> The concept of a devil shouldn't surprise a psychologist at all--any more
> than the concept of a deity should. Deities came about from a desire to
> explain the often terrifying effect of nature.
That's a pretty understandable conclusion, but it doesn't seem to hold too
well today. Given we know so much about the natural world, and it can be
explained without supernatural phenomena, the continued belief in a deity
must be largely based on other sources...
What other reasons can we posit for the notion that man (and woman)
created God?
Rene Descartes (paraphrasing here) once posited that the belief in a perfect,
infinite being could not have originated from man -- he based this on the
notion that people are finite beings, and imperfect ones at that, and so he
argued it was inconceivable that imperfect, finite beings could conceptualize,
construct an infinite, perfect deity.
> Because people
> want a "father" to turn to for protection or guidance, the concept of a
> more theological deity was needed
You sound a little like Siggie Freud there. Freud, in 1926, wrote "The Future
of an Illusion," in which he argued that technological advances would one day
render God useless, we would wake up and realize we created something in
our dependency but now no longer need our neurotic attachments to a
supreme being. Of course, Siggie got it wrong again...
>--and since people (as we know) attribute
> negative events or conclusions to external forces whenever possible, the
> creation of a "negative deity" was equally predictable.
But as you say, not all religions hold to a "negative deity." How do you
explain the religion that teaches a good God and no bad devil?
************************************************************************
Jim Guinee, Ph.D.
Director of Training & Adjunct Professor
President, Arkansas College Counselor Association
University of Central Arkansas Counseling Center
313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035 USA
(501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax)
"You don't have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things --
to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently
motivated to reach challenging goals."
-- Edmund Hillary, New Zealander mountaineer and explorer
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