PMo,
You’re very welcome. Feel free to bring any science/religion confrontation questions you may have to me, and I’ll do my best to address them. As to thoughts from your son’s email:
There was a time when humans (in whatever form they existed hundreds of thousands of years ago) had no concept of any ‘being’ larger/greater than themselves.
Actually, this is not true from an anthropological standpoint. Neanderthals buried their dead some 200,000 years ago with their personal belongings, implying a belief in an eternal resting place and, presumably, a deity. Every human ancestor of the genus
Homo showed similar religious ritualistic practices, and every single human (
Homo sapiens) culture that has ever existed has had some form of religious belief in a God or gods. The arrival of the concept of a being larger than ourselves came with the institution of consciousness and the soul into the first true humans, Adam and Eve. Therefore, there was never a time when “humans” as conscious beings existed without a knowledge of God.
As time progressed, a few of the smarter ones started realizing that people have a need to explain everything and there was a big hole concerning things that couldn’t be explained (why are we here? how did we come into existence? How are birds, trees, wind made?) The “smarter” ones realized they could exploit these holes by creating the concept of a ‘higher being’ that is responsible for these unexplainable things and that they are able to communicate with this ‘higher being’ so the masses should listen to them since they are a conduit to this ‘higher being’. Thus were born the medicine men, witch doctors, priests, oracles, etc.
I don’t know why some people insist that God was a made-up concept at some point in time. Did these same people make up beauty, truth, love, and justice too, or do these things not really exist? Logic would have told primitive man (as it does today) that, set apart as we are from the rest of the animal kingdom, we are a part of something far greater than ourselves (the universe), and this universe requires an explanation for its existence (God).
The very first man would have (did) known this.
Ironically, the quote from your son above could be used analogously for modern man’s “witch doctors” (militant atheist scientists) who claim to be able to answer all of the unexplainable things through the conduit of science, and are using the power of science to manipulate the masses to accept horrific attacks on the human person through abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, eugenics, and the like. Of course, simple logic, the human heart, and science itself tells us otherwise.
They were/are able to manipulate the fears/insecurities/uncertainties of the masses in the most brilliant way possible…by hanging the fear of their god over them and the idea of what will happen to them after they die. It was/is a massive power grab. No other set of ideas, beliefs or institutions has as much control over people as religion.
No doubt there has been an abuse of power using religion throughout the course of human history. But the real question is
why does religion continue to have so much control over people? Could it not be that at their very core of being, humans know that they are going to have to answer to someone for their actions during their lifetime? That the quest for the divine is programmed into us because the divine really exists? To use C.S. Lewis’ logic, just as we humans crave food, shelter, and love (things that really exist), why would we have an intrinsic desire to search for something (God) that doesn’t exist?
The religions in power today are merely the stronger ones that have been able to squash and demonize other religions and attract followers by offering what the people want at the time. How else can you explain the vast numbers of religions and gods/goddesses/demi-gods that have existed over the last hundred thousand years or so?
I’d be curious to hear how he reconciles this belief with the rise of Christianity, especially considering the persecutions that the early Christians survived in the Church’s first 300+ years. Is it possible that the religions in power today are present because they reflect a better understanding of God than the religions of the past, just as we have a better understanding of the natural world today than we did long ago?
There are core psychological traits in humans that haven’t changed all that much over time. We are subject to heard mentality, we fear the unknown and have a incessant need to explain everything. You put these traits together and it’s a perfect environment for religion and the power hungry humans know this and exploit it by either getting into politics/religion/banking. People are weak and prone to being manipulated. It’s mind blowing when you think about it that an individual would be willing to make the most extreme sacrifice in giving their life at the command of another person as people do when they listen to their political and religious leaders.
Yet here he is, thinking about these things. Does mere matter “think”? Yes, we humans most certainly have our limitations, but we also have our strengths. It is mind blowing that more people don’t realize how God-like our consciousness, conscience, and free will truly are.
I hope this helps a little. Keep your chin up, PMo. You both are in my prayers.
To show what I’m dealing with, here is part of the last email he sent: