This is more directed towards theists who accept that humans evolved from apes etc - the answer from creationists seems obvious.
There was a time where religion hadn't really been formed as we recognise it today - especially monotheism.
My question is, in those ancient times as homosapiens were taking their first steps as a species the notion of a god hadn't necessarily been concieved. If thats the case, how would you reconcile this with your faith?
Millenia passed without reference to judaism or a singular god. Its most likely we worshipped the sun and moon. We can see similar (not the same) things in native american/amazonian tribalism which is a reasonable analogy to human prehistoric society.
If god is omnipresent and eternal, how could it be that there was a time that people didn't subscribe to the god of abraham?
Modern humans have two centers of consciousness; the inner self and the ego. The inner self is much older. The inner self is connected to DNA, biology, human nature and natural selection.
The ego center is relatively new and consolidated in recent times. My guess is the ego is only about 10,000 years old and finally consolidate around the time of the first civilizations. The question of before God, addresses the time when humans only had the inner self; one center. The formation of the secondary or the ego center coincides with conscious awareness of God.
When humans only had the inner self, they were not self aware, but rather acted on instinct. The inner self is not about choice and free will. It is optimized to long standing instinctive compulsions. To these humans, God was not conscious, in the ego sense, since there was no distinction between their choices and the will of God, since God and instinct, overlapped; paradise.
The formation of the ego, created a secondary POV, that was different from the inner self. This new ego or secondary center had choice and will power. This allowed choices that could violate instinct. This created an unconscious repression of the inner self, leading to an awareness of the inner self, through it's balancing output, needed to compensate for ego choices. This repression and compensation is when awareness of God appears.
In the story of Adam and Eve, they lived in paradise until they were able to make the choice to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of God and evil. The initially had only the inner self. They acted on natural impulses. Their instinct or God said to avoid the tree of knowledge, but the ego, as the secondary center, had the ability to make an alternate choice.
After they eat, they now feel self conscious in an ego sense; naked. They had always been naked, but since this had been natural; inner self, they were never aware they were naked; one center. The ego choice causes a repression, that induced the inner self to compensate, but in a way that is different from pure instinct. This makes them aware of this unusual choice by the inner self, that is different from their ego choice and from natural instinct.
Before the ego consolidated, human consciousness had a metastable ego state; 10,000 year ago and somewhat earlier. This metastable ego would come and go; loss of soul. The ego is a offshoot of the inner self, and the inner self initially formed prototype egos and then aborted them; R&D type process of natural selection. This transition state would be conscious as periodic hallucinations and visions. These would create awareness of things that are not part of sensory reality and instinct; imagination and periodic self awareness.
The formation of the universe in Genesis, appears to be connected to the ego consolidation, when ego consciousness become aware of the world, based on its secondary POV, that is different from the needs of the inner self. The inner self does not need a theory for cosmology, since it is immersed in creation as a living extension. Theory is more needed by the ego, who is trying to find his way back home; tree of life.
