Does it make sense that all religions were invented by man?

Question

I don't understand how religions could be invented - take Judaism for example, The Old Testament records that there were more than 600,000 people when The Ten Commandments were given, which is only about 3,000/3,500 years ago. I mean, at what point did a guy come in and say "hey you guys, we're all Jewish because I just remembered this Mt. Sinai thing last week", and everyone in the room says "perfect timing, we just remembered it too", and based on that a religion is still ongoing?!?

Answer 1

Interesting that nobdody actually addressed the issue you brought up.

Answer 2

Sorry, but your question doesn't make much sense. Moses's 'recieving' of the 10 Commandments is not really considered the 'birth' of Judaism - if you mean that there were 600,000 monotheists at the time, why not? What does it change?

Of course, in polytheistic areas, religions were largely 'tribal', and if the tribal leader worshipped a certain god, all of his followers were more or less automatically taken to worship the same god.

Ask yourself this question - let's say that Judaism was invented by God. So you must presume that all of the others were created by man, right? Or else we've got a highly schizophrenic god on our hands. So either all religions except one were created by man, or 100% of all religions were. The second explanation makes more sense to me than the first.

Answer 3

If it was 3,000/3,500 years ago, [ now in 2006 CE ], how many years before that did
they have to become 600,000 people?
How many people in the flood, what religion and for how many years?
How many was at the tower of Babel and what religion was that, is it still here?
What year did Hebron or a Hebrew come to be?
What year did Jerusalem or Jew come to be.
What year did Judah for Judaism come to be?
Back then Israel and Judah had a religion that called for burning their children in Fire 2Chr.28:1-4; Jer.7:30,31; 19:2-5;
What years did Pharisees come to be since Maccabees were 164 BCE.
What religion was Rome before it took up Saint Peter as it founder in year 64?
Now we know where the Roman Catholic came from and when and why?

Answer 4

Religions may be invented by man but they are done to worship God and God provides guidence in the process of doing this. This is why Jesus came to provide a new way of doing things.

And the Ten Commandments were given about 5,800 years ago, according to Jewish time keeping. Their "year" number 1 started with the Exodus. The Ten Commandments came during that same year or immediately thereafter.

We invent religions to keep order, otherwise we have anarchy.

Those people who seriously disobey are called sinners or criminals. Sinners are told they go to hell, criminals are put in a cage or have money taken away from like, like when the religious deputy of your city or state clocks you doing 70 in a 55 zone and gives you a ticket. You are a sinner. You are a criminal. And his Royal Highness, the Judge, will take $150 of your money away from you for a first offense.

I assume you have no rules in your home and if you have a girlfriend, wife or children they are free to do whatever they want, lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery, take drugs, sell drugs or does BIG BAD GOD of the house, you, lay down the law and make edicts and force them to bow and pray to you.

I'm assuming from this question you are an anarchist and let your kids do whatever without recourse.

To do otherwise is to have dominion over them, only high priests, deputies, judges and Gods do that sort of thing.

Answer 5

Religions were certainly not invented by man, at least in that sense of "invented". It is far more accurate to say that they evolved in man (and continue to do so). No one person ever sat down and developed all of the details of any of the major religions, but instead various myths, texts, rules, etc. arose, and were selected by evolution to be included in the ongoing religion. Some disappear over time for the same reason (for example, the rule against charging interest).

Religions were invented by evolution. (ironic, isn't it? )

Answer 6

Yes it makes perfect sense. Religion is mans attempt to get close with a god. As far as the Judaism, the point where all the guys said we are all Jewish was after the Diaspora.

Answer 7

No. People are curious by nature and look for explanations. If one hasn't the tools to examine the processes behind an event or occurence, explaining it via a god/goddess satisfies the human curiousity and gives a false sense of security and control.

"If if just pray or sacrifice, may this will or won't happen again."

If the prayer or sacrifice works, it's considered successful. If it doesn't, the god works in mysterious ways.

Religion is a natural outgrowth of ignorance.

Answer 8

There is a big difference between religions and churches. Christianity is the religion; catholicism, protestantism, methodist (is there an ism for methodists?) are all chruches and therefore the creation of men. Catholicism was invented by a Roman emperor. The Anglican church was created by Henry VIII although under him it was catholic, just not roman catholic. His son turned it towards protestantism, his elder daughter to catholicism and his younger daughter to - well nothing in particular. Liz 1 tended to blow with the wind.

Whilst one can accept the questionable premise that a god created religion and it is therefore 'pure', all churches are, by definition of christianity at least, corrupted by original sin.

Answer 9

there are three ways to gain control in a society through Religion, Military and Political. Those in power remain in power as long as their performances satisfy the needs of the people. whenever their performances are not helping/satisfying the people another group or individual will take over until such time as the cycle changes again.

Answer 10

After reading it fully you decide.

1) Evolution tells us that we were just animals 10,000 Yrs back roaming the jungles killing and eating what ever we get. There is no question of god being there and all geological findings prove that man had to do it all by himself There was no religion. Even color of people is dependent on the place they live. The cave drawings too indicate that there are animals there are weapons but no Gods.
2) Fire was found by early man this made him invincible and that made him to settle down in a place rather than roaming then slowly he started cultivating the land then started to claim more and more land as his living condition improved and the death rate came down as food was never in shortage & finding food or getting killed by wild animals too stopped.

3) As the population increased cultivated land was at a primium so who ever had the max became leaders or kings and others followers That is why in early civilications you see kings are revered as GODS as they could give anything to those who did not have.

4) As the the Kings or rulers became powerful they wanted to be more powerful by conquring land this made the occupied land people poor because what ever they had they had to give it to the new king this made two types of people poor and rich people.

5) As the poor increased they started thinking when will this struggle end and who ever said good things and consoled them became great people

6) As the kings where too powerful and could not be defeated by any men or women they started beliving that there would be someone from outside or more powerful would come one day and defeat the kings and make them free from all their miserries

7) Some people started may be telling made up stories to thier children wear they informed that there is some one up there in the sky who will come down one day to help us. The children grew up thinking that it will happen one day and some might have even said that they had seen some one coming down and assuring them that they will come to help. Like modern day children saying that they had seen Christmas PAPA coming from the sky to their house and keeping the gifts under the tree.

So as this children grew they started telling stories of seeing God coming down from the sky people started beliving and may be started praying to him to come down again.

And that hope we still have and that God was given different names and that imaginary God was followed according to each ones customs so many types of praying came into exisistence this in turn started being called different religions by modern man pls note modern man gave names to all religions it was never called so when it was started.

So you decide who started religions these are only names which was given by modern man. All do the same thing pray for him to come down and help them.
Christanity
Judasum
Islam
Buddisum
Janisum
Jewish
Irish
Hinduism
Egiptian
Africanisum
Greeks
Redindianisum and others

Answer 11

No, not all religions have been made by Human. But, majority have been, accept Christianity, Islam and Jewdism. But concerning Christianity and Jewdism, one can question whether its the original, as they have gone through much changes in their scripture, thus Jesus is now regarded as God, or the Son of God. And Jews think that they are the saved people only.