Was there a 1st religion, and how did it start? (ritual, Creator)

[michel]

Originally Posted by lilithu

I don't think anyone "invented" the first religion. That implies that someone intentionally thought, "We need something called religion and I am going to make one."

I think many different peoples asked, "What's going on?" and "Why am I here?" and then they started to tell stories in order to answer those questions. It would be motivated partly by fear of the unknown, partly by awe at a sense of connection and transcendance, and partly just intellectual curiosity. The same things that motivate religion today.

But if this is multiple choice, then I pick (D), all of the above. And I literally mean A, B, and C, all three together in one continuous process.

I think I personally have to go with your answer, Lilithu. I know it is not the way I should reply, as a Christian, but I am not going to pretend to be something that I am not.

[Fascist Christ]

According to Thomas Paine (and you are welcome to disagree) Deism is the first religion.

Anybody can look at the world around them and be so overwhelmed with the beauty and the order and our existence that they determine that there must have been something that created all of this. So they named it "god."

Other religions go further than this. They pass down stories and dictate rituals and dogma. Deism does not. Deism starts by saying "there is a deity" but it is destroyed when the faith goes beyond that.

That there is a deity, is evident in Nature.
That the deity begot a son, is nowhere but in stories.
That the deity spoke to someone (in a cave or whatever), is nothing but hearsay.

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by Ormiston

I can only think of three possible ways:
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A) God(s) showed him/herself to the people, much like Moses and the burning bush.
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B) A man/woman (or many) thought it up and created it.
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C) God(s) made it known (or knowable) by leaving clues, imprinting our subconscious, or by some other mechanism or spiritual gift.
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My question is: a) have I left anything off of the list, b) which do you believe, and c) how does your answer to 'b' explain the variety of religious beliefs found around the world today?
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My answer is probably obvious. I simply think someone invented the first and all of the following religions. I think fear led to faith. This is the boring answer though, and I'm hoping someone spiritual will be able to make me think a little.

As far as we can tell, Hinduism is the oldest religion on earth (3000BCE if I remember correctly). If God created the world in the Genesis story literally, the historical record was lost for a pretty freaking long time, as Abraham is dated about 1500BCE. The Torah was supposed to be written by Moses at a later time. Monotheism is definately the new kid on the block...

[painted wolf]

that depends on how you define 'religion'... Hinduism is the oldest of the written, 'organized' religions. However many 'primitive' peoples have religious traditions going back to the stone age... such as the Dobe "bushmen" of Africa, who are confirmed by genetics as the 'oldest' race on Earth.
The oldest of the Medicine Wheels has been in contiuous use by the local people since 4000 bce.

ultimatly the arguments of 'who is oldest' are moot... age doesn't grant correctness, a young faith may be just as effective as an old one.

wa:do

[Druidus]

As far as we can tell, Hinduism is the oldest religion on earth (3000BCE if I remember correctly). If God created the world in the Genesis story literally, the historical record was lost for a pretty freaking long time, as Abraham is dated about 1500BCE. The Torah was supposed to be written by Moses at a later time. Monotheism is definately the new kid on the block...

On the contrary. Hinduism is the oldest surviving organized religion, not the oldest religion. Monotheism is the oldest form of religion. It is theorized that there was "One Mother", which was the earliest "God". Eventually, either she gave birth, or a "Father" came, and thus polytheism began. Of course, this depends on how you define religion. If nature worship (or the worship of spirits in nature) is allowed as a religion, than that is the oldest religion.

[angellous_evangellous]

Originally Posted by painted wolf

that depends on how you define 'religion'... Hinduism is the oldest of the written, 'organized' religions. However many 'primitive' peoples have religious traditions going back to the stone age... such as the Dobe "bushmen" of Africa, who are confirmed by genetics as the 'oldest' race on Earth.
The oldest of the Medicine Wheels has been in contiuous use by the local people since 4000 bce.

ultimatly the arguments of 'who is oldest' are moot... age doesn't grant correctness, a young faith may be just as effective as an old one.

wa:do

Quite right. I should have been more specific. My point was that monotheism is by far a newer concept.

Defining religion simply as worship, I think that the earliest humans worshipped nature.

[Malus 12:9]

We define religion as any specific system of belief and/or/without worship, often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy.

The oldest religion is the one God has for belief in mankind.

[painted wolf]

even saying nature worship is far to generalized to be accurate... the Dobe and other early peoples don't worship nature... they have complex systems of spirits that influence life. Rarely are there 'nature spirits' per say that are worshiped.

Many spirits are associated with aspects of nature and are thought to have influence on them... mostly people are more concerned with the spirits of relitives. The are thought to be able to promote sickness and bad luck.

generally speaking fear of the (and thus the unknown that lays after ) may be the oldest religion...

wa:do