Origins of Religion

Image via Wikipedia

Click edit above to add content to this empty capsule.

I consider religion to be humanity's greatest invention. It is a means of explaining one of our basic human instincts, spirituality. That is the inherent feeling that there is something greater than ourselves.

Through research it has been determined that mankind has endured many stages in our development as well as our beliefs. We learned that in our beginnings we existed in a state of Oneness with nature called Animism. After that we became polytheistic meaning to have many gods.

Thousands of years onward we accepted a monotheistic (one god) view. But as we began to gain knowledge of the ways of nature and realized that we could manipulate certain aspects of it we came up with the theory of Evolution (survival of the fittest). Unfortunately the concept of Evolution did not knock out Monotheism but rather it sparked bitter dispute between the Church and Science.

Fast forward to the new millennium and a new theory has emerged that takes a little from all the previous concepts and goes by the name of Spontaneous Evolution. I will explain what it's about but first I will revisit the rest.

Animism
It is believed that Man has always had the instinctual idea that he and everything that exists in nature around him has a life force or spirit. Plants, animals, and even the river and the sea were believed to have a spirit. For instance, the indigenous people of the lands believed that in order to catch an animal you had to first appeal to its spirit. To catch fish you not only had to appeal to the spirit of the fish but also the spirit of river and so on. Early Man strived to live in harmony with nature never taking more than they need in order to maintain the balance. They considered their role to be that of a caretaker that tended the garden.

Polytheism
Logically as time went on we began to ponder the question of "How and why are we here". We developed many polytheistic beliefs according to our separate cultures. Some well-known polytheistic religions include the Sumerian gods and the Egyptian gods, and those of the Ancient Greek and Roman Religions. Most of the beliefs were based on the assumption that we must of been "Created" by gods who live in the heavens above and out of our sight and reach to serve out an ordained purpose here on earth. Some gods were more powerful than others while in most cases the most powerful represented the sun, moon, and earth.

Monotheism
With the introduction of the one god and one creation concept the world entered on a path toward modern civilization. Monotheism was first introduced in ancient Israel with the adoption of Yahweh (God) as the single object of worship and the rejection of the gods of other tribes and nations without, initially denying their existence. Following the death of Jesus and believing that his message was not exclusive to the Jews Jesus followers adopted and spread his message thought the late Roman Empire then the Latin and British empires.


The Arab world adapted monotheism through the writings of the prophet Mohammad who preached that this one god was also not exclusive to the Jews. His book The Holy Quran became the bases for the Islamic religion. Followers became known as Muslims. Today Monotheism is practiced by the majority of the earth’s population and is characteristic of the three major religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as many others. All of them view the same God as the creator of the world, who oversees and intervenes in all human events.

Evolution
By the 17th century the Kings and ruling classes of Europe and the Middle East thought they had a monopoly on a life of luxury by keeping the masses subservient through the authority of the scriptures. Then in the mid 1800's there appeared another concept so profound that it could not be ignored or squashed. Born out of mans continued curiosity and his experiments with nature man began to think that if he could manipulate plants and animals by cross breeding them to create new species then maybe we came to exist by the chance of nature and time.

The theory of Evolution was made popular through the publishing of the book (On the Origin of Species) by the Botanist and explorer Charles Darwin. The theory suggests that species always change and get better over time according to their ability to adapt to changes in the environment in which they live. Furthermore two major mechanisms determine which variants will become more common or rare in a species.

One is natural selection, a process that causes helpful traits (those that increase the chance of survival and reproduction) to become more common in a population and causes harmful traits to become more rare. This occurs because individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to reproduce, meaning that more individuals in the next generation will inherit these traits. Over many generations, adaptations occur through a combination of successive, small, random changes in traits, and natural selection of the variants best-suited for their environment.

The other major mechanism driving evolution is genetic drift, an independent process that produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population. Genetic drift results from the role that chance plays in whether a given trait will be passed on as individuals survive and reproduce.

Spontaneous Evolution
2010 is here and it is quite evident that humanity as a collective has reached a period of global crisis. World population is almost at a critical mass, our food sources are dwindling, and our natural resources are running out. The world seems poised for major catastrophe but can we be saved? According to pioneering biologist Bruce H. Lipton, it's not only possible, it's already occurring. In his theory of Spontaneous Evolution, this world-renowned expert in the emerging science of epigenetic reveals how our changing understanding of biology will help us navigate this turbulent period in our planet's history and how each of us can participate in this global shift.

Instead of far fetched theories about Aliens from other planets or sub-terrain beings Lipton boldly suggests that God is Mother Nature and her only goal is balance. Through his work in molecular biology and his insights into the workings of Cells and living organisms he borrows from the theory of Evolution and goes further.

Lipton suggests that nature is not about survival or the fittest but about adaptation in order to bring about balance. He also returns to the ides that man is the caretaker of that balance since we are the only species that is able to recognize and possibly help Mother Nature to maintain its balance.

Discovering God: The Origins of the Great Religions and the Evolution of BeliefThe Religion of the Samurai A Study of Zen Philosophy and Discipline in China and JapanReligion ExplainedAFRICAN ORIGINS SERIES Class 18: Ancient Egyptian/African Origins of Western religions (Judaism/ChriThe Hidden Truth: Revealing the Ancient Origins of Modern Religions [VHS]

The Book Of Eli

Cover of The Book of Eli

Click edit above to add content to this empty capsule.

