Where Did the Notion of 'God' Come From?

[Marvin Edwards]

A newborn child, cold and hungry, cries out to the universe for food and warmth. He is gathered up in his mother’s arms, and is comforted, and fed.

We don’t remember this experience, but it is one we’ve all shared. I believe it leaves us with a sense that we might implore a greater being to come to our aid in time of trouble, and that it is likely the seed of the idea of ‘God’.

On a cold day, I walked out of the apartment ready to shiver. Stepping out of the shadow and into the sunlight, I felt a warmth and comfort, as if I were loved by the Sun. And I understood how easy it was for our ancestors to view the Sun as a god.

In early history people worshiped multiple gods, prayed to them for favors and offered them gifts so that the rains would water their crops, and the river would not flood their homes. By coincidence, this sometimes appeared to work. Psychologists have since discovered that behavior that was intermittently rewarded was more difficult to extinguish than behavior that was consistently rewarded. And so superstition flourished.

But then something new was added. Monotheism took the strong position that there was only one God.

And not only was this the God to pray to and worship, but this God also expected you to follow rules. If you followed the commandments, you would prosper, if not in this life, then in the next.

I remember the preachers from my youth, Oral Roberts and Norman Vincent Peale, teaching that God is a Good God, and that following Him brings both blessings and expectations. I remember the prayer at dinner, “God is Great, God is Good …”.

God became a way to make being good and doing good both valuable and sacred. And that is why the idea is still useful today, even by those of us who use the term in a literary rather than a literal sense.

 

[Swammerdami]

The topic is interesting and I'd like to read more about it. But based on my readings so far, the origin of religion is slightly different than Marvin depicts.

Monotheism is rather rare among ancient religions, no? There are the three major Abrahamic religions and the Atenism of Amenhotep IV; who else? The Abrahamic religions are based on the same creational myths, and I think Atenism might have a related origin: David's Psalm 104 is almost a word-for-word translation of the Great Hymn to the Aten. (Aten was a sun god while Yahweh began IIRC as a moon god.)

But earlier religions began with the recognition of spirits who had no agenda regarding humans. Trees, animals, mountains, etc. all had their own spirits which should be respected or even appeased. (The Sun was an especially powerful and important spirit.) Then came respect for, obedience to, and worship of ancestors. The idea that God somehow embodied Goodness came much later, I think.

 

[rousseau]

I'm not an expert on this topic, but my guess is that there isn't really a specific, historical origin, but rather different variations throughout history in different times and places. Many of which (like Swammerdami mentions) aren't exactly monotheistic.

If there is anything like an origin I'd call it psychological - coming from our tendency to attribute agency to the natural environment, and build myths to explain the natural world.

 

[Marvin Edwards]

I'm not an expert on this topic, but my guess is that there isn't really a specific, historical origin, but rather different variations throughout history in different times and places. Many of which (like Swammerdami mentions) aren't exactly monotheistic.

If there is anything like an origin I'd call it psychological - coming from our tendency to attribute agency to the natural environment, and build myths to explain the natural world.

Right, that's why I'm suggesting the universal experience of a baby crying out for help and the universe responding with food and warmth. It's like our first prayer, and its answer.

 

[rousseau]

I'm not an expert on this topic, but my guess is that there isn't really a specific, historical origin, but rather different variations throughout history in different times and places. Many of which (like Swammerdami mentions) aren't exactly monotheistic.

If there is anything like an origin I'd call it psychological - coming from our tendency to attribute agency to the natural environment, and build myths to explain the natural world.

Right, that's why I'm suggesting the universal experience of a baby crying out for help and the universe responding with food and warmth. It's like our first prayer, and its answer.

There might have been an incentive to understand and influence current events too. I think you have to be careful with the idea of a gracious supernatural entity in the early days. Durkheim described early religion as our first attempt to explain the natural world, like an early form of science.

More than anything else, belief systems are usually built to serve the immediate needs of a community in their specific social context. Some of that can definitely be psychological (someone is taking care of us), but I think the usual aim is to influence our ability to survive.

To me, a gracious, good God is more of an Abrahamic thing.

