I can only address the question "was religion necessary altogether?".
I would venture to go back and look at our earliest ancestry, including the hominoidea. Did they sit around and wonder if there were a god, gods, the origins of humanity or the spiritual aspects of life? I think not, it wasn't necessary over and above simply living, gathering and enjoying the abundance of earth's resources. Somewhere in the evolutionary history of mankind, and probably with the discovery of thought process and reason, spiritual recognition was born, although it may have been in its most basic form. Religion at that point still was not a necessary function, it would serve no purpose. My idea is that the advent of religion was a result of language, the ability to communicate thought to another, the ability to relay an idea to another person. As humans learned to communicate they began to question others. Groups would share ideas and try to fill the voids. When people realized there was power behind having knowledge, religion was born. However, it still was not necessary altogether as cultures existed way before then without it. The Neanderthal were proficient in hunting, used tools and weapons which indicates the ability to think and reason, they also buried their dead. Still they hadn't any need for religion. Homo sapien, cro-magnon, a culture which obviously seemed to be advancing in the use of tools and raw material resource, items to make clothing, the ability to engrave and sculpt, decorate, make beads, use ivory, clay and create early musical instruments and most notably they created fantastic cave paintings. But they still hadn't any need for religion because it was obvious they could function without it. So religion's only function is manipulation of society, a control factor and with the development of economic societies, a source of revenue. Religion has contributed to bias, discrimination, war and sacrificial death and now the spread of swine flu (had to throw that in orn). It is detrimental in the sense that it causes emotional stress through guilt and fear. Religion has done more to separate humanity than it has to bring humanity together. Ultimately religion offers less opportunity for spiritual growth by focusing on the external organizational aspect. All facets of life today have become influenced by religious political rule, either directly or indirectly. After thousands of years, religion has yet to show that it can produce a peaceful and loving world but more so shows how it is usually at the core of some form of atrocity or war. It doesn't matter what religion it is because they are all busy waring with each other as we speak. I don't know about you but I don't want to die as an innocent person caught between two waring religious factions, or at the hands of some religious fanatic who thinks I'm evil. Pachem ut Totus On Apr 27, 1:29 pm, Rosey <[email protected]> wrote: > Have the five major religions of the world positively or negatively > emphasized the development of early civilizations? If so, which one > do you believe was the most significant? Was religion necessary > altogether? Could the world have survived civilly without it's > conduct? I can't wait to see your answers. Sorry woke up highly > analytical today, one of those lava lamps moments. Totally > psychedelic. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
