Man and the Universe

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 430.

God

Introduction

Primitive religion is the beliefs and practices of people who lack writing and have a simple, material culture. Apparently it has existed since the beginnings of mankind.

It is the religion of man without divine guidance, trying to make his peace with the terrifying and mysterious powers of nature. It can be said that primitive man lays bare the basic character of all men because he is stripped of the material benefits that often mask our need for God.

Probably most of the human race through the ages has adhered to primitive religion. It is still widely practiced today in its pure form among preliterate peoples; in addition, many members of major religions (including Christianity) partake of primitive thought and practice to varying degrees.

In the West there is now a great interest in primitive religion. Many think that modern secular man needs to recover primitive man's participation in the cycles of nature as well as his sense of the sacred.

Because primitive religion has developed over every continent among peoples who have no contact with each other, it is amazing that many basic similarities exist among primitive religions.

Primitive peoples believe in a large number of gods, each reigning over a family, clan, village, or certain localities such as a river or a mountain. That belief has been called henotheism, meaning close adherence to a certain god while recognizing the existence of others. (The sailors in the book of Jonah, for example.)

Most primitives do believe in one supreme, "high" God, who is the first source of all existence. But that God is usually considered too distant to be concerned with the affairs of men.

Primitive men are thus left to deal with local gods who are generally lacking in mercy and love. Their ways are not always predictable, and primitive men are usually concerned either to appease their anger or to gain material favors from them.

The gods are generally connected in some way with dead ancestors. That is, they relate to the tribe or clan and support the customs that have in the past kept the group functioning.

Because of their lack of technology and scientific understanding, primitives trust that the universe is in control of the gods.

Droughts, illnesses, and death pose great threats to primitive man, and his religion provides him to a certain degree with a feeling of security and a sense of control.

It is thought that ancestors and the gods associated with them control human destiny, handing out rewards and punishments for actions that help or hinder the group. Usually those gods and ancestors are themselves as mysterious and fearsome as the natural world.

Like Hinduism and Buddhism--and unlike Christianity, Islam, and Judaism--the primitive world view is cyclical. There is no purpose to history; various ages repeat themselves with no final goal. That view arises from observation of the natural cycles of nature. Often primitives believe that only through their own ritual actions will the world order be maintained.

Many primitives report that they follow customs and rituals without knowing why; tradition simply tells them that it has worked in the past.