God was created to explain anything that humans couldn't

xcaliber

xcaliber

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The reason why any god exists in the human society is because humans have a need to be right. they have to have an explain nation to get rid of any doubts that they ever had about anything. U can get one of the earliest examples of this from the Greek and Roman gods. go through there stories and u will see everyone of them explains something was not logically proven back then: Fire, Seasons, Sun rising and setting, Lightning, Hurricanes / any storms, etc...

and in now and days religion u see this left often but the biggest ones still remains (and the reason why religion is even existent) Why are humans here, How were we created, and What happens when we die. What makes humans so special that we have some higher purpose here or that we weren't created with everything else equally and just happened to become smarter over time. But the one i cant talk about is what happens after u die. its scary to think about right? and hard to grasp right? it would be hard to think that u would just end and your conscious would stop. So we make our selves believe that there is something there.

Now I'm not trying to say that nothing happens after you die but there is just nothing that is proof enough to get me to see and believe that. Everyone says i should believe because god wills it. well that doesn't do me any good if i don't believe in god. so god and religion is only there to comfort the human mind for unexplained things.

your augment?




** also why the Greek and Roman gods are not largely practiced is because of the disproof of most of there stories. What would happen your god was disproved would u still believe in it/him/her?
 
Historically, I would think the Greek and Roman religions died with their civilizations, and Christianity pretty much dominated the last half of Roman civilization. Then after that, all the Greek works were destroyed by Christians, and if you weren't considered Christian, you were considered a heretic, and either tortured or killed.

It's hilarious though. Everytime we learn something new, religion moves its goalposts and declare that we have found nothing. They like to lay claims to the things that are inconclusive, when in truth, they are nothing more than that--something that cannot be confirmed, for which religion has no right to claim if others do not choose to believe it.
 
I believe also that religions provide a false sense of security to their followers. But it's security nonetheless, and whether or not they believe outright is their choice, not the choice of all humans. I don't agree with the fact that you think you can speak for all humans by saying we "created" God for a means of explaining the unexplainable because this is just not true.

What the ancient civilisations did was personify the sun, they didn't name it in a bid to explain it's functions, that's a ludicrous concept. They revered the sun for giving them warmth, light, and protection from the predators during the day. They didn't want to find out more about it or philosophise the meaning behind it, they worshipped what they saw right in front of their eyes, no deeper. They saw what the sun evidently did for them and were so thankful that they personified the sun and they worshipped it.

I think you're also forgetting that the Christian God has no links whatsoever (except mythological) with any of the Sun Gods such as the Ancient Greek Sun God Horus.

And as far as what happens after you die, I believe that's it. You're dead and there is nothing else. You're put in the ground and you rot, either that or you're cremated. I certainly don't "make myself believe in something else" like the afterlife or reincarnation because I don't need that false sense of security. I accept death as an inevitability.

Also, things like the afterlife, God, creation etc. aren't things that are unexplained, there are umpteen explanations out there. Every religion professes to know the truth. One of them could be 100% correct, you never know. Therefore someone out there could have an explenation.

If I've misinterpreted some of your points, it's because I find it difficult to really understand your post. Your fault, not mine.
 
nah its my fault i tried to put a lot of ideas into a shorter thing. but i see wut you're saying aobut the "we" thing. i didnt intend as in all humans just at the people who did worship a god for secrity. also u make a good point about the sun and i didnt take enough religions into acount. but i think for the most part religion is there for people to hold on to. because eventualy everyone would think wuts the point of being good or changing my ways if it doesnt benifit me. So religion is important for that reson.
 
Casanova said:
I think you're also forgetting that the Christian God has no links whatsoever (except mythological) with any of the Sun Gods such as the Ancient Greek Sun God Horus.
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Sorry to be picky but I think you are confusing Horus with Helios. Helios was the Greek sun god... Horus was the Egyptian god of protection, among other things.



Hmmm.. While the concept of Christianity is displayed as something vastly different fromt he pagan gods that captivated the world beforehand, Christianity sort of grew from paganism. Alot of the images of Christ, angels etc have grown from the pagan gods.

I'm fine with religion. I personally do not know what to beleive, but I feel that all relgions seek out the same thing, as I think this thread has stated. A reason for being. It is not wrong for mankind to seek a reason for itself, it has always been mans desire since it began civilisation and people had the time and security to think about things.
 
Argor251 said:
Sorry to be picky but I think you are confusing Horus with Helios. Helios was the Greek sun god... Horus was the Egyptian god of protection, among other things.
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Gah... it's an easy mistake to make, I got muddled up is all. :monster:

@xcaliber: Religion can be a beneficial factor in people's lives, yes. But it is sad when people make religion such a big part of their lives that they refuse to let go even if they should one day come to the conclusion that their God doesn't exist and they've been lied to all their lives. It's hard for them to give it up and it usually takes a great tragedy like the loss of a loved one for them to truly let go.

And regarding what you said in your first post: I have known of someone who said they will believe in God even if they knew without doubt that God didn't exist. Religion is just such a big part of some people's lives. They need that security, and it's in this aspect I believe religion is capable of making people weaker, not stronger.
 
Well I agree there are certain peoples that take the concept too far and let it take over their lives. Others just want to beleive that there is someting greater, and protecting looking after us if we do the right things.

