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anthrosub -> RE: The Bible and Common Sense (8/20/2006 4:08:29 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: SavageFaerie
And on the second paragraph, perhaps, just perhaps it is because there is God in everyone.
I personally think there is in all religions, oh however we believe.
I can also understand atheist and agnostics. Go figure that one out. Ultimately it come down to this "To each their own".
Personally, I think God is "in" everyone. But when reading that sentence you have to be careful with how we use words. What I'm really saying is God is in us just as much as in everything else. But that becomes a problem because it makes the distinction between God and the universe irrelevant. Saying God is everything is has no more meaning than saying, "Everything is pointing up."
I think if you look closely, it's not hard to see that religious people see God as a source for meaning. People want an answer to, "What's the point of all this?" But for some obscure reason, people are not satisfied with being the source of meaning. They have to externalize it so they can point to something outside themselves.
I can't say if this was the driving force in the early history of humanity but I do think this is a psychological trait people have exhibited in the latter part of history. I tend to think the origins of religion grew out of myths from oral stories that were passed on from generation to generation long ago. Perhaps the early cultures had someone whose role was like a Shaman or Holy person and they were the keeper of the stories and used them to answer questions posed by the group or tribe.
Once agriculture was developed and people began to settle down and organize, it seems completely feasible that the spiritual leaders would also find not only the need but an opportunity to codify their myths and organize their religion. Before agriculture and settlements existed, religion had to be portable. But with settlements, villages, and eventually towns and cities...it would now be possible to build a place of worship.
This would be happening at the same time that governments were being developed and as I've mentioned before, the leaders would need authority and where better to get it than from the religious leadership. So to me, this would help explain how God became externalized in the history of humanity. The "evidence" for it is in the understanding we have of ancient cultures as revealed through archeology.
Once the leaders realized the power they controlled, it should be no surprise they would take steps to keep it. Not until science came on the scene did the power of religion begin to lose its grip on society as a political force. What we've been seeing since about 500 years ago is the continued reduction of that power and it's not over yet. But for people who turn to religion for simple comfort and the values it professes (perhaps like yourself), the political struggle is almost irrelevant.
To me, God, truth, and the unknown are all synonyms. We all explore it in our own way. To the extent we have similar experiences we are in agreement and for most, the parts that are different are seen as an opportunity to enrich each other's understanding. But for a minority of fanatics (or purists), this is simply unacceptable which is unfortunate.
anthrosub
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