I have read a good bit of Dawkins and in _The God Delusion_, he says that it's a piggy-back on the need for children to obey and believe their parents and elders if they are going to survive. "Don't go near that cliff!" and "Don't swim in that lake with crocodiles" are information that the child needs in order to survive, without checking and testing it. These same people who they must believe and obey if they are to survive also tells them "There's a big guy up in the sky watching your every move." and "We must throw a virgin in the volcano every spring to ensure the success of our crops.", they will be unlikely to question it.
Or, as children, we had to obey. It was for our own good in many cases, but some rules seemed arbitrary, sometimes punishment was undeserved and unjust. But, our parents took care of our needs - they made sure we had food, clothing, a home, were at least somewhat safe. We seek to keep that in adulthood. The world is a scary place on our own. Or, if we didn't have a great childhood and had abusive, neglectful parents, we may still seek to "correct" our childhood with "Big Daddy" in the sky who "loves" us. We accept that bad things all happen for a reason, he loves us, and will give us everlasting happiness. Yeah, right. Can't I just watch "Little House on the Prairie" to see what a "Good father" might be?
We just want a parent to take care of us (again).
Or, as children, we had to obey. It was for our own good in many cases, but some rules seemed arbitrary, sometimes punishment was undeserved and unjust. But, our parents took care of our needs - they made sure we had food, clothing, a home, were at least somewhat safe. We seek to keep that in adulthood. The world is a scary place on our own. Or, if we didn't have a great childhood and had abusive, neglectful parents, we may still seek to "correct" our childhood with "Big Daddy" in the sky who "loves" us. We accept that bad things all happen for a reason, he loves us, and will give us everlasting happiness. Yeah, right. Can't I just watch "Little House on the Prairie" to see what a "Good father" might be?
We just want a parent to take care of us (again).
