Spike Jones writes:
> I have a notion that I tried once before, but it didnt catch on: that
> the first societies to invent god acheived a military advantage. the
> alpha male could more successfully talk the others into fighting his
> battles, robbing and raping the neighboring village if he could
> say god told him to tell them if they died in battle, (or during pillage,
> mid-rape, etc) then god would reward generously in the afterlife.
> (And would punish in this life and the next, if they failed to
> pillage, rape and rob the other village.) The invention of god
> *might* be as simple as this: it made for more enthusiastic warriors.
Actually, I think that it has been established that the earliest
religious rituals had to do with hunting. Ritual dances were held with
a shaman dressed in the animal skin, and a mock killing would occur.
I believe that these rituals were actually practice. I think the shaman
dressing in the animal skins would lead the others into the ritual of
the hunt. They would be trained how to hunt, how to hide, how to sneak
up on the kill.
I think the early animal shamanism evolved out of the basic hunt for food. The idea of the totem grew out of the practice animal effigies made of animal skins. Those who paid homage to these totems got the kill. Those who did not did not get the kill. The basics of religious belief are all there, but the rationale behind the rituals were lost on many members. They just developed faith that if they did as the shaman instructed, it would be better. It was not an irrational belief, because it really worked.
-- Harvey Newstrom <http://newstaffinc.com> Author, Consultant, Engineer, Hacker, Researcher, Scientist.