Theology of the Old Testament. Religious Evolution

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What Is Religion?

Corduan defines religion as a system of beliefs and practices that provides values to give life meaning and coherence by directing a person towards transcendence’ (p.21). Religion may be approached as a compulsory inner belief or experience which may be visible by the external behavior in the form of rituals, rites, or regulations giving it essentialist status or contrastingly as a function of human behavior irrespective of whether or not the fundamental doctrines are real or not. Corduan also mentions two other alternative approaches the subjective versus the historical where the former serves a psychological need and the latter evolves as the culture of humans develops. (P.21-40) Religion is the result of an evolutionary process in human culture.

The first or the primary stage of religious evolution is the Mana or Fetishism which is the most prehistoric stage of not only religion but the entire human race. The humans confirm a belief toward the fact that the physical world transmits a sacred or holy force called the ‘Mana’ (derived from the name given to it by the inhabitants of Melanesia), which may prove positive when there is life, good health, and good crops. Conversely, the negativity of Mana can be judged by a bad or spoilt life. The goal is to manipulate this force so that one may attain the desired outcome and the human beings desire to have a positive relation with mana with the help of special objects or fetishes like bones, dolls, or special sticks (incense sticks), thereby displaying fetishism. In some cases, the use of magic is applied to achieve the desired results, and the belief that special benefits can be attained by influencing spiritual forces with the help of accurate rites and ceremonies in order to get certain benefits also exists.
The second stage of religious Evolution termed Animism like Mana involves the manipulation of spiritual forces involving fetishism but in opposition to Mana, the spiritual force here is visualized as the “soul” (anima) which is personal. Animism basically involves the occurrence of ancestral spirits which are the spirits of the ancestors that have departed this world and nature spirits and have a typical form in the natural objects such as plants, rocks, or lakes thereby providing a holy presence to the places. These ancestral spirits are the family members who have passed away but stay connected with the living family, relations, or the clan for the assistance or benefits of the same. Animism in a way provides a beneficial function like the re-instating of justice and maintaining communal harmony by means of worship of places or objects attached to the ancestors thereby giving animism a finite manifestation. The spirits are supposed to provide desired information with the aid of prediction. The control of these animistic spirits is in the hands of a witch doctor, a medicine man, or a spiritualist. Both types of spirits are incomplete in knowledge, power, and presence, thus a favorable relationship is necessary in order to avoid their wrath.
Polytheism constitutes the third stage of evolution and is dissimilar to animism due to the infinite or divine property of the spirits thus acclaiming them to a status of divinity thereby leading to polytheism or worshipping many gods. Every God that is worshiped has a special role and superiority which has to be submitted to in order to beseech special favors from them. Gods are supposed to be having their personal wills and schedules thereby acquiescence to them as powers of authority develops into vital constituent making this more ‘advanced’ than the rest.
The fourth stage or Henotheism is different from the rest by way of the knowledge or belief in the existence of many gods but the accurate worship of only one solitary God. Generally, a deity or God associated with a particular tribe or society is worshipped. The choice is entirely upon the worshipper to make which God is preferred. For example, the Jews do accept the existence of Baal but choose to worship Jehovah.
The fifth and by far the highest stage of religious development is Monotheism which unlike all the other theories strongly believes in the fact that the creator of the universe is single and this fact lays the foundation for monotheism. God is the most superior and as such is the basis of morality. None except him can be worshipped as he is the sole creator. Monotheism does recognize the existence of other spiritual beings but does not permit their worship at any given time. There is only one God and none but him can be termed as God. An excellent example is Islam.

With mana and animism, evolutionary theorists believe that cultures in the coming stages would be devoid of the notion of any god. However, this cannot be so. Currently, existing animistic cultures do have gods, and most of them share their belief in ultimate power. The subjective theory elucidates that religion begins with a man because humans have a psychological necessity for an inspirational being that gives significance and optimism to their survival in this huge remote creation.

References

Ladd W. Steven ‘The Study of Religion’.

Christianity and the World Religions. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1984.

Corduan, Winfried. A Tapestry of Faiths. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Schmidt, Wilhelm. The Origin and Growth of Religion: Facts and Theories. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1972.

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Theology of the Old Testament. Religious Evolution

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