Commune
This spell allows the cleric to ask questions of the greater powers (the DM, mythological deities, etc.). The cleric may ask three questions that can be answered yes or no. However, a cleric may commune only once a week. If this spell is used too often, the DM may wish to limit its use to once a month. Once a year the cleric may ask twice the normal number of questions.

I have always felt conflicted about this spell, being a religious person myself. Let's first lay out the doctrine of my church(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and my own experience with divine revelation. When praying for specific answer, whether it be about an important decision or a gospel related question, a person should study something first, come to a general conclusion and "then you must ask me[God] if it be right" (The Doctrine and Covenants Section 9 Verse 8) From there your decision is either confirmed when you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit(which is different for different people at different times, it's not always a 'burning of the bosom') or you receive a 'stupor of thought' as a negative answer. Now there has been much debate about what 'stupor of thought' means, but let me just summarize by saying that when you feel that Holy Spirit you know what course of action to take. Because of this scripture, and others that reinforce it, the Church teaches that we should ask God yes or no questions. What has been set forth above is the basic doctrine, my experience is somewhat more nuanced. Sometimes I have received answers that are more complicated than just an affirmation or negation, sometimes I receive an answer that basically says God doesn't care and to do what you want to do, and then there are times you receive answers to things you never asked, and all this is to say nothing of what is generally referred to as 'promptings' in the Church.
     So, how does all this relate to the Commune spell? Well, firstly I think the yes or no requirement is a good start implying that the Deity worshiped by thus order of Clerics answers prayers in a manner similar to my own experiences, plus it is very gameable. As far as limiting to to only 3 questions, and only being able to cast this spell once a week, I understand these rules were written to limit player abuse, but it still doesn't feel quite right to me. Speaking of abuse, it is heavily implied, but not directly spoken to, that the yes or no answer should be correct/truthful. I have seen too many DMs claim that they don't have to answer the questions truthfully, they just don't want the players to know the truth, or they want to 'trick' them. It's all just an excuse for a bad DM to lie to his players. If you don't want them to be able to receive revelation from their gods, don't allow the spell in the game. So back to this limitation of 3 questions only once a week. I think this implies some very important things as to the nature of the Deity and the faith of the Cleric. I see 2 options for what this means, 1) either the Deity is distant and it requires a lot of time and effort to summon his attention, or there is some other limiting factor on the Deity's ability to communicate with his servants, or 2) the cleric must take the time to study and prepare the questions for an entire week using special poetical form or special words or he has to build up his faith to an extent to be able to communicate directly with his god. There are a myriad of explanations I can think of to explain these limitations, one example that strikes me is when Moses was in the habit of talking to God face to face there was a time when God said that he would only show him his backside. Things like that make me think these limitations are due more to the faith of the follower than the power or ability of the Deity.
     One other thing I want to note is the fact that this a 5th level spell. That means [checking my charts] only a 10th level cleric can cast this. The level title for 9th level or above is 'Patriarch,' so basically the head of the church (ie the Pope) can use this and no one else (anyone else would go start their own church). This is not equivalent to personal divine revelation (all that stuff I was talking about at the beginning of this analysis); this is a prophetic calling. The cleric has a direct line to the will of god. So what happens when two clerics both can use this spell? They both become prophets with their own following and churches are built up around their legacy and their interpretation of the word of god, and remember it has to be an interpretation because they can only receive yes or no answers. Let's take a real world example: to confirm the doctrine of the Trinity, a modern christian might ask, "are the Holy Spirit, The Father, and The Son one God?" While in contrast someone from my church might ask, "Is the Godhead(the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) composed of three separate and distinct personages?" Both might receive an answer of 'yes' and interpret it to mean the other is wrong, but again this is all interpretation. For a Cleric with only this method of communicating with their Deity, it means there is no sacred text(the bible) that is the 'word of god.' The word of god only comes through as yes or no, so he could confirm whether something someone had written was correct or not, and then the cleric touts this piece of writing as the 'word of god,' but this never came directly as inspiration from god; there are no long winded, confusing prophecies direct from god. At least not in the form of a direct revelation, the next best thing would be an angel/messenger of god sent to declare his word.
     What can we draw from all this? Well even if the religion of the standard cleric is monotheistic as surmised by other evidence, it is a very different monotheism from what has existed throughout history. There are no biblical style prophets proclaiming to be the mouthpiece of God. The leaders of branches of the church, or churches of the same basic belief system(think protestantism) act as interpreters and final arbiters of the will of god concerning very specific questions. These leaders fulfill a role similar to the modern day Pope; he interprets and decides the general practices and policies of the Catholic Church, but he doesn't claim to be a prophet like Moses. The only way for members of this religion to know the true 'Will of God' are through direct divine manifestations, whether that be a visitation from the Deity himself or a messenger (angel).

Create Food
This spell creates enough food to feed 12 men and their mounts for one day. For every level of the cleric above 8th, food for 12 additional men and mounts is created.

This is complementary to the 4^th level spell Create Water. Again this allows a cleric to feed a small army. Mostly it brings to mind the tribes of Israel being fed by ‘Manna from Heaven’ for 40 years in the wilderness. This isn’t quite on such a large scale, but I could see a similar legend circulating among the modern followers of this religion.

Dispel Evil
This spell may affect all undead and enchanted (summoned, controlled, and animated) monsters within range. It will destroy the monster unless each victim makes a Saving Throw vs. Spells. If cast at only one creature, a -2 penalty applies to the Saving Throw. Any creature from another plane is Banished (forced to return to its home plane) if the Saving Throw is failed. Even if the Saving Throw is successful, the victims must flee the area, and will stay away as long as the caster concentrates (without moving).
     This spell will also remove the curse from any one cursed item, or may be used to remove any magical charm.