 

[Marvin Edwards]

I'm not an expert on this topic, but my guess is that there isn't really a specific, historical origin, but rather different variations throughout history in different times and places. Many of which (like Swammerdami mentions) aren't exactly monotheistic.

If there is anything like an origin I'd call it psychological - coming from our tendency to attribute agency to the natural environment, and build myths to explain the natural world.

Right, that's why I'm suggesting the universal experience of a baby crying out for help and the universe responding with food and warmth. It's like our first prayer, and its answer.

There might have been an incentive to understand and influence current events too. I think you have to be careful with the idea of a gracious supernatural entity in the early days. Durkheim described early religion as our first attempt to explain the natural world, like an early form of science.

More than anything else, belief systems are usually built to serve the immediate needs of a community in their specific social context. Some of that can definitely be psychological (someone is taking care of us), but I think the usual aim is to influence our ability to survive.

To me, a gracious, good God is more of an Abrahamic thing.

Yes. And perhaps earlier we would have gods based upon mothers. Mothers offer unconditional love and fathers offer rules and make demands. Initially we would make mother the god, but later, recognizing the power of father, we make our deities male. The two approaches, Love (morality) and Rules (ethics) are complimentary. But this may all just be my own subjective experience. ☺

 

[bilby]

I suspect that the need for kings and emperors to say "sorry, but I don't make the rules" is a large part of it.

It's always easier to blame your boss than to explain why you're refusing to do what people want. When you're at the top, you're going to need to invent a boss.

In a similar vein, it's the ultimate extension of the old maternal threat "just you wait until your father gets home!"

 

[WAB]

Imagination and paranoia.

 

[Coleman Smith]

Three cavemen where eating some game when lighting hit a nearby tree and set it one fire.

One of the cavemen said, Give the son of a bitch some meat before he kills us all.

The notion of god was created and the first sacrifice given.

 

[James Brown]

I suspect that the need for kings and emperors to say "sorry, but I don't make the rules" is a large part of it.

It's always easier to blame your boss than to explain why you're refusing to do what people want. When you're at the top, you're going to need to invent a boss.

In a similar vein, it's the ultimate extension of the old maternal threat "just you wait until your father gets home!"

Or could it be, "My dad can beat up your dad" taken to its logical extreme?

At least, that's how polytheism evolves to monotheism, in my view.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

A newborn child, cold and hungry, cries out to the universe for food and warmth. He is gathered up in his mother’s arms, and is comforted, and fed.

We don’t remember this experience, but it is one we’ve all shared. I believe it leaves us with a sense that we might implore a greater being to come to our aid in time of trouble, and that it is likely the seed of the idea of ‘God’.

On a cold day, I walked out of the apartment ready to shiver. Stepping out of the shadow and into the sunlight, I felt a warmth and comfort, as if I were loved by the Sun. And I understood how easy it was for our ancestors to view the Sun as a god.

In early history people worshiped multiple gods, prayed to them for favors and offered them gifts so that the rains would water their crops, and the river would not flood their homes. By coincidence, this sometimes appeared to work. Psychologists have since discovered that behavior that was intermittently rewarded was more difficult to extinguish than behavior that was consistently rewarded. And so superstition flourished.

But then something new was added. Monotheism took the strong position that there was only one God.

And not only was this the God to pray to and worship, but this God also expected you to follow rules. If you followed the commandments, you would prosper, if not in this life, then in the next.

I remember the preachers from my youth, Oral Roberts and Norman Vincent Peale, teaching that God is a Good God, and that following Him brings both blessings and expectations. I remember the prayer at dinner, “God is Great, God is Good …”.

God became a way to make being good and doing good both valuable and sacred. And that is why the idea is still useful today, even by those of us who use the term in a literary rather than a literal sense.

Alpha God: The Psychology of Religious Violence and Oppression by Hector Garcia should help answer your question regarding where the idea of God came from. Garcia argues that the notion of God(s) is based in our evolutionary heritage in which we were either dominant "alpha" males or were subservient to them. The Gods many people worship are based on our instinct to serve a "higher power" and in so doing avoid punishment by that higher power and we hope enjoy favors from that power.