Is
the Origin of "God" simply "Good Luck?"
Copyright
© 2008, James Michael Howard, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A.
The
sun is important to survival and early humans discovered the important
connection with agriculture. The sun was "god" for a long time, a
long time ago. What happened to that hypothesis? I think that when the sun and
stars became predictable, they ceased to be "gods" and became
"tools." Predictability made them available to everyone.
Some
think religion may have evolved via natural selection in our brains. That is,
it has been suggested that our temporal lobes have produced a selection
advantage for our evolution. I think this may be correct and I suggest the
"selection" mechanism is the ability of the temporal lobes to produce
the feeling we call "awe." People who exhibit this characteristic
will be more easily moved by events and individuals which stimulate awe. These
people often have groups of followers. Groups of humans fare better than random
individuals.
"Luck"
will never be predictable and never be a tool. I suggest religion developed out
of attempts to predict luck. God may represent "good luck." If
"luck" becomes predictable, it becomes science. Therefore, religion
will always be a part of human life and will always be separate from science, a
product of the frontal lobes.
The
ultimate influence science or religion will have on a population will depend
upon the ratio of individuals who are moved more by their frontal lobes or
their temporal lobes. I suggest the “secular
trend” affects this ratio. As I have
suggested in other articles, I think the secular trend is reducing the
percentage of individuals whose frontal lobes are fully developed. Therefore, the percentage of people more
affected by their temporal lobes is increasing more rapidly than those more
affected by their frontal lobes. This
may explain the “resurgence” of religion in America and, possibly, the world.
March
30, 2012, when people experience “good luck” and attribute this to “God,” they
are actually experiencing the “grace” of God.
So… I think simply denying “they” experienced
God is a bit judgmental. One should
acknowledge that these individuals have been moved in a significant way, which
they attribute to God. To them, the
grace of God exists and is really, really real.
When atheists experience significantly good luck, it is really, really
real to them. The experience is the same
but the explanation is simply different.