This reiterates the idea that magical creatures are enemies or an affront to the Deity of the Cleric, implying that the Deity is connected to the natural or mundane world. Perhaps there is also the implication that the Deity has jurisdiction over the Prime Plane. In function this spell is a suped-up turn undead, also being able to turn or destroy enchanted creatures. Why a Cleric might use this spell to remove a curse instead of the Remove Curse Spell seems confusing, unless perhaps the cleric doesn't know whether the something or someone is cursed or enchanted.

Insect Plague
This spell summons a vast swarm of insects. The swarm obscures vision and drives off creatures of less than 3 Hit Dice (no Saving Throw). The swarm moves at up to 20’ per round as directed by the cleric while it is within range. The caster must concentrate, without moving, to control the swarm. If the caster is disturbed, the insects scatter and the spell ends. This spell only works outdoors and aboveground.

This is another connection to the natural world. The Deity of the Cleric has the power to control the lower forms of life. The implications of this are numerous; maybe this control is the result of an inherent mastery through creation, or maybe the Deity has a hive like mind that can supersede the natural queen/hive mind of these insects, or maybe the nature of the Deity is in common with all living things so that even the insects will listen to requests. There are many possible reasons that the Deity has some measure of control over even the lowest orders of the natural world, and each explanation tells us more about the inherent nature of the Deity.

Quest
This spell forces the recipient to perform some special task or quest, as commanded by the caster. The victim may make a Saving Throw vs. Spells to avoid the effect. A typical task might include slaying a certain monster, rescuing a prisoner, obtaining a magic item for the caster, or going on a pilgrimage. If the task is impossible or suicidal, the spell has no effect. Once the task is completed, the spell ends. Any victim refusing to go on the quest is cursed until the quest is continued. The type of curse is decided by the DM, but may be double normal strength.
     The reverse of this spell, remove quest, may be used to dispel an unwanted quest or a quest-related curse. The chance of success is 50%, reduced by 5% for every level of the caster below that of the caster of the quest (an 11th level cleric attempting to remove a quest from a 13th level cleric has a 40% chance of success).

Unlike common Christian beliefs, this God can suspend the agency of an individual human. I see this as an extension of the command which the Deity has over all living things, there is nothing that separates man from beast. The saving throw does imply that intelligent beings with their own will may resist the commands of the Deity. Or are those commands weakened because they are channeled through a priest and don't come directly from the Deity? In either case the agency of man is not sacrosanct.

Raise Dead
By means of this spell, the cleric can raise any human, dwarf, halfling, or elf from the dead. The body must be present, and if part is missing, the raised character may be disabled in some way. An 8th level cleric can raise a body that has been dead for up to four days. For each level of the cleric above 8th, four days are added to this time. Thus, a 10th level cleric can raise bodies that have been dead for up to twelve days. The recipient becomes alive with 1 hit point, and cannot fight, cast spells, use abilities, carry heavy loads, or move more than half speed. These penalties will disappear after 2 full weeks of complete bed rest, but the healing cannot be speeded by magic.

The general implications of this spell are enormous. The Deity has complete power over life and death. Interestingly this spell also has some connection to real world Judeo-Christian tradition. As I understand it, the jews believed that the spirit left the body on the 4th day, which matches with the time limit on this spell.

     This spell may also be cast at any one undead creature within range. The creature will be slain unless it makes a Saving Throw vs. Spells with a -2 penalty. However, a vampire thus affected is only forced to retreat to its coffin, in gaseous form, to rest.

This effect upon the undead shows that undeath is the antithesis of life. The Undead have no spirits that can be returned to their bodies and are hence not returned to normal life when this spell is cast, they simply return to inanimate matter. If death is the absence of life, then undeath is the opposite of life.

     The reverse of this spell, finger of death, creates a death ray that will kill any one living creature within 60’. The victim may make a Saving Throw vs. Death Ray to avoid the effect. A Lawful cleric will only use finger of death in a life-or-death situation.

The reverse effects of this spell simply shows the depravity of Evil Priests; they will kill with impunity. Instead of giving life, the enemies of the church take life, and can be punished in  like manner by their counterparts in the church.

From the Players Companion:

Cure Critical Wounds
This spell is similar to a cure light wounds spell, but will cure one living creature of 6-21 (3d6+3) points of damage.
     The reverse of this spell (cause critical wounds) causes 6-21points of damage to any living creature or character touched (no Saving Throw). The caster must make a normal HIt rol to cause the critical wound.

As with other sure wound spells, this shows the healing nature of the Church. The message of the church is to bring healing and comfort, and the enemies of the church seek to cause pain and suffering.

Raise Dead
When cast at an Undead creature with more Hit Dice than a vampire, this spell inflicts 3-30 (3d10) points of damage. The victim may make a Saving Throw vs. Spells to take 1/2 damage.
     The revesre, finger of death, will actually cure 3-30 points of damage for any undead with 10 or more Hit Dice (phantom, haunt, spirit, nightshade, or special).

These details add little to what has already been said; it just provides more specific rules for specific situations.

Truesight
When this spell is cast, the cleric is able to clearly see all things within 120'. The spell is quite powerful; the cleric can see all hidden, invisible, and ethereal objects and creatures, as with the magic-user detect invisible spell (including secret doors). In addition any things or creatures not in their true form- whether polymorphed, disguised, or otherwise- are seen as they truly are, with no possibility of deception. Alignment is also "seen," as is experience and power (level or Hit Dice).

This speaks to the Omniscience of the Deity worshiped by the Cleric. The Diety knows the true nature of all things. There is more and more evidence that this Deity can see everywhere at once and knows all thins, and may impart to his servants on earth select portions of his knowledge.