Holy men and women, it occurs to me, are always the ones who go against the grain. They were imbued with a sense of right and wrong, and weren't perfect (though their sycophants may downplay the mistakes, or erase them from memory). They got into trouble with The Man, because things they said were verboten and taboo.
I am thinking that perhaps these men and women were simply larger than life folk who managed to create a big enough ruckus that a lot of people followed them. It could be because they liked what they heard, or were me-tooists, or had their own agendas they could propagate more easily if they attached it to This Guy Over Here's idea. Followers could even be people looking to stick it to their parents and THE MAN, whoever the man might be at the time.
Thoghts?
My HolinessTM is entirely based on idiocy. I have achieved enlightenment, as it were, by whizzing on the electric fence.
I don't recommend it to just anyone. You have to have the self-confidence to look the paramedic right in the eye while he struggles to get your tongue out of the printer. You have to be able to explain to the police man just exactly where your clothes went. You must be comfortable with degradation.
I always thought holymen were in charge of the wine and rationed it so society didn't become drunks
I find too much Holy causes diarrhea and high blood pressure, so I remain on the other side as I prefer hardened feces and that feeling when there is a lack of oxygen to your nervous system.