Primal Religions

This week’s readings were addressing the primal religions including those of the American Indians, African religions and other various primal religions. Information about these religions was not written and can only be an accumulation of archeological finds and studies of anthropology. Many of the religions of both the Native Americans and the Africans were based on their geographical location. The basic teachings of the Native Americans emphasize geographic space and their geographical space and natural environment. All things on earth, including what we refer to as living and even some geographic and geological features, can establish a relationship with human beings. This has been a source of conflict with the Euro-American population …show more content…
Once the beginnings were understood, growth could happen. It is natural for us to want to know where we came from and how we arrived at our current state. The first religions fulfilled this curiosity. There is still an ongoing debate as to how humans came into existence, are we developed by nature or nurture? I believe that we were all created by a higher power and the label of God for this higher power is convenient to use in our daily life and translates well in most languages. The early religions were established to define our roots and guide us in life. The mere existence of the variety of religions shows me the natural desire to know why we are here. Each community in a geographic location has chosen to believe the story created by the leader of the community. These religions were created to answer the question why are we here and what can we do to have a better future. They were tools used by the leaders to guide the community members toward a common bond. This bond then provided motivation to be better at what ever their role was in the community. A sense of belonging was …show more content…
By allowing the creation of many levels of gods/goddesses, any explanation was plausible. This allowed the story to be enriched and made more believable when the actions of the god/goddess were brought into question. I think the question “Why is God remote?” on page 344 of the book, The World’s Wisdom by Philip Novak is best answered by the Ngombe of Central Africa. “…In the beginning the creator lived among men: but men were quarrelsome. One day they had a big quarrel and Akongo left them to themselves. He went and hid in the forest and nobody has seen him since.” My sense is that this is the story used by a tribal leader to lessen the quarrels among the tribal members. Story telling often used by parents to guide their children is similar to the religions creating sacred myths or stories to guide the members. This is an admirable tool used by intelligent group leaders and for the most part was not used for harmful