was it made because we could cope with just dieing an our leaders knew that? is it a fear of death so we make up super-natural beings.... you tell me?
2006-10-16 09:07:19 · 20 answers · asked by ReSpEcT 420 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Religion is man-made to help explain the unknown. There are many versions of religion. Over time many have evolved, been absorbed into other religions or been lost.
One can debate whether god exists or not, yet all religions are clearly man-made. After all, it is men who run these religions, not god.
2006-10-16 09:08:38 · answer #1 · answered by Plasmapuppy 7 · 4⤊ 3⤋
You got it. As far as I can tell from here, religions were created all around the world, mainly to help people cope with the fear of dying. But not just our own personal deaths, we also don't want to fear the loss of our loved ones. As horrible as it is, it's a natural occurrence that one's parents and grandparents die before the child or grandchild does. Humans have been seeing their elders "go away" for as long as those relationships have been recognized. It is much more comforting to think that they are "in heaven".
And when human societies became larger and more political, the leaders knew all about the religions of their people. Many leaders built temples and instituted holidays or feast days among their people just to get people to support the government. Religion has been a political tool ever since, but its basic, human "truths" are still valid. People need faith to help them through hard times.
In the US, the government is not supposed to be in the religion business and I support that ban, because it is just too easy for a government to manipulate its citizens with religion.
2006-10-16 16:19:32 · answer #2 · answered by anyone 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is common for people to feel the 'numinous' that sense that there is something out there greater than them, that feeling of awe and wonder that you experience upon learning some great truth or when struck with majesty. It then becomes easy to believe that these magestic things, such as Lightning, storms, waterfalls, the sun, may be ordered or controlled by some being beyond our knowledge.
The tricky part here is to come to the conclusion that since man has attributed some spiritual meaning to these things, that it must be false. That's a false assumption, as creation of a concept doesn't disprove the object of that concept.
So, while religion may have been manmade, one cannot logically assume that the God(s) behind those religions are nonexistent.
2006-10-16 16:25:54 · answer #3 · answered by Deirdre H 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They say prostitution was the first profession, but I think it was priesthood, and the priests invented the second. Religion was invented by the followers of a truly inspired mystic, in most cases, and deteriorated from there. If you decide to follow someone else's belief, based upon someone else's experience, it is still the decision you made, and does not free you from the responsibility for your choice. Better to make a more informed choice based upon direct experience. If God is real, then she cannot fail you.
2006-10-16 16:24:45 · answer #4 · answered by Nowpower 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rulers of ancient civilizations needed for themselves, a justification of excess and expectancy of unquestionable ruling power, so they came up with gods who blessed them, or cursed their enemies. For the poor, some sort of reward for personnel sacrifice and suffering had to be in place so that waking up the next day had purpose. Since they were poor, they came up with only one god. Someone or something had to be looking out for them, so they too could be rewarded after death.
Irony is that the "gods" favored and blessed the living, and the one "god" liked his followers more after they had suffered and died.
For both rich and poor, it's the old carrot on a stick philosophy. After all, isn't that what any belief in life after death is? It's either paradise by right of birth, or paradise by suffering and death. Either way it's a half baked promise that one can "live" forever.
2006-10-16 22:00:51 · answer #5 · answered by navymom 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion arose in prehistoric times, when survival was vitally dependent on the whims of nature and there was no knowledge of how things worked. Attempts to appease the gods to preserve the crops were taken, irrespective of any controlled experiments -- if conducting an experiment means that you die if it fails, not many experiments will get done. Nowadays, we know how things work, and religion is no longer necessary, but it gives people a sense of comfort and belonging and is thus likely to persist.
2006-10-16 16:12:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Religion was created by man. Relationship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, is a personal relationship - so very very different. Blessings to you.
2006-10-16 16:19:27 · answer #7 · answered by jworks79604 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Religion is an explanation of how and why things happen in the world around us. Modern religion is a development of those early attempts to explain a world which we still do not completely understand.
2006-10-16 16:10:10 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Caveman see lightning, must be the Gods.
Cavemans woman get sick and die, must be the Gods.
Cavemans village gets washed away when the river flooded, must be the Gods
Igonorance equates to superstition.
2006-10-16 16:21:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mankind created religion as a way to make money off God. The only way that they could do that was to preach that they have the secret to the "right" way to express faith in God and that you have express your faith in their buildings, the churches, while the great outdoors is ignored even though it's one of God's greatest gifts to us.
We don't have to make up supernatural beings. They exist: God, demons, angels, etc.
We have to make up "rules" to live by that gives us the illusion of being able to control how much effect, if any, they have on our lives.
2006-10-16 16:10:57 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 3⤋