But I don't want to tell people what they can or cannot beleive. All beliefs amount to the same at its core. And I do beleive some good comes out of religion. Sometimes, better morals, some sort of code to work for, faith in bad situations, a boost of morale. I know that isn't enough, but it's something.
 
but the main thing comes down to do u believe in a god for ur own personal comfort or is it to worship something that u fear?

most religions have a down side and if u dont belive u will be basicly screwed in one way or another. so people find diffrent uses for religion but in the end there belifes are hollow and are in most cases forced upon someone
 
In the words of Feuerbach:

"What man is in need of, he makes his God."

In the context of this thread, this can be applied to knowledge and the answers too. One could conclude that man created God as an answer to all of life's unanswered questions. If one believes that God controls events, and everything is determined - although here we get into the whole free will debate - then the above quote can be applied. God can be said to be the cause of everything, and also, since we desire to know about life after death, it could be added that a belief in God (usually) leads to a belief in heaven and hell, or at least judgement.

Psychologists who looked at religion also noted that "what man wishes to be he makes his God." Man wishes to know all the answers; to have full knowledge of the world, everything in it, how things work, why things are the way they are, what will happen, what has happened ect. But, because this is impossible, some psychologists believed that man projected this quality (along with omnipotence and omnibevenolence) onto something else: God. Basically, God is a projection of what we want to be, only even more powerful. And transcendence is added to explain why God cannot be known by everyone.

That was a bit bitty and in note form, I know, but I'm reaaally not in the mood to write an essay now I've finished school. ;) Maybe next month. :P
 
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Another interesting note, if I'm not mistaken: Horus isn't the Greek sun god, as mentioned by someone else, but he is a sun god anyways--there are lots of equivalents of sun gods in other religions as well.

I find it amusing that man needs knowledge of everything to be comforted. It's like they can't accept not knowing everything--they're paranoid about the future, and about their death. But it is probably possible to prove it's impossible to know everything, because then knowing everything means you have to know an infinite number of things, which is impossible for someone who has a finite lifespan. Which is why I can accept not knowing everything.

At least if I cannot know everything, then I can at least use the power of mathematics to prove or disprove the things I don't quite know about.
 
Karl Friedrich Gauß said:
Another interesting note, if I'm not mistaken: Horus isn't the Greek sun god, as mentioned by someone else, but he is a sun god anyways--there are lots of equivalents of sun gods in other religions as well.
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Well Horus became to be accepted as a bit of a sun god in particular times, but it wasn't his primary function. Egypt had plenty of sun gods.

I don't find it suprising that the sun has been worshipped so much, it is one of the most visible signs of nature, along with stars, and would look magical and supernatural to the founders of civilisation looking up at the sky in wonder for the first time.

The sky and the bull (for fertility) are two of the most ancient and most used dieties of worship for lots of cultures.
 
Argor251 said:
The sky and the bull (for fertility) are two of the most ancient and most used dieties of worship for lots of cultures.
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wait the bull? like the animal? if that is wat ur talking abiout i really dont think that was one of the most used symboles of worship
 
Well the whole myth of the Minotaur has stemmed from the bull worship by the Bronze Age Minoan civilisation as well.

Bulls were worshiped far and wide in early civilisations. Egypt had the Apis bull, which was very sacred to them. Most Mesopotamian cultures (or the Near East in general even) had some sort of bull god, or bull hybrid at some point in their early history. In fact bulls were passed down into Mesopotamian religion, and whereas the gods were often represented in human form in art, they would have horned crowns, and the more horns a god would have the more important he/she would be. So the bull motif has been passed down like this.

Oh yes, bulls were worshipped alot. The sheer size and power of a bull, as well as its very fertile nature has probably led to all of this, as the sight of these creatures must have astounded early man considerably. People who worshipped the bull would be praying for great fertility (human and agricultural).
 
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hmm idk thats strange to me idk think something more powerful would be more sacred to early societies...
 
xcaliber said:
hmm idk thats strange to me idk think something more powerful would be more sacred to early societies...
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Bulls are pretty powerfull though. Especialy wild ones that haven't been shoved in a field their whole lives. And they can be quite large as well.

But it wasn't just their power that made them stand out, it was that they were easy enough to farm, and could be controlled... Whereas with lions there wasn't a chance of being able to farm or control them, so they were simply hunted instead ridding Europe and many areas of Asia of their lion populations. But Egypt had a lion goddess, Sekhmet.

So realy I'm not saying that only bulls were worshipped but that bulls were universally worshipped in the Bronze Age at least, and in many places bull worship continued in some forms.

Whether you can beleive that bulls were worshipped or not, they were!
 
Just a small point to make here;

Just because we have a psychological nuance to create gods, doesn't mean gods don't exist.

Just because someone is paranoid, doesn't mean people aren't out to get them :P

If God didn't exist, man would create him. Doesnt mean man DID create him :P

And a small side note: surely if god did exist, he would imprint the idea of his existance into the mind of his creation, which would certainly explain our prediliction for "inventing" him ;)
 
That's not the only explanation though; it's been suggested that we believe in God, or most of us have such a predilection for it because of evolution--because the belief in God prevents some people from fearing the unknown, or because it comforts them, so they survive.
 
Of course, but just because something is possible, doesn't make it true. Thats illogical, you study mathematics, break it down into statistics. It can make something more or less likely, but so long as it isn't 100%, you can't really justify basing an arguement on it. As things stand, it's nowhere near 100% :P
 
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