(June 12, 2010 at 9:23 am)tackattack Wrote: Your arguement is flawed. Where then did the original idea for religion evolve from. Someone somewhere had to originate the idea from some observance. It's impossible that all belief in any god ever is always coerced, that's an absolutist statement and is inaccurate. Without the Bible I would still have some idea of a designer or creator, and that would be my God. I also in fact do not believe that all other religions are inheritly false or derived from deception. I'm not implying that one is completely satisfied by religion, I for one am never completely fufilled or satisfied. Nor am I saying that I am without resentment 100% of the time, I'm human and that's a near impossibility. Please restate
You’re right – my argument is flawed. What I meant to say was that in modern times, all belief in any god is coerced. Absolutely no one, today, “finds” religion without being introduced to it by someone else. (Please don’t conjure up some story such as “what if a boy was raised by wolves with no human contact, and conceived the idea of a god all by himself?”) Without the bible or the introduction to religion by someone else, you would have no concept of religion at all. It is easy for you to say that you would still have some idea of a designer or creator, but that is pure speculation.
Where did the original idea for religion come from? We will probably never know for sure. However, because all religions date to primitive times, we can infer that they most likely arose from ignorance. Primitive man did not understand what caused earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, violent storms, disease, etc. Because of their ignorance, they conceived deities to blame things on, and made sacrifices to them in an attempt to appease them. Religion evolved to include giving “thanks” to the deities for such things as a bountiful crop or hunt, and for having a tornado wipe out a neighboring tribe instead of their own. The ideas of eternal life, salvation, and damnation were all part of the religious evolutionary process. All religions are man-made concepts.
It is understandable that you are not fulfilled or satisfied 100% of the time – that’s a little doubt called “reality” that is always in the back of your mind.
"If there are gaps they are in our knowledge, not in things themselves." Chapman Cohen
"Shit-apples don't fall far from the shit-tree, Randy." Mr. Lahey
"Shit-apples don't fall far from the shit-tree, Randy." Mr. Lahey