presser_kun
Well-Known Member
It's an interesting question: Would a person without any influence from others develop religion on her own?
I tend to think the answer is yes. Here's why.
Humans are by nature curious. We look for reasons. When the thunderstorm comes, we wonder why. Perhaps a human in the wild would think the sky was angry. I doubt she would assume that impersonal natural forces would unite to cause a thunderstorm.
Why?
Because we only see action from living beings. Rocks, trees, dirt, grass -- these things do not move, and they do not move other things. Animals, insects, and humans do. They act. They make things happen.
It's a natural and easy leap from that realization to the supposition that the thunderstorm must be caused by a living being, but one superior to humans. After all, the whole sky lights up and roars.
I'd call this religion. The primitive attributes actions in nature to a living being.
Many of nature's acts (see? We call them "acts of nature") are scary, frightening. So it's also natural that we would want to appease the being responsible.
It's also easy to make connections that seem logical but aren't.
Many of us have had the experience of something electronic failing at the moment something else occurs, and assuming that the occurence is responsible for the failure, e.g., I click Send and my OS crashes. "What did I do to make that happen?", or "Why did that cause a crash?" are natural questions.
But often these occurences are coincidental to each other.
So. Primitive people, afraid of the noisy sky, bow and cry out. And the storm stops.
"We cried out to the Lord, and the Lord heard us! The mighty rain did cease at the Lord's command."
This, it seems to me, is the genesis of all religion.
I don't mean, however, that all religion is wrong, or based on a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of natural forces, not at all. It's quite possible that our desire to explain things is God-given, an impetus within us that God uses to draw us to him, step by step.
What do I believe?
Well, I'm not really sure. I used to be a Christian fundamentalist, but now I describe myself as a thoughtful seeker who's looking for a bigger understanding of God than any one religion or denomination can provide.
Hence my presence here.
peace,
presser_kun
I tend to think the answer is yes. Here's why.
Humans are by nature curious. We look for reasons. When the thunderstorm comes, we wonder why. Perhaps a human in the wild would think the sky was angry. I doubt she would assume that impersonal natural forces would unite to cause a thunderstorm.
Why?
Because we only see action from living beings. Rocks, trees, dirt, grass -- these things do not move, and they do not move other things. Animals, insects, and humans do. They act. They make things happen.
It's a natural and easy leap from that realization to the supposition that the thunderstorm must be caused by a living being, but one superior to humans. After all, the whole sky lights up and roars.
I'd call this religion. The primitive attributes actions in nature to a living being.
Many of nature's acts (see? We call them "acts of nature") are scary, frightening. So it's also natural that we would want to appease the being responsible.
It's also easy to make connections that seem logical but aren't.
Many of us have had the experience of something electronic failing at the moment something else occurs, and assuming that the occurence is responsible for the failure, e.g., I click Send and my OS crashes. "What did I do to make that happen?", or "Why did that cause a crash?" are natural questions.
But often these occurences are coincidental to each other.
So. Primitive people, afraid of the noisy sky, bow and cry out. And the storm stops.
"We cried out to the Lord, and the Lord heard us! The mighty rain did cease at the Lord's command."
This, it seems to me, is the genesis of all religion.
I don't mean, however, that all religion is wrong, or based on a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of natural forces, not at all. It's quite possible that our desire to explain things is God-given, an impetus within us that God uses to draw us to him, step by step.
What do I believe?
Well, I'm not really sure. I used to be a Christian fundamentalist, but now I describe myself as a thoughtful seeker who's looking for a bigger understanding of God than any one religion or denomination can provide.
Hence my presence here.
peace,
presser_kun