12- Religions
Creation of a religion was due to people’s needs in circumstances beyond their abilities. All creatures struggle to change nature in order to satisfy their needs. When the knowledge of conquering natural disasters (forces of nature) was not achieved, a supernatural icon was created for each of those forces. Interestingly, gods representing similar force of nature have similar characteristics in different cultures. Old civilizations known to us, such as Romans, Greeks, Elamites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and various tribes we know about, had Gods representing forces of nature. For instance, some Greek deities were:
Olympian deities
Primordial deities
Titans
The Hundred-Handed Ones (Hecatoncheires)
Cyclopes
River gods
Nymphs
Giants
Gods of Olympian deities were:
Aphrodite- Goddess of love, lust, beauty
Apollo- God of music, prophecies, poetry, and archery
Ares- God of war, murder and bloodshed
Athena- Goddess of wisdom, warfare, handicrafts and reason
Demeter- Goddess of fertility, grain and harvest
Dionysus- God of wine, parties/festivals, madness and merriment
Hades- God of the underworld
Hephaestus- God of fire and the forge (god of fire and smiths)
Hera- Goddess of marriage, women, and childbirth
Hermes- God of flight, thieves, commerce, and travelers
Hestia- Goddess of the hearth and home, the focal point of every household
Poseidon- God of the sea
Zeus- The king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky and thunder
These Gods had all human features except their powers which exceeded human’s. Some of the ancient Persian Gods and mythical believes were as follows (only letter A Gods):Abathur - a creature that judges the dead
Aesma Daeva - Demon of Lust and Anger. Personification of violence, conflict and war
Agas - Demoness of illness. Her name means "the evil eye"
Ahura Mazda - the supreme god whose symbol is the winged disc
Ahurani - a water goddess, watches over the rainfall
Airyaman - God of friendship and healing
Aka Manah - one of the daevas. Personification of sensual desire
Allatum - old Iranian goddess of the underworldAmeretat - goddess of immortality and the protector of plants
Amesha Spentas - seven divine beings who are a part of Ahura Mazda's entourage
Anahita - ancient water and fertility goddess
Angra Mainyu - god of darkness and destroyer of good
Apam-natat - "God found in water"
Apaosa - Demon on a black horse with a white face who brings drought to the land
Arishtat - God of honesty
Armaiti -The goddess who personifies devotion
Asha vahishta - the personification of truth and protector of physical and moral orderAsman - sky god
Asto Vidatu - demon of death no human can escape
Astvat Ereta - a world savior (Saoshyant)
Atar - god of fire and purity
Azi Dahaka - a storm demon shaped like a monsterous snake
Long lists of Gods are repeated in every ancient religion and in every culture. The need to have a god when disasters arrived was a part of life in a society where human ability was limited. Light was considered beneficence from God, because people could see their surroundings and keep themselves from being a prey to wild animals. For the same reason, darkness was considered bad. Each had its own god and prayer too. Natural disasters such as storm, tornado, drought, excessive heat, earthquake were not known and each needed a mythical story for their appearance and the necessity of prayers and certain ceremonies to keep them from reappearing. Then, there were living things to be fearful of, such as animals and other people. Early human realized that strength was very important to defend against other people and animals. When their strengths failed, praying to gods was a hope to keep them from being attacked. When all failed and they lost their loved ones, another world was created in their mind, where those in power would be punished for abusing their powers. Of course stronger would sacrifice the weak in order to prevent the disaster from happening. In the case of the great plague, Jews were blamed and subjected to genocide for causing the disease. As the disease continued taking more lives, women were targeted. These were all due to lack of knowledge. When women were burned on the stake for witchcraft, power was in the hands of the least knowledgeable. Religion always feeds on lack of knowledge, ignorance, simple mindedness, and stupidity. Today, the cause of most of natural disasters are known through science. Then, what is the reason that religious beliefs persist. Following reasons can explain why we are still condemned to religious atrocities in 21st century:
1. Lack of popular science- People are generally afraid of science and consider it as a specialized knowledge. Science means the knowledge of the world. In the absence of science, imagination is at work to create a just or a delusional society. Science examines facts and figures in order to come up with a hypothesis. Religion on the other hand does not need facts and figures, but idealism.2. Easy and glorified answers to remaining questions- In spite of the advance of science after centuries of its forbearance by religious dogma, especially its rapid advancement in the 20th century, there are still many questions that are not answered and requires more experimentations. Questions such as reasons for the universe (if there is supposed to be one), formation of material at the beginning, and what is beyond galaxy (which are actually theorized by scientists). Religion has easy answers, however naïve, for these questions (God and genesis). Some questions are already answered by the science, but religion has in own (life after death).
3. Religions power- In most of the societies, religious figures such as pope, priests, rabies, and mullahs have so much power by entrenching deep into every society, that it is hard to go against them.
4. Political power support religions- It is obviously good for a state that subjugates its people to have unknowledgeable populace.5. Power of those with capital- Someone who is making money without working for it should make sure that those who work do not rebel against him/ her. The best way to stop a rebellion is to convince them through religion that they will go to a better place after their death and the person with capital go the worst place after death.
In addition to gods representing forces of nature, characters of nature (such as sun and moon), or human desires or activities (worshipping frolics), or an unseen and most powerful (however mysterious) has been a common genre of various religions. The three Abrahamic religions have been the most worshipped religions in our written history. The value of religion can be measured by its historical dominance. Whenever religion gains control of the government, history shows that corruption and power of few over the mass follows. Vatican does not even dare to disclose all the documents related to the inquisition and the period justifiably called dark ages. Of course, as human knowledge excels, dangers of religions become more apparent. Religious establishments try to maneuver around their archaic ideologies by all means possible, such as plagiarism, aid from some so called science, and annotation (translating religious versus in a way that adopts to the present day culture). Sometimes they manufacture statements that translate religious versus as proof of science! Since religion can survive in a society where people are stupefied, and that kind of society is the best environment for tyrannical governments, religion and government work hand in hand. This is witnessed in most governments of today. US government, famous for being secular, is in fact the most religious government in western hemisphere. Among all the elected officials of the Federal, state, and local governments of today, only one representative has dared to say that he was an atheist. There are more people coming out of the closet to confess their sexual orientation, than their religious beliefs. Studying religion as a theory for human being, we realize that it has not gained anything for humanity, while it has adversely affected it. God has had many chances in many centuries and in many forms and religions to create a just society. He has proven to be incompetent and inept, and incapable of creating a society where people live in harmony and peace with each other, without fear of a government or another person. We need a society where earthly resources are equally distributed among all, regardless of their level of intelligence, their level of health, their race or looks or upbringing, and regardless of their talent. Talent should blossom because of the human need to excel, not because of greed, a newer car or a bigger house. Since God cannot give everyone the same IQ and the same color and the same level of talent and wealth, and obviously anyone of these factors can make some disadvantaged and some over-advantaged, He should step aside and leave room for someone (thing) more intelligent. We, as the creator of such establishment, should replace him with something more useful. That something is science.
