Ok I've been wondering this for awhile. If we all came from Noah and his family (since everyone else was dead and they were the only ones left alive). Then how did other religions come about? I mean Noah obviously knew God existed so he must've told his kids. So did they enventually forget about God and move to another part of the world and dream up some other religion or what? Cause I honestly can't see how there are so many religions if at one point there were only like 5 people alive and they all knew the right religion.
A) The flood story is false. B) The flood story is true, but it was not global. C) Noahs' family gave birth to pagans, and were not true to God. lol. Pick'n'Choose Personally I would think that Pagan religions - which are far more primitive - would be older than Noah and his flood. Sun worship religions are far simpler and thus could not evolve from a more complicated source such Noahs' beliefs. You could argue that those Religions were before Noah, and died out after the Flood, and never reared their heads again. If that was the case, then there would be less Religions today that are obviously based on the old Pagan ones. So, I would pick option B. I don't think everything in the Bible is made up. But a Global flood is ridiculous. After the flood was over, I can comprehend that speciation made 2 canine animals evolve into all the ones we see today. I can comprehend that the entire range of life could have been on the ark. Some people think this is crazy, but I will actually go and give Christians this benefit of the doubt. But... What I cannot comprehend is how animals went from the Ark to Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Madagascar, etc. Did Noah paddle them all to their respective homes ?
Ok so you pick option B then my next question would basically be the same as the first except with Adam and Eve. How could different religions come about if in the beginning there were only two humans and they knew the truth about God.
Well, according to the Biblical story (the first 5 Books of the Bible) the Story of Babel is the reason for different cultures and languages. God told the people to spread out and fill the world, but they did not want to. They decided to all like together, and as a tribute to their togetherness they started building a huge tower that would reach the clouds. God got mad at this, and a miracle occured, where all the people suddenly spoke different languages. This resulted in confusion, and the people seperated and went their own ways. This is the start of different cultures. Different cultures would result in different evolution of Religions. Now, within a Christian mindset, the above is fairly consistant within itself. So there is no real contradiction.
The Bible does not really say. Personally, if I had to assume that those stories were true (which I don't) then I would say after generations of different groups seperating, they slowly made their religions evolve into different things. Now, personally, I believe those stories are nonsense. So it's really a moot point. All Religions, including Christianity evolved from Sun-Worship religions. End of story.
Actually, that's not true. We had a (very long) discussioin on this topic quite a while back, I think in the "Why" thread. Cultural anthropologists for a long time assumed that religious thought evolved from simpler ideas, as you mentioned. The view was that spiritism and shamanism gradually became more complex systems of belief, finally resulting in monotheism. In actuallity, modern cultural anthropology has seen a repeated pattern in society after society of local beliefs overlaid on a single background featuring a single supreme being who is the creator of everything that is, the rewarder of those who do well, and the punisher of those who do evil. This deity, found in over 80% of all indigenous belief systems on every continet and in every nation, is seen as living somewhere 'beyond' the sky. The pattern was found so often and was repeated with such regulariy that anthropologists took to calling this deity the 'Sky God', just as a way of referencing the common points found in every culture. Instead of modern monotheistic beliefs evolving from simpler beliefs, it appears that cultures all over the world began with a fairly uniform belief in one single supreme being that devolved into spiritism and shamanism, as other forces, spirits, demons, etc. were added. In some parts of the world, this belief in the Supreme Being bears striking similarities to the Yahweh of the Old Testament. In other parts of the world, the view has some similar features, but striking differences. So, in answer to the original question, I think God revealed Himself to mankind, and people having choices, could accept or reject Him. Knowledge was passed from person to person and from generation to generation. In areas where belief in one true God was rejected, less care was taken to preserve the knowledge of Him. In areas where this faith was valued, great care was taken to preserve knowledge of Him. Thus, in areas of the world where the belief in Yahweh was rejected, religious beliefs devolved into idol worship and shamanism much more quickly. For references, google "Sky God". Here's a one-page summary I found of the universal traits of this 'Sky God'. Here's a link to that discussion on the 'Why' Thread - from about two years ago - I found it with the forum 'search' feature. Also, check out the book "Eternity in Their hearts" by Don Richardson (one of my favorite reads).
My view is that God was simply the only explanation early man could postulate of for the cause of the universe and life and that explanation grew from there with various part of the world adapting it accordingly.
Capt Ann, the comment I made about the Sun God was not with much intention or meaning. I was just making a quick point that all Religions date back to a comon ancestor. Way back. It is this kinda thing which makes me feel embarressed that I once shared similar views. Just because something is consistant with a pre-drawn conclusion, does not mean that it supports or proves the drawn conclusion. It's a very ill form of logic. Naturally, a Christian will look at all the evidences that may support the idea that it is their Religion which is the most oldschool, and thus the correct one. Unfortunately, this way of thinking is unscientific because you have to draw the conclusion, and then find facts to support it. Not the other way around. You could do the same to almost any Religion. This kind of thinking of usually displayed by Creationists, who will take anything that potentially agrees with their theory, and suggest its proof or evidence. Based on what I know about similarities in Religion, and origins of comon things found in religion (looking at facts first) I would not bet money that the first Religion was the one which started the Books of moses. It is impossible to know for sure, but I would be willing to bet a small amount of cash on the likelyhood that all Religions date back to Indian Pagan Religions (draw the conclusions later) I'd rather not get into the details, but I can recommend some books if you want. I just got home from work, so I'll put more detail into this rant of a post sometime later.
The stories in the bible are just that...stories. Nothing more, nothing less. They are a way for people to try to comprehend God and probably should not be taken literally. Much in the way the Myths of ancient Greece and of the Norse were both ways for the people of that time could understand the Gods. Again, not to be taken literally BUT all provide valuable lessons. Cheers!
