Humans are the only animals that understand the concept of death, we created religion to ease the thought of it.

There is no other reason.

k

Controll. Power. etc etc

quote:Originally posted by ohhi:

Controll. Power. etc etc



quote:Originally posted by Narcoplectic:

There is no other reason.

To ensure humanities survival is how I view religion. Think about 1500 years ago we have lets say a shit farmer. He does not like his job and is capable of doing nothing else. Nonetheless he is essential to the farming of shit. One morning he decides he wants to end his life but fears to because in all likely hood he would go to hell and be forced to farm shit while being tourtered, at least according to what he has been told. Stability was key to ensuring humans lived and prospered around the time religions were created.

Organized religion came to be because people would congregate to listen to a leader speak about things that had gone on in the tribe. It was like early Fox News. They'd come and the leader would talk about weather predictions, tribal war tactics, wear to hunt, and they'd talk about the god(s). Later on the speakers began to gain more trust and power, greater theories began to evolve about the god(s) and before you knew it, there was a temple.

Cheers,

Lost

err, i would say the earliest religion was anamistic and shamanistic.

only later do people get ideas about building temples and worshipping gods.

ancestor and animal worship is were it's at!

seriously religion is based on people taking drugs(usually) and going to the spirit world.(trance,hypnosis)

only later did it become about power, control, and yes, fear of death. it's really about getting high. so let's all go get high!

There was a greedy and selfish king who lived in rich opulence, while the poor subjects of his kingdom slaved long hours and lived in poverty as they were being taxed so heavily by the king. So much anger and discontent were brewing that it was clear a violent revolution was forthcoming. The king called together his three most clever advisors, and explained, "A mass revolt is coming... if we don't do something to pacify the people, I'll soon be overthrown. If the three of you can think of a way to convince the people to be obedient and keep paying taxes... and like it... by tomorrow, I'll make you wealthy men. If you can't, I'll have you executed, along with your families."

As they went off to ponder the matter, the head advisor said "Wow, this is a tough one!" and after brainstorming, debating, and arguing all night, he concluded, "Well, I don't know about this, but it's all we can come up with, so let's tell the king and hope he likes it and doesn't cut our heads off."

He explained to the king, "We tell the people there's an all-powerful being called god who lives somewhere in the sky called heaven. God made the whole world, He knows everything, and can do anything. People who live poor lives, pay their taxes, and obey the laws go to heaven when they die, where they live forever and have everything they ever wanted. Rich people and people who are disobedient don't go to heaven when they die... they go to a place called hell where they burn and suffer forever."

The king said, "Heaven, hugh? Gee, that just might work..."

Organized religion = crowd control.

"religion is the opium of the people" it controls, opresses, but it also gives a false sense of reality, and an almost hope.

religion does give hope, but mainly it's about power.

quote:Originally posted by ArmsMerchant:

Organized religion = crowd control.

What are they controlling? What aspects anyways?

They're's also the self control aspect. But you certainly don't need organized religion for that. still you gotta love the one day a year where hindu's run around high on Bhang throwing paint on people.

oh and and pentecostals speaking in tongues, they crack me up.

quote:Originally posted by Kune:

oh and and pentecostals speaking in tongues, they crack me up.

That's the most frightening thing ever, same as all the hands waving in the air and all that.

quote:Originally posted by ohhi:

What are they controlling? What aspects anyways?



Depends on the context.

Marcos of the Phillipines had his leuitenants start religions in poor areas in which he lacked popular support from which problematic guerilla movements sprung, the basis of which was that he was the reincarnattion of Jesus Christ, and his wife, Imelda (of "thousand pairs of shoes" notoriety) was the same of the Virgin Mary. Marcos' henchmen were so successful in this endeavor as to have a contest among themselves to see who could start the most such religions.

The Coa Dai religion (a Christian/Buddist analog) was founded in 1950's Vietnam by an atheist with the purpose of initiating organization of the ethical Vietnamese people so as to militarily oust the reputedly much-hated French presence from their country (from the temples of Coa Dai emerged the Viet Mihn, who after battling the French, morphed into the Viet Cong... who therein participated in one of the most costly, bloody, and tragic chapters in United States and Vietnamese history.) As of 1990 Coa Dai had a worldwide following of several million, to the horror of the atheist founder who never imagined his brainchild would take on a life of its own beyond a 1950s battle with the French.

The list goes on and on. Sometimes the purpose is political, more often it's a few individuals seeking personal wealth and power. The results can be violent, or they can be simply be financial exploitation of those who can ill afford such. The potential for detriment has been (too) well-demonstrated throughout the history.