ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Live and let live: a jumble of thoughts about religion and humanity
It's just past 1 am, right now, so I'm not sure how well any of this will read to a well-rested mind.
It is no secret that I am incredibly fascinated by bits of ancient history, most notably the era of the Vikings. A part of that fascination heavily involves old paganism and Heathenry and its presence in modern day religion, as well, from Christianity to Neopaganism. It's just really cool to read about, fact or fiction.
Now, this post of mine is about to diverge into what could be seen as a pretty "controversial" opinion, to say the least, but it's something I've been thinking for a long time. Well, at least since my freshman year in high school. You see, I took an advanced placement human geography course that year instead of the normal physical geography that many other people took. I was capable and had always taken advanced courses, so I thought, "why not?" Anyway, our first major project involved the religions of the world. It was in this class that I learned that Christianity, historically, was not the first religion, nor would it be the last.
I chose to study the Shinto religion of ancient Japan. Shintoism came about in approximately 1,000 B.C.E.; and that's even after the Babylonian religion, drawn from Hammurabi's stele around 1,800 B.C.E., originated, not to mention in a whole other section of the world. Now, Christianity didn't originate until the first century, or so, before common era, some sources estimate between 4 B.C.E. and 1 B.C.E.
See, this is where the controversial stuff comes in, so, please, if you choose to continue reading, understand that this is just a massive web of a theory that's been sitting within my head for years. If all of these religions existed before and continue to exist after Christianity (as what it was and what it is now), then how can we really consider the Christian god to be the one and only god?
It's universally accepted that something created the universe as we know it. Since the dawn of time, some form of life has inhabited the Earth, and since the dawn of humanity, there has always been a desire for inner peace. Now, people can't have one thing without something that opposes it, so with peace came fear, and a being's greatest fear, I like to think, is death. The greatest way to quell the fear of death is to find a way to believe in a comfortable afterlife. Now, that entity that created this world stuck around and helped the beings of the world to find that afterlife. Thus, religion was born—or something like that.
Every religion and belief has its stories of creation from the Garden of Eden to the regions of Yggdrasil to even the Big Bang, and I really like to think that the cosmic entity that created the universe had its role in all of it for the same reason: to appeal to the people in a way that helped them understand and to best find their comfort. (Does that make sense?) Many monotheistic religions, Christianity included, believe that their god is totally omnipotent, as in all-seeing and all-powerful. I think that this is very true because that one, single god is the entirety of the cosmic entity that created the world and everything within it. Polytheistic religions that have multiple gods with and for multiple purposes, like the pagan beliefs of Vikings and the Indigenous people of the Americas and even the idol worshippers in several Eastern religions, can find that cosmic entity splitting itself to meet the needs of its people.
- See more at: alyoh.blogspot.com/2015/05/liv…
It's just past 1 am, right now, so I'm not sure how well any of this will read to a well-rested mind.
It is no secret that I am incredibly fascinated by bits of ancient history, most notably the era of the Vikings. A part of that fascination heavily involves old paganism and Heathenry and its presence in modern day religion, as well, from Christianity to Neopaganism. It's just really cool to read about, fact or fiction.
Now, this post of mine is about to diverge into what could be seen as a pretty "controversial" opinion, to say the least, but it's something I've been thinking for a long time. Well, at least since my freshman year in high school. You see, I took an advanced placement human geography course that year instead of the normal physical geography that many other people took. I was capable and had always taken advanced courses, so I thought, "why not?" Anyway, our first major project involved the religions of the world. It was in this class that I learned that Christianity, historically, was not the first religion, nor would it be the last.
I chose to study the Shinto religion of ancient Japan. Shintoism came about in approximately 1,000 B.C.E.; and that's even after the Babylonian religion, drawn from Hammurabi's stele around 1,800 B.C.E., originated, not to mention in a whole other section of the world. Now, Christianity didn't originate until the first century, or so, before common era, some sources estimate between 4 B.C.E. and 1 B.C.E.
See, this is where the controversial stuff comes in, so, please, if you choose to continue reading, understand that this is just a massive web of a theory that's been sitting within my head for years. If all of these religions existed before and continue to exist after Christianity (as what it was and what it is now), then how can we really consider the Christian god to be the one and only god?
It's universally accepted that something created the universe as we know it. Since the dawn of time, some form of life has inhabited the Earth, and since the dawn of humanity, there has always been a desire for inner peace. Now, people can't have one thing without something that opposes it, so with peace came fear, and a being's greatest fear, I like to think, is death. The greatest way to quell the fear of death is to find a way to believe in a comfortable afterlife. Now, that entity that created this world stuck around and helped the beings of the world to find that afterlife. Thus, religion was born—or something like that.
Every religion and belief has its stories of creation from the Garden of Eden to the regions of Yggdrasil to even the Big Bang, and I really like to think that the cosmic entity that created the universe had its role in all of it for the same reason: to appeal to the people in a way that helped them understand and to best find their comfort. (Does that make sense?) Many monotheistic religions, Christianity included, believe that their god is totally omnipotent, as in all-seeing and all-powerful. I think that this is very true because that one, single god is the entirety of the cosmic entity that created the world and everything within it. Polytheistic religions that have multiple gods with and for multiple purposes, like the pagan beliefs of Vikings and the Indigenous people of the Americas and even the idol worshippers in several Eastern religions, can find that cosmic entity splitting itself to meet the needs of its people.
- See more at: alyoh.blogspot.com/2015/05/liv…
It's my birthday, I can't believe it
where has the time gone?
Connect With/Support Me c:
Hey! Happy New Year and stuff!
I thought I'd update my page here with some links where you can find me, especially if you're interested in anything other than my Yu-Gi-Oh! trash. :lol:
Connect with me and my work:
• My Personal Website/Portfolio
• Behance
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
Support me:
• Commissions
• RedBubble
• PayPal
Like my Facebook page!
Go here and like my Facebook page!
Thanks <3
The end!
What a rough semester, but I guess that can be said about them all.
Everything is pretty much done, just waiting on grades.
And I don't think I care anymore. c':
I made more things that I love than things I hate, so that's got to count for something!
© 2015 - 2024 AlyOh
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In