Now obviously this is going to offend, and I don't intend to defend my position on this after this post. I'm very rarely in this forum and on top of that you have the right to disagree, and a lot of people will.
First off, let me say, I have the utmost respect for those with religious faith. In no way am I saying or arguing that you should give up on any of that. Unfortunately at this point in my life I'm not one who has faith in a religion of any sorts.
Now that said, my point of discussion is the source of religion. Not particularly picking on any one religion, I believe they all have roots more in human psychology than they do based on physical history. The basis of the human psyche is to instill in one's self a sense of worth. Not a measurable wealth in posessions, but a general acceptance of peers. I don't think anybody would argue that everybody is wanting to be accepted by somebody or something. Even those rebellious groups of individuals who separate themselves by extreme behavior are seeking acceptance in one respect or another.
Now, psychologically and/or physically, a person will latch onto somebody who is stronger than they are. This goes back to the very basics of animal psychology where the same activity can be seen in any social animal society. Elephant herds have a very distinct leader, lions have distince alpha leaders, monkeys, cats, prairie dogs, the list goes on. Those weaker of the society are seeking to gain acceptance and strength through idolization (maybe I just made that word up, but you get it) of those who's qualities they see as being a goal for themselves.
Now going back to the beginning of time, when multiple species of the early humanoids started walking the earth. Whether or not you believe in evolution is another discussion, but everyone can't dispute solid evidence of early man. These groups also had alpha leaders who most likely put themselves into a leadership position by proving they were better than the others of the clan. This type of acention was the basis for human life for probably a half a million years, groups roaming through what was Eurasia having a very set ranking system. The groups had a type of cast system, those who would provide the most resources, either intellectual or physical, would be elevated in the society.
This type of activity was continued for so long that it was burned into the human essence. The weak aspired to become the strong through emulation of the best qualities of those in power.
Now, some time in there humans began to evolve into modern man. They stopped roaming and hunting and started farming and building cities. The cast system was more alive then than it ever was. Even back to the Egyption times there were leaders (pharoh's), and those who were nothing more than the bottom of the bucket (slaves). Now, to hold power over somebody you have to prove that you are better than they are, either through a show of power or through tactful politicking. There is no doubt in my mind that the first leaders of the world used politicking to get into power.
Now politicking was probably nothing like it is today. These people would probably have argued that they were sent by the earth, sun, moon, mountain, water, etc to be the keeper of the people under them. This is my guess as to where the thought of multiple gods came in. Such as Rah, Sun God. Who would argue with the sun that this person was destine to rule the people? Through clever politicking and later through bloodlines, this is most likely the source of the Egyption, Roman, and many other early empires.
So then, you get distention between those groups who worship different sets of gods. A good part if not most of the early wars were over religious pretenses. One group would say that they were commanded by the Sun god to rule this area, and the other group would say that they were given this area to rule by the god of the sea. Obviously the attacking group's leader would be seeking more power (a sense of self worth through position, goes back to my original point). This probably progressed through to a "my god is better than your god" style argument, for a down to basics look at it.
One group would probably have said "I have one god who rules everything". This is another source of power, I mean who would you vote for in a fight, 50 guys with 1/50th the power, or 1 guy with all the power? The birth of "god". That was probably one of MANY factors leading to the creation of a being who is all powerful and all knowing. Even the jewish people were slaves if I recall correctly. You don't want to latch yourself onto a stronger person who in your eyes is nothing more than a dictator who treats you worse than the mule next to you. So you create something that is better than he is, better than who commands him, and will strike him down for worshipping anybody else.
All faiths seem to have a similar basis that I have found. There are a couple out there who's source seems to be one's self and not the worshipping of something more powerful and unknown. Those faiths I believe to be the only true faiths at this point in my life. God was never about an all knowing, all powerful being who rewards those who worship him, and punishes those who don't. God was always about a weak person latching onto a stronger person for a sense of self worth.
You look at today's bible thumping hippies and they are on a high horse like you can't believe because they are "doing the work of god". Can I get a written work order for that? I always envied those with a religious following since I'm so analytical that I can't put so much faith into something I can't see, hear, touch, or find any physical evidence that they actually exist.
Thats the biggest problem that I have with some religious groups, especially up here where the devout christians don't just follow thier faith, but feel the need to push it on EVERYBODY else. Thats great that you have a faith like that, but please follow it in peace. If I'm going to find god, I will do it on my own.
So, summing it up I guess, I believe that god, gods, or religous dieties without a basis in reality (Muhammed was real), are creations of man who have believed in them with such conviction for so long, that the thought that they don't exist is blastphamist (sp).
Yeah, I'm bored at work
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