The Beginning

Before we begin, let’s make the distinction here, religion is not God. They can not be used interchangeably, we are now only discussing religion.

Religion, unlike time-space, seems to have a starting point: Human consciousness.

Religion seems to be the result of our efforts toward finding the truth or understanding the universe in depth. It seems to be the result of us wanting to feel more connected and one with the world. Our need to have a creator seems to arise from there.

As Richard Holloway put it, animals that aren’t human “do not seem to need a religion […] because they’re more at one with their lives than we are ”. What is the most uniquely human thing that evolution has blessed us with? Consciousness. Consciousness allows us to think, to form opinions, ideologies. To wonder about the universe and, Death. Basically all that seems to be the unknown.

But death has probably been the most complex thing for us to wrap our heads around. Throughout history, we’ve wondered what comes after death. While our labour toward the exploration of the universe seems to be yielding, the same cannot be said of our efforts toward our examination of death.

While our intelligence allowed us to come up with the scientific method and apply it to determine anything about the unknown so that it can become the “known”, what came first was simply consciousness, along with that was the preexisting condition of innate curiosity.

So early humans wondered, the same as us. The question of the universe was answered by the existence of a creator beyond our world, and the question of death seems to be what prompted the idea of a beyond in the first place.

While you ponder on this, I’mma go now. Sorry ;)

P.S it seems like a good idea to end this here with the following:

“I actually think that I love God more now that I know God is voluntary. Perhaps God had to die to purify our love for him.” - Don Cupitt