Dear forum,

I am in the process of researching and writing a theological science fiction novel. The main premise is that a simulated world has a world-soul, borrowing from Neo-Platonism. The world soul is a representative of the higher order beings who created the simulation (reference the Simulation Hypothesis).

The simulation is set up that agents who are inspired must climb a long series of steps up a mountain-side to a temple to purify themselves and receive blessings from the world soul. The world soul has sway over moral evil in the simulated world and works to get agents to climb the steps by mitigating it. When a certain number of agents are able to climb the steps, natural evil in the simulation is alleviated due to the way the simulation was programmed, otherwise it is not. The later can be a viscious cycle, and the whole setup is like a feedback loop in a dynamical system.

At a point in time, the world soul is tested by another higher order being named "The Examiner". The Examiner makes it more difficult for agents to be inspired to climb the steps, whiile at the same time raising the threshold for the number of agents to climb the steps to eliminate nautral evel. As natural evil increases in the simulation, it becomes more challenging for the world soul to avert moral evil, because the agents become wore down by their gloomy circumstances. The Examiner amplifies this dynamic by instigating a counter-religion to the world soul.

This religion is named "The New Order", and it promulgates the belief that evil, natural and moral, is befalling the simulation because the world soul is either evil himself and/or is punishing the agents unnecessarily for being evil as justification for its own existence (see the Theodicy of Protest).

The Examiner creates a myth about an entity known as the "Deiliverer", who has the power to free agents from the world soul's power. The Deliverer encourages agents to literally work themselves to death (possibly a twisted version of the Protestant work ethic) in order to gain his favor, because in the end they will be rid of the world-soul. Agents are encouraged to believe that the Deliverer knows beforehand who the elect are that in the end will be delivered from the world soul similar to Calvinism. Other beliefs from Calvinism may be applicable here as well.

Agents are also encouraged to only consider material progress and to avoid focusing on the "World Beyond" which emanated the world soul, The World Beyond is the agents' conceptualation of the universe where the higher order beings that programmed the simulation came from.

Agents must successfully conceptualize the World Beyond to finish climbing the steps, so an inability to do this indirectly increases nautral evil in the simulation, and hence moral evil (see previous comments). As previously stated, more evil amplifies the case for a theodicy of protest against the world soul, and therefore the attractiveness of the New Order.

I am at the point in my work where I am trying to do some world building surrounding the religion called "The New Order", and am looking for knowledge of how such topics as materialism, Calvinism, the Protestant work ethic, the theodicy of protest (and possibly others) relate to each other on a deep conceptual level. I am a layperson in religious studies, and am at a disadvantage in knowing how to go about researching this. Could anyone offer me some pointers or insight? I appreciate that some of these topics may be at odds with each other, but the goal is to create a unique transendential synthesis.

Here is an article on world building and religion: World Building and Religion guide.

Take care,
"A seeker"