Who First Created the Gods

[Sunstone]

Sitting at the bar last night,
I said the poets had created the gods.
But Panda, who quite obviously
Knew nothing about such matters,
Said the philosophers had created them
Hence bringing mankind the blessings
Of meaning in life.

Thus, we reached an impasse
That reduced us to an estranged silence
Of a quarter hour while we sat
Like twin sphinxes staring ahead
And all too aware of each other.

Presently one of us quietly sighed
Which was like a bomb going off.

So we began talking at once,
Our estrangement forgotten, buried
When we spoke over each other to resolve:
‘Twas the Scots who had blessed
Mankind with its meaning
By being first to create
The best single malts!

 

[corynski]

Well, I know I can't find Murray's Porter anymore, one of Scotland's best ever. But regarding the creation of the gods I think you would have to go way back before philosophers for that. For example, Michael Jordan, on the jacket flap of his book 'Encyclopedia of Gods, Over 2,500 Deities of the World', states that "Deities have been identified with the human psyche for at least 60,000 years." And Marjorie Leach, whose book "Guide to the Gods" runs to 995 pages, includes chapters such as "Cosmogonical Deities", "Celestial Deities", "Atmospheric Deities" and so on. And likely there were many wind and lightening 'spirits' before the appearance of actual deities. Julian Jaynes has suggested in his book that some early deities may have come from the dreams and hallucinations of a tribal leader. But of course we are all brainwashed from birth by the current manifestation of a deity by his followers, and for a reason. That reason is found in anthropology, a subject we are not taught at school until much later, if at all, a science that attempts to discern reality from all this myth and make-believe. It begins by accepting that religions evolve, just as languages and everything else. You can also learn from anthropology the reasons and theories for the existence of religions and belief systems, which are basically cultural artifacts, tools and ways to solidify and unify the group by giving it a distinct identity. From birth you are indoctrinated into your group's beliefs, by parents and teachers and clergy until your mind concludes it must be real...... your religion is real while all those hundreds and thousands of others are not real, and they are called myths and false beliefs. What's his name said it best.... "There is no antidote for religion mixed with mother's milk". So if you maintain the belief of your group you will always be accepted by the group, but if you are ever forced out or leave, you cannot ever really be identified as a member of another group because you don't have the intimate, from birth, knowledge of any other belief system. This all developed and came to maturation while humans evolved in hunting and gathering groups over hundreds of thousands of years, it is virtually the same in every human group that exists. But it won't be believed, and instead we are urged to have 'faith' in our current deity and beliefs, that we need the strength of 'faith' to meet reality, etc., etc......... Alas, so we keep on killing each other for believing in the 'wrong' deity!

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Sitting at the bar last night,
I said the poets had created the gods.
But Panda, who quite obviously
Knew nothing about such matters,
Said the philosophers had created them
Hence bringing mankind the blessings
Of meaning in life.
Thus, we reached an impasse
That reduced us to an estranged silence
Of a quarter hour while we sat
Like twin sphinxes staring ahead
And all too aware of each other.

Presently one of us quietly sighed
Which was like a bomb going off.

So we began talking at once,
Our estrangement forgotten, buried
When we spoke over each other to resolve:
‘Twas the Scots who had blessed
Mankind with its meaning
By being first to create
The best single malts!

but even the Sumerians and early Egyptians recognized that (in both cases, I believe) a goddess was responsible for introducing beer to humans...perhaps some Celtic goddess likewise taught the Scots to brew...

[edit: that screwed up, with my comment inside your OP. Now fixedilated.]

 

[PureX]

"Spirits" came first. And I suppose that they came from witnessing death. Experiencing the loss of 'something' at the moment of death. Something invisible, and yet perceptible.

And I suppose it was from our experience of these "spirits" within, that we began to imagine such spirits inhabiting all things, not just the animals we hunted, and each other. We began to imagine that the ocean had a spirit within it. And the sun, and sky, and so on. And from there, it was not much of a stretch to assume that these spirits were "angry" when these phenomena posed a danger to us. When the oceans stormed, or the sky thundered, or the sun eclipsed.

So we began to try and "appease these spirit's anger", in some way. To save ourselves from the effects of their wrath. The whole 'virgins in the volcano' thing. Human and animal sacrifices, to appease the wrath of the spirit-gods. Until finally, we began to combine all those individual gods into one mega-god. Still being appeased, however, by animal and human sacrifice. Eventually, though, just animals, at least in this life. But humans, still, in the next. Because at some point we imagined that our 'spirits' went off somewhere when we died. Off to the gods/God, to be judged and sacrificed, as needed.

Then finally it occurred to someone that if this mega-spirit manifests in all things, that would include us. That we are some sort of demigod-like representations of the mega-God that created us. And that's about where we are, so far.Our spirits are reflections of, and part of, the mega-spirit. The big "G". And who know where our concept of spirit will go next?

But I really do think it all began with our witnessing the moment of death. And the visible/invisible loss of the "spirit" of life, in that moment.