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Original poster

How did religion come about? (Not a thread for those believe)

85 replies

Soubriquet · 19/08/2023 15:24

I’m an atheist. I do not believe in God, Allah, Moses, Yahweh or any other deity.

It does make me wonder at times though, is how someone managed to convince the entire world that this happened and this is how it happened.

So, how did the so called word of god come about and why do so many people believe it?

OP posts:
EducatingArti · 19/08/2023 15:32

You say this is not a thread for those who believe. The problem with that, as I see it, is that you will only get a small subset cof opinions. How can you consider the issue clearly if you aren't up for a different range of views?

The views of people who believe in God differ greatly. Unless you are open to "something about the issue somewhere might have some kind of truth /validity" how can you ever be sure why people believe?

The best way of finding out a full and reasoned view of why people believe in God must surely include asking believers why ( and what specially) they believe but you exclude this completely!

TragicTess · 19/08/2023 15:34

Health & safety - rules that help society to function & prosper

Maireas · 19/08/2023 15:35

Moses isn't a deity. For those who believe, he was a prophet.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Philosophy & religion
Original poster
Soubriquet · 19/08/2023 15:35

True I suppose. I initially put not a thread for believers because I thought they would come on and rip me to shreds for daring to question it

OP posts:
tescocreditcard · 19/08/2023 15:40

Even Neanderthals had gods so I'm guessing religion is as old as man. It's really just a means of controlling people.

Chickenkeev · 19/08/2023 15:43

Just a means for power i suppose? Religion tends to focus on people's fears really. So it capitalised on that. And the guys at the top won big time. People do want to believe in 'more', that this isn't it. And maybe it isn't, i don't know any more than anyone else does. But i can see how it's comforting.

lisieux77 · 19/08/2023 15:43

TragicTess · 19/08/2023 15:34

Health & safety - rules that help society to function & prosper

Precisely this.

Whatsthepoint1234 · 19/08/2023 15:43

Just to make you aware Moses isn’t a G-d and using the word beginning with Y is very offensive/disrespectful. It’s preferred to use G-d or hashem instead.

YukoandHiro · 19/08/2023 15:44

TragicTess · 19/08/2023 15:34

Health & safety - rules that help society to function & prosper

This

Joolsin · 19/08/2023 15:45

I think that religion came about as a way of consoling people that, shit and short as life was, they would be going off to paradise when their hard, hunger and disease-filled lives ended. It's also a way of controlling people.

EducatingArti · 19/08/2023 15:51

So, my reasons. Initially, I think I started believing because as a teen I experienced genuine love and care from Christians that was so different to what I had experienced from my dysfunctional family. They told me that their love and care stemmed from God's love. They loved because he first loved them.

A lifetime later ( lol, I'm in my late 50s now) and I still feel that I have seen genuine care and love at another level, more from some Christians than from others without belief however not from everyone who says that are Christians by any means?

I've had direct experience of things that I would say were "most likely God", particularly when they were unusual and not what I would normally feel/ experience in a particular type of situation.

I guess now I would say I was on a journey to think through what I really believe, what I think about the Bible etc and this has /is running in parallel with the journey to heal from childhood trauma.

I guess I'm following a broadly Christian path rather than another religion because, at least in certain theologies, I'm sensing a growing freedom around the theme of being loved and loving rather than keeping rules and rituals for their own sake and I find something really profound in the idea of God becoming human and the process of defeating evil in Jesus's death and resurrection. I am sure there are aspects of truth in many religions though.

I don't know whether that helps with your understanding but I can only tell my own story!

Sheepsheepie · 19/08/2023 15:54

I think it makes sense to have some rules and order, that’s what religion brought to people. I can also see that when science couldn’t explain certain events that a higher power makes sense.

Giantpig · 19/08/2023 15:58

lisieux77 · 19/08/2023 15:43

Precisely this.

Show quote history

I think this is partially true but I think a large amount of religion began as a way to answer questions before the scientific answers were know.

Why is that person suddenly ill? Why does one woman have 5 children and other women none? Why is there a storm? Why is there no rain? Why have the crops got a disease? Why does eating some meat after 3 weeks make us sick but not other meat? Etc

When you have no idea about any of this stuff an all powerful/several powerful beings that control stuff makes sense.

GolgafrinchamB · 19/08/2023 15:58

People are story-tellers. We make up narratives to explain our world, and we haver done so for as far back as we can establish. It helps us feel safe and secure.

Some stories get told and retold and codified into belief systems.

If you look at the rules of Kosher eating, a lot are to do with avoiding food poisoning in a hot environment without refrigeration, for example.

Giantpig · 19/08/2023 15:59

GolgafrinchamB · 19/08/2023 15:58

People are story-tellers. We make up narratives to explain our world, and we haver done so for as far back as we can establish. It helps us feel safe and secure.

Some stories get told and retold and codified into belief systems.

If you look at the rules of Kosher eating, a lot are to do with avoiding food poisoning in a hot environment without refrigeration, for example.

This!

LadyMayGrey · 19/08/2023 16:00

We were designed with need in our hearts for a relationship with God. Why else would we have this need?

AdaColeman · 19/08/2023 16:00

Religion came about because from the earliest of times, mankind realised how insignificant their own individual lives were, filled with danger, hardship and fear. So they sought to explain this as life being controlled by a greater omnipotent power or being.

They created rituals to celebrate the being, the god of the hunt or war, or the goddess of the harvest or fertility. The rituals comforted them, because if things went wrong in their lives, it was due to a mistake in the ritual.

Daily life was an endless struggle, so the possibility of an afterlife where after death you would be rewarded for enduring these struggles, had huge appeal, Valhalla for example.

LegoCatLikesTuna · 19/08/2023 16:20

GolgafrinchamB · 19/08/2023 15:58

People are story-tellers. We make up narratives to explain our world, and we haver done so for as far back as we can establish. It helps us feel safe and secure.

Some stories get told and retold and codified into belief systems.

If you look at the rules of Kosher eating, a lot are to do with avoiding food poisoning in a hot environment without refrigeration, for example.

Such a perfectly succinct way of putting it!

CurlewKate · 19/08/2023 16:29

People look for patterns and explanations. When there is no obvious explanation we tend to fill in the gaps with the supernatural.

stbrandonsboat · 19/08/2023 16:29

I think the coffee and free biscuits help ☺️

Escapingtherealityoflife · 19/08/2023 16:32

Man has an inbuilt drive to worship something right since the dawn of time, whether it’s a god, or something else. You only have to look at people at football matches or concerts today to see worship in action.
If faith isn’t needed for survival of man why hasn’t it been “evolved” out of us?

MsJuniper · 19/08/2023 16:33

Every time I see the sun through the clouds like this, I think, "ah, that's where they got it from."



CurlewKate · 19/08/2023 16:35

@tescocreditcard I don't think there is any evidence that Neanderthals had a god. There is a little evidence that they displayed some ritualised behaviour but no more than that.

Chickenkeev · 19/08/2023 16:36

Escapingtherealityoflife · 19/08/2023 16:32

Man has an inbuilt drive to worship something right since the dawn of time, whether it’s a god, or something else. You only have to look at people at football matches or concerts today to see worship in action.
If faith isn’t needed for survival of man why hasn’t it been “evolved” out of us?

Food for thought there! I'm terrible for 'worshipping' people but had never thought of it in that way.

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