Humans are social beings. We are political as well. Such said, we need to live socially to survive. We need to be in a society, to have hierarchy. Why? Our ancestors discovered that their chance of survival greatly increased if they stay in groups. Not only it as simple as safety in numbers, but they can actually support each other, creating a self sufficient organization where everyone in the group relies on each other for their survival. Automatically, and in time, specific roles were created. Some of the members became hunters, some kept their nest safe or safer and in order, some became a sort of baby sitter- tending for the offspring, some became the voice of solace and the leader of the group, and so on. Thus, a hierarchy was born, and it lasted, for it worked, and they form tribes.
This hierarchy lasted for quite sometime, until the day the members of the group encountered problems way beyond their abilities to comprehend or to solve. Things like draught, flood, famine, diseases, and so on. For a group of early humans, these natural events would have seemed terrifying. They just don't know what to do about it. Perhaps some of them tried many things, none of it worked. And precisely at that moment of persistent failure, baam, they began to question things. How the heck it happened? How to stop it? How to control it? No matter how hard they tried and how hard they put their minds to it, nothing worked. Our ancestors may have failed to solve those problems, yet they have succeeded in planting the most important seeds of humanity; affinity and ability to question things, to ponder.
Being a tool-making species, they inadvertently came to a conclusion that somebody, or at least, something, must have created it. They know for a fact that nothing can come to existence without some sort of creation. Therefore, it would only be logical if those dreadful events came about as a result of some form of creation. Hence, assuming that floods and famine etc are created, so should trees, mountains, sun, moon, day-night cycle, etc, even humans.
At this grandeur moment of revelation, humans have created a new role in their group/society/tribe, a new hierarchy, god. And believe it or not, we, humans of the space age, still share a similar thinking pattern like our ancestors, at least the majority. Thus, the concept of god endured, even though not immune to changes, the concept remained; god, something or someone (in some cases) is (are) the creator(s) of certain things, things we cannot explain, things we can't understand. Though the list of things has gone considerably complex,(no more wondering how the heck rain falls, and sun sets), we still find certain solace and comfort to place the burden of our inability to understand to the highest member of the tribe, the one on top of all hierarchy, god. And I suppose, no matter the ages, humans would still share this same pattern of thinking, for we are social beings, in need of hierarchy.
This hierarchy lasted for quite sometime, until the day the members of the group encountered problems way beyond their abilities to comprehend or to solve. Things like draught, flood, famine, diseases, and so on. For a group of early humans, these natural events would have seemed terrifying. They just don't know what to do about it. Perhaps some of them tried many things, none of it worked. And precisely at that moment of persistent failure, baam, they began to question things. How the heck it happened? How to stop it? How to control it? No matter how hard they tried and how hard they put their minds to it, nothing worked. Our ancestors may have failed to solve those problems, yet they have succeeded in planting the most important seeds of humanity; affinity and ability to question things, to ponder.
Being a tool-making species, they inadvertently came to a conclusion that somebody, or at least, something, must have created it. They know for a fact that nothing can come to existence without some sort of creation. Therefore, it would only be logical if those dreadful events came about as a result of some form of creation. Hence, assuming that floods and famine etc are created, so should trees, mountains, sun, moon, day-night cycle, etc, even humans.
At this grandeur moment of revelation, humans have created a new role in their group/society/tribe, a new hierarchy, god. And believe it or not, we, humans of the space age, still share a similar thinking pattern like our ancestors, at least the majority. Thus, the concept of god endured, even though not immune to changes, the concept remained; god, something or someone (in some cases) is (are) the creator(s) of certain things, things we cannot explain, things we can't understand. Though the list of things has gone considerably complex,(no more wondering how the heck rain falls, and sun sets), we still find certain solace and comfort to place the burden of our inability to understand to the highest member of the tribe, the one on top of all hierarchy, god. And I suppose, no matter the ages, humans would still share this same pattern of thinking, for we are social beings, in need of hierarchy.
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