Recently I went to see the movie The Book Of Eli. I saw a few of the commercials and the buzz about it beforehand so I became very interested in seeing this latest performance by one of Hollywood's top actors Denzel Washington. With him in any movie I immediately assume that it will offer an acceptable level of entertainment.

Well after seeing the movie I was not impressed. It started off slow and never picked up. Washington himself seemed unexcited about the role as a post apocalyptic weapon strapped loner bent on reaching “the west”. Why? Not even he knew. He claimed to heve heard a voice 30 years earlier that told him to find the last Bible, protect it with his life, and head west. He would know what to do once he gets there. The first question I asked was why he didn’t find a car to drive since there were drivable cars around.

The movie is set 30 years after what seemed like a nuclear war had wiped out 99% of the worlds population. Half the survivors were blind from the flash of the nuclear bombs while the rest and those born after had various ailments. I couldn’t figure out if Washington himself was blind because at the end it sort of suggests that he was. If that was the case then I give the writers credit for something deeper than the barbarism of the scenes.

It would mean that the bible was controlling Eli and not some god up in heaven. Lo now (The Word is an Entity whose sole purpose is to find a suitable Host). Like life itself this Entity is super resilient. Try to kill it all you want and it will find a way to cling to mans psyche and grow as a (Mustard seed). Word Life.
In the movie food and water were very scarce. Most people roamed the barren terrain in a lawless cannibalistic state. The villain is a maniacal maniac who rules a town full of these people. Washington passes through the town and ended up on the villains bad side when he kills off some of the villains henchmen.  The villain quickly finds out that Eli possesses the one thing he seeks, The Bible.

On the surface the whole movie is a blatant endorsement of the Christian faith. OK, don’t stone me for blasphemy yet. I didn’t say there was anything wrong with Christianity. I just don’t favor or endorse any religion or one over another. I believe in the Human spirit and I practice altruistic values. I have read the Bible unlike most people who claim to believe in it yet practice bigotry and hate. Like the movie suggests the Bible has power but not supernaturally. It gives insights into human nature that once understood could be put to use in controlling or assisting the human condition.

Let me get back to Mr. Eli and why the movie didn’t make sense to me. In the movie they blame religion for the destruction of the world so subsequently all bibles and religious writings were systematically destroyed. The villain was actively searching for a copy of the bible because he knew that with it he could rule the masses and build an empire that worshiped him. Eli had the last bible, a King James Version and his mission was to bring it out to the west cast where God would tell him what to do.

To me it seemed like what the makers of this movie was implying was that God had destroyed the world because man had corrupted it with all kinds of false religions so God was set on re-directing humanity into the hands of his “chosen people” the Christians. I hope they don’t intend to show this movie in any Muslim countries because it could easily be mis-understood.

All in all I would give this movie two out of five stars. One star for Washington and another star for the only scene that touched me. That was when the villain shot Eli (Washington) and he fell then rose up again before finally collapsing into the dirt. I saw possibilities of greatness that was unfortunately not present throughout the rest of the movie.

Children Of A Lesser God

Image via WikipediaMy case is not against God but against the false concepts that attempt to give praise to the all mighty. In my opinion all the major religions are flawed. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism individually attempt to claim exclusive ownership of the seat next to God at the exclusion of the rest. In Mans attempt to understand God’s plan are we straying away from the essential essence of that which we desire? Have we remade God into something lesser than the personification of love, peace, and understanding? Are we giving praise to a lesser god?

I logically assume that all humanity was created by one god. Whites, Blacks, Asians, Indians, and the First Nations; why then would that god foster division between the races, cultures, and countries as is evident in the world today. History reveals that division and conflict between men began way before religion. As time went by we developed many god concepts to inspire us until the Hebrews discovered the power of a single universal unseen force that no one could physically destroy.

I have read the Bible and while I admire its many uplifting, heroic, and morally based stories I found many faults as well. It is hard to believe that a god would want to be carried around the countryside in a box while commanding his followers to wipe out their enemy; men, woman, children, and animals alike. Did they discover a power so extraordinary that they could only explain it as "the true God"? Fortunately the story got more civilized by the time Jesus emerged but though he tried to spread love the bloodshed and strife continued up until present day. We exist in constant conflict between races, countries, neighbors and even families over religion. The main reason being that we covet God’s favor over the next man.

We realize that God needs us to submit and live acording to his laws but for doing so we secretly covet a reward. This is called "making conditions". We should never say "if you help me God I will do this or that". We are not God's equal neither does he need anything for security. No one knows what Gods intentions are so by making conditions we fall into a false sense of comfort in thinking that God is our friend and in his favor. When we see others in hardship or disaster, such as hurricane Katrina or the Tsunami in Indonesia we believe it is God’s will. Disaster struck them because they were disobedient in some way.

We have strayed away from the true God to something lesser. If the god that most people in the world worship today is the same god that created humanity then he is flawed. A perfect being cannot attempt to create something in his own likeness and it comes out flawed. The world is filled with too much evil and pain to be created for perfection. We need a deeper understanding of the True God and why he created this existence.