Ancient religions - product of fear and ignorance?

[HeatherEljohari]

Be careful. The devil is tricky. If he can get you to believe a lie + you start looking into Atlantis you can start looking into other New Age stuff. If it doesnt say it in the bible... God doesnt want us to know about it! If its in the bible God has a point to tell us. But, I can honestly say ive never heard about Atlantis in the bible, so my fascination ends there.

[nebula]

I suspect that the ancients believed for the same reasons people today believe. If we can figure out what those reasons are, well, then we will have our answers.

Well, that's not too far off from my point.

But as I am discovering these things about the ancient people, I'm not so sure the Atheists are giving these people's religious beliefs and practices enough credit.

Credit for what? I am not sure what you mean. The Egyptians built the pyramids, I'll hand them that. They were pretty clever, and they did have a sophisticated belief structure with plenty of ritual. I rather like the part about the soul needing to be less than a feather in weight or it would be devoured; but then they had many centuries, maybe thousands of years to created their religious culture.

Well, I don't know what era in which you went to school, but in my era, ancient religions were considered superstition, fear, manipulation, etc.

Nor that our intelligence is evolving out belief in the supernatural.

I don't follow what you mean.

You believe your knowledge has negated the need for religion, haven't you?

Or how would you explain it then?

For it sure seems they knew something we didn't!

If you mean you think they might know something spiritual that we don't, I think you are wrong. Exactly what do you think they knew that we don't?

Of course you think I'm wrong - you don't believe there is another dimension in existence that we call "the spiritual realm."

So how can I explain my answer?

[MorningGlory]

Be careful. The devil is tricky. If he can get you to believe a lie + you start looking into Atlantis you can start looking into other New Age stuff.

Don't worry about it Heather, Atlantis doesn not exist and neither does any of that New Age stuff.

If it doesnt say it in the bible... God doesnt want us to know about it!

There is a lot of modern knowledged that never gets so much as a sylable mentioned in the Bible. Germ theory comes to mind. Do you think God doesn't want us to know anything about it? There is nothing about powered flight in the Bible. Do you think God wants us to give up air travel? Refridgeration doesn't get mentioned. Should we give up electricity, power tools, hydro electric dams, space exploration?

If its in the bible God has a point to tell us. But, I can honestly say ive never heard about Atlantis in the bible, so my fascination ends there.

Heather, further advances require that we be inquisitive. If scientists were not inquisitive we would not have anti-biotics and millions of people would be dead who are now alive. The inquisitiveness of Edward Banting gave us inslulin. I could go on for hours, but you get the idea.

You just don't get it, Marsh. But that's okay; I'm praying for you.

[MorningGlory]

I don't get not having an interest in something because it is not mentioned in the Bible. Do you have interests in anything not mention in the Bible?

Of course. I like tennis; it's not mentioned in the Bible. The thing is that the Bible contains important things, spiritual guidance, lessons for mankind, prophecy and the way to salvation. The minor things are just not in there.

Do you accept this? You know there are a lot of things not mentioned in the Bible that we have acquired knowledge about. Does God not want us to know those things?

If God doesn't want us to know something....we won't know it.

[MorningGlory]

I don't get not having an interest in something because it is not mentioned in the Bible. Do you have interests in anything not mention in the Bible?

Of course. I like tennis; it's not mentioned in the Bible. The thing is that the Bible contains important things, spiritual guidance, lessons for mankind, prophecy and the way to salvation. The minor things are just not in there.

Do you accept this? You know there are a lot of things not mentioned in the Bible that we have acquired knowledge about. Does God not want us to know those things?

If God doesn't want us to know something....we won't know it.

Some threads are easier to agree with you in than others.

Basically you seem not to agree with Heather's comments. Your saying, "If God doesn't want us to know something....we won't know it" is different from her saying "If its not in the Bible God doesn't want us to know it."

She also said if something is not mentioned in the Bible she has no interest in it. Perhaps she was exaggerating to make a point, or perhaps she didn't think her comments through.

Could be. We always have to remember that the Bible was written over a 1500 year period and the oldest books are probably 3,000 years old. If we went strictly by if it's not in the Bible then we have no interest in it....we couldn't live in the world today. God intended for us to move forward or....we just wouldn't have. He is in control of everything, after all.

[Fez]

Atheists seem to regard religion as a product of ignorance and fear and that our intelligence is evolving out such things.

Well I think that perhaps, as your post heading says "Ancient religions", may have been born out of fear and ignorance. But of course when the one true God was made manifest to us that fear and ignorance vanished.

Anything not of God engenders fear, we just have to look at the secular word around us to know that.

[nebula]

Well, I don't know what era in which you went to school, but in my era, ancient religions were considered superstition, fear, manipulation, etc.

Ah, I was taught the ancients didn't really believe any of that stuff in their myths. Now I think those who told me that didn't know what they were talking about. The Egyptians believed as thorougly in the the judging of the soul and its being weighed against a feather as Christians today believe in the saving power of Christ.

I guess they're teaching things different in schools now, then, from 20+ years ago.

What do you think the ancients knew that we haven't figured out? You must have some idea or you wouldn't have said it.

First I have to ask you, would people follow something that didn't work?

Second, do you believe there wouldn't be skeptics, intellectuals, and analytical people in their societies, just like today, who wouldn't seek to look past "smoke and mirrors" and look for proof of what was being seen and done?

[sheya joie]

Second, do you believe there wouldn't be skeptics, intellectuals, and analytical people in their societies, just like today, who wouldn't seek to look past "smoke and mirrors" and look for proof of what was being seen and done?

Consider Socrates, who was condemned to death for teaching the youth of his city that their gods were not real.

On a more apocryphal note, there's the story of Daniel exposing the deception of the priests of Baal in 'Bel and the Dragon.' I include this story, which may or may not have actually happened, because even if it's a made-up story, whoever wrote it in ancient times had the smarts to work out how the deception could be exposed - pulled back the curtain and let everyone see the real face of Oz, so the speak.

[MorningGlory]

But not in control of evolutionary processes. He would never be capable of doing that.

So, couldn't resist -- off topic I know.

He IS in control of evolutionary processes, as in adaptation; He just didn't have mankind evolve from apes. Genesis tells us what He did and there are no apes involved.

[MorningGlory]

Atheists seem to regard religion as a product of ignorance and fear and that our intelligence is evolving out such things.

Well I think that perhaps, as your post heading says "Ancient religions", may have been born out of fear and ignorance. But of course when the one true God was made manifest to us that fear and ignorance vanished.

Anything not of God engenders fear, we just have to look at the secular word around us to know that.