Religion Inevitable
Religion has been in human history in all corners of the world. The study by Oxford University in 2011 shows that humans are naturally inclined to believe in gods and afterlife. According to Professor Roger Trigg, “religion is a common fact of human nature across different societies,” and “not just something for a peculiar few to do on Sundays instead of playing golf.” Indeed, religion is an essential human nature.
In the history of world religions, atheism is a modern belief that resulted from the Enlightenment period of the 18th century. This view is the product of the evolutionary theory that religion is the highest intelligence of humans; thus no gods exist. If an atheist turns down a religion, the highest intelligence in the evolutionary process, the atheist is either inferior or rejects the theory. If the atheist rejects the evolution, the person, in fact, rejects his or her known origin. Atheism results in the denial of both creation and evolution, paradoxically.
The earliest belief, polytheism, was originated with Hinduism in about 2500 B.C. Polytheism viewed gods as being in control of all natural events such as god of rainfall, god of harvest, and god of fertility, and believed in sacrifices to please their gods.
In the account of creation, humans are superior to nature and all other living life. Humans are in charge of all that God created. They have the image and likeness of God.
Monotheism is a belief in one God the Creator, which was started by Israelite patriarchies around 2000 B.C. The major three monotheistic religions are Judaism, Islam (7 C.E), and Christianity (1 C.E.). Each religion claims of only God, but denounces God’s people other than its religious affiliations. Accordingly, each religion’s ultimate goal is to bring its religious laws to all people on earth. If people reject their religion, they are evils, sinners. If there is only one God who created the universe, this God should be the God of all people on earth, whether they are Jews, Muslim, Christians, or atheists. However, it appears that each religion has its own God, God of Israel, God of Christians, and God (Allah) of Islam. No signs of reconciliation but wars in the name of God throughout the history.
There are four speculations about the deity of the three monotheistic religions. It appears that there are currently three different God the Creators.
In the creation account, God is the Creator of the universe and not the head of a particular religion or a specific race. God is for all human on earth regardless of their race and religion. They don’t have to become Jews, Christians, or Muslim to know God. There is the One and Only God the Creator for all. God is God of the universe no matter which religion people believe in.
Pantheism is a belief that all is God, believing in that the universe itself is divine, and focusing on the relationship between humans and the elements of nature. To them, such as New Age Movement or Buddhism, God is everything, and everything is good. The idea started in early 11th Century and surfaced by Spinoza in the 17th Century.
In the creation account, the universe is divine only because Divine God created them, not because they are gods. They are creatures of Divine God. They are good, but this doesn’t make them gods. God is the only God, and all that God created is good. Therefore, believers have the purpose of taking care of the scared nature and all living life on earth.
Religion Divisive
