The Socio-Political History of Organized Religion, Part I
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Guest Essay by B.R.
“All religions are equally sublime to the ignorant, useful to the politician, and ridiculous to the philosopher.” – Titus Lucretius Carus
How, why, and when did the concept of gods, and now a singular divine entity, watching over humanity come into existence? What role does this concept play in the formation of governments and their activities and how does it drive decision making?
For some these are questions that need not be asked, for the religion in which they believe and have placed their faith tells them that the divine entity of choice has been around since before day the first. Others, such as myself, can only speculate as we seek what we perceive to be more logical and rational explanations behind the origins of supreme beings, organized religion, and the like.
Fear of the unknown is a common trait shared by the overwhelming majority of humanity. This fear has, in turn, led to an obsessive desire to explain and understand every last thing we encounter. When an explanation is unacceptable we find some way to rationalize it instead. It is a common, everyday response and defense mechanism. Nothing more and nothing less.
You can be certain that from the first moment they could do so, primitive peoples were asking why the world around them functioned as it did, much less where it all came from in the first place. Of course there was nothing like science as we know it all those millennia ago, so where did those early peoples look to for answers? The elders among them.
My version of things goes something like this:
Something occurred. It could have been the sun rising or setting, a birth or a death, a storm, or even a volcanic eruption. The nature of the event itself is unimportant. What is important is that someone asked that dreaded question, “Why?” and some elder member of the tribe that was probably senile, two days away from death, and not caring one bit about what impact his words might have, had the bright idea to lay the event at the feet of some mysterious yet powerful entity, inadvertently starting humanity down the path to religion.
–B.R.
Pieces And Parts @ March 21, 2008