January 26, 2009
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Rationality and Deity
The existence of some kind of supernatural force - God, Goddess, Gods, Great Spirits, etc. seems to be an almost universal belief of Humans.
I have in my hand a reproduction of one of the earliest known representations of such a being. The original is a figure of a very fat woman with exaggerated sexual characteristics and wearing an elaborate braided or woven headdress. It's about four inches long and the original was probably made of mammoth ivory. My cast reproduction is old-ivory colored plastic. The original was found in East-Central Europe and dates from the "reindeer age" 15,000 -30,000 years ago.
Next to it on my desk is an Ancient Egyptian "Ushtabi figure". It is about 1.75 inches high made of green fired fiance (sand glass) and was buried with a mummy perhaps 2500-2800 years ago. In appearance it is moulded to represent the deceased in the shape of Osirus . It was supposed to be a home for the Ka spirit of the deceased until its final awakening.
These artifacts are physical proof in ancient belief in the supernatural. We can use this evidence of such long-standing belief to rationally argue in favor of the real existence of such forces and also find a clue about their relationship to humanity.
Since each human seems to envision the supernatural in their own terms, there seems to be some psychological imperative at work here. A rationalist might say that "Man creates God in his own image". A theologian might suggest that this universal need is the best proof that God resides within each of us. This religious concept is an aspect of religious philosophical explanation. Its formal name is "Personalism" and the idea's origins are as old as the concept of philosophy itself.
Summary:
1. Archeological evidence seems to show some sort of belief in supernatural power is as old as humanity.
2. The nature of these beliefs are as varied as humanity. Each of us has their own definition of the supernatural.
3. Each human culture seems to have organized the beliefs in the supernatural in such as way as to be the most practical or helpful to their culture.
4. Logically, this seems to indicate that the supernatural is a basic part of human nature.
5. The God we envision is as real as, for example, the number four. We individual humans are the creators of and proof of the reality of our Gods.
Comments (20)
These artifacts are physical proof in ancient belief in the supernatural. We can use this evidence of such long-standing belief to rationally argue in favor of the real existence of such forces and also find a clue about their relationship to humanity.
I agree with your underly assumption: The uniformity of human belief in the supernatural must have sprung from a common source.
But I disagree with your thesis: Rather than actual supernatural inspiration, I believe that Gods, Goddesses, and Dieties arose from a common psychology and similar living conditions.
Human civlizations independently invented language, writing, and agriculture. "God" is just another invention in this mix.
It seems to me that no two humans have exactlythe same definition of God (or whatever)
I've linked you
Huginn and I are in basic agreement. I happen to believe that the supernatural is part of the human psychology - probably that mental file called "Dangerous Things to be Understood and Learned Later" which it is our nature to personify.
Since I posted on the other subject, I will only comment here. I believe your summary is very good and very true. I am asked frequently why I believe in God (we have some intense discussion in my family) but I can give no rational explanation. My feelings regarding a deity are "gut" feelings, not logical, but they are real to me, yet unexplainable to anyone else. Believe me, I have tried. But you have a very logical mind, and can state some of the things I think but can't say. Sometimes I do feel that humans (most, anyway) have created God in their own image, rather than the other way around. The basic philosophical questions occur to me, but my basic belief (gut feeling) doesn't change. I appreciate your leadership of this blog. Annie
Thanks Annie. I appreciate your continued support
Humans do indeed make god in their own image. Hence the differences in all the world's religions, none of which have anything to do with the real God.
Humans do indeed make god in their own image. Hence the differences in all the world's religions, none of which have anything to do with the real God.
What is or "has to do" with the Real God?
How should God be defined, or is God undefinable? Why?
Who knows what the "real" God is, and would we recognize Him/It if we came face to face (assuming there is a "face") if we saw it.
I've read the "Conversations With God" series and, whether or not one believes the author really had a conversation with God, some of the ideas presented are worth thinking about. One of the early questions the author poses is, "Why doesn't God appear to us as He (for brevities sake, I'll use the most commonly used pronoun for God) really is?" And God replies that He has no form that we would recognize and if He did choose a form, that person or group of persons would think that was the "real" God. And if and when He appeared to some other person or group, in another form, they would then think they knew what the "real" God looks like. Even without anyone alive today actually seeing God, many, many people think they know what He looks like, what He thinks, how He wants to world to be run. And when I say "anyone alive today," I am referring to those who believe that Jesus was God. I'm not arguing that question. Still, no one really knows what Jesus looked like, and we have only what his disciples told us about him, not anything he (Jesus) actually wrote down in his own hand.
The best, to me, explanation is that God is love. But does that define God? I think it just says something about what He is like (hopefully). Others have said He is merciful? Angry? Jealous? No ONE knows.
The books mentioned above informed and strengthened my beliefs about God, but I would not want to be the decision maker of what or who God is. I still think it is up to each of us to search and, hopefully, find the answers for ourselves.
peace, Annie
That salad you mentioned sounds good I will try it!
Hello, first time commenting.
I go with Emile Durkheim's definition of God -- it's the human understanding of what is called the "collective force." Without accumulating knowledge aided by tools such as writing, the rules of society (every social group develops one in order to function as a group) makes very little sense and appear to have life of its own. Because humans learn by observation and seem to have an innate ability to observe patterns, we observe patterns in our behavior that seem to be based on external forces. Since the basis of these social rules are not visible like our bodies or rocks, we create gods in our image to help us understand it. God of justice, harvest, etc all seem to be human encapsulation of our limited understanding in how we interact with each other and with nature.
Durkheim (The father of Sociology) had an astounding grasp of human motivation at the most basic levels. He certainly has been a profound influence on my thinking for the past half-century.
Yup, I've been teaching, considering, bugging people about this concept ever since I discovered his writing in 1955.
RYC ~ I'm not sure we're talking about the same Duggar Family...
^^ Correct link is http://www.duggarfamily.com ...
RR is right - I got confused. I mixed the Duggars, are who notorious for their very large family (18 children) and the person who just gave birth to octuplets and got a very large family all at once - apparently deliberately
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