Did religion start this way?

Question

I feel people didn't like the idea of bieng dead forever so the made up all this religion stuff so they can live forever.

Answer 1

That may be part of it, but I put more emphasis on the need for a good harvest, and people using any means that might seem credible (whether or not they actually are) to propitiate the gods so that they might not starve. There is much more on this in:

Answer 2

I'm a believer but if I were an evolutionist here is the way I see how religion would start.

I think it would be more fundamental than that. First of all early man would have learned much about the earth and life. They would have very quickly learned to respect the earth and man's interaction with the land, weather, the animals, plants, and people.

There would be an awareness that man has knowledge and skills that are more intelligent than the animals and more proactive than the plants. And man would respect all life and the world around him. Man would respect his parents that gave him life. For their intelligence and knowledge of the world had come from them. And man would pass it to his children.

Man would see a purposeful and cosmic timing in all his life time actions and events and see that animals have instincts and plants flourish in seasons. That there is a balance in the killing, and in rebirth and in the sharing of the earth with every life form. This life interchange maintains an intelligent balance to life, and provides the will to survive. This knowledge would transcend itself to worship to what exists around him. And then at some point one person realizing man was the most supreme being would transcend the worship of things to a being that would be like man.

I have no clue when the idea of an eternal soul would even start or how..

Answer 3

It's even more cynical and disheartening that that. People created religion, to manipulate other people. They wanted more beef for themselves, so they told the Hindu's that cows were sacred, not to eat them. They wanted more pork, so they told the Jews and Muslims not to eat pork and falsely claimed it was God who said it. They knew everyone feared death, so they worked that in to the scam, but the institutions were always political in nature and designed so the haves would have more, and the have nots would have even less.

Sorry to shatter any illusions you may have had, if it makes you feel any better God's pretty pissed at the way they do their business and they aren't going to get away with it.

Answer 4

I think it was very primitive stuff. Why can't I find food? (As a child, when bad things happened, parents were punishing us, so we extrapolate that message to the current situation.) It gave people a measure of control when they felt small and powerless in the world.

Answer 5

that wouldnt hold water for thousands of years ... theres more to it than that ... somthing is going on in the inner self of a person .. there has to be at least some truth in it for it to survive ...

Answer 6

As food, air ,water ,fire ,weather are neccesary for you body as Releigion need for your sprit as your body can die if you will not take food water air as you sprit will die if you have no religion

Answer 7

The thought HAS crossed several minds, yes...

Answer 8

Wow how long did it take you to figure that out Einstein?

Answer 9

They were like drunk people, who hate accepting death as an inevitability

Answer 10

Yeah, then ppl used it to control masses of ppl and look where we are today!