In the early history of humanity there was little science. There was little knowledge of disease and no hospitals. There were no educational institutions, such as schools, universities, and libraries. Altogether there were few institutions of any kind.

Nevertheless, people did have imagination and curious children asked questions. How did the stars get there? Why do people become sick? What can be done to help them? What happens to animals and people who die? The adults perhaps enjoyed inventing stories to explain natural phenomena and instruct the children. That the stories were fanciful did not detract from their entertainment value, and some stories persisted as an oral tradition.

People, both young and old, also had some fear of disease, injury and dying. Stories and myths were invented which reassured the people, lessened anxieties, and provided hope. A primitive form of religion was born.

It was not long before the tellers of myths and the witch-doctors realized that they could obtain gifts and resources from the people. The story-tellers and witch-doctors were the religious leaders of their era.

The religious leaders soon found that they could prosper even better if they pretended to have magical powers which could cure illnesses. Since young people naturally recover from some illnesses, the religious leaders could take credit for the cures and ignore the failures.

The religious leaders found that their authority could be reinforced by having physical objects which were assumed to possess magical powers. When tools were developed, the religious leaders employed sculptures or physical idols, usually made of wood, stone, or metal. The idols could be worshiped and receive gifts and sacrifices which the religious leaders could use.

After writing was developed, the religious leaders could employ Sacred Books or mental idols. The Sacred Books contained numerous stories which could be used in sermons. To avoid debate on which type of idol, physical or mental, was more powerful, the religious leaders usually gave precedence to the mental idols. The Sacred Books were deemed more essential than the sculptures and figures representing Gods.

The partial restraints produced by speech are rather variable. But the partial restraints fixed in writing were reliable enough to allow the development of large institutions. Soon religion became a dominant institution in the society.

The most magical power after all, of course, was to communicate with a supernatural God and have this God intervene on one's behalf. Thus, it came about that religious confidence games were developed which have persisted to the present day. The religious confidence games of our civilization are analogous to the magic and witchcraft of primitive tribes.

Depending on circumstances, the religious institution tended to develop tolerance or, conversely, bigotry towards outsiders. Mutually helpful trade with outsiders tends to promote tolerance; severe competition for limited resources, to promote bigotry.

Competing societies sometimes came into conflict with one another. All else being equal, the society which had more cohesion and whose individuals were more willing to sacrifice themselves for the group had an advantage. Thus, the societies whose religions taught their own superiority, that fallen members would receive a posthumous reward, and which enforced uniform beliefs and discipline had an advantage over less organized societies. The rise of bigoted religions is an expected development.

A bigoted religion typically tells its members that they are superior in some important way (such as being favored by God) and outsiders are inferior. The nonbelievers, by obstinately rejecting the "true faith," deserve to be punished. Thereby the bigoted religion provides reasons (excuses) for forcibly spreading the faith and taking the resources of outsiders. Consequently, bigoted religions have spread over much of the world.

On the other hand, religious tolerance also has advantages, especially in sharing resources and resolving disputes peacefully. In cooperating and working together with others, tolerant religions are better than bigotry.

The religion was affected by its traditions and myths, by the available resources, by the power or submissiveness of likely adversaries, by trade, cultural exchanges, and intermarriages with outsiders, by education and advances in science, and eventually by the need for social stability. As a result, present religions range all the way from highly bigoted to very tolerant...

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