(The following is a condensed version focusing on the Judea-Christian tradition). Primitive religion developed in response to a human need to harmonize with nature. It would develop into various aspects: the need for sacrifice, perspectives on the continuation of life, understanding the forces of nature, communion with a higher spirit, and the establishment of a social order.

Life feeds on life. That is where sacrifice enters the picture. Early hunter-gatherer groups had to hunt to survive. In early traditions, tribes honored the animal that became a sacrifice so that the tribe might live. It was a way of giving thanks to the animal. After the consecration, the animal was consumed as food. When we say grace at the table, in a way we are honoring this tradition.

Throughout history, sacrifice has been a crucial element in religion, but it means different things to different people. For some, sacrifice is a personal commitment to give of oneself for the good of others. These are noble sacrifices. Sacrifice has been adulterated throughout the ages by those who didn’t understand its purpose or why it was necessary.

Ritual burials were a way of acknowledging the continuation of life. In ancient Egypt, ritual burials evolved in response to their understanding of astral projection, in which they saw the spirit of a person as separate from the body. Near-death and out-of-body experiences create the same outlook in today’s world.

Eastern philosophy took the world of spirit to a whole new level. By examining the varieties of spiritual experience, including precognition, clairvoyance, spontaneous healing, past-life regression, guided intuition, transcendentalism, metaphysics, and mysticism, scholars came to understand spiritual dimensions that the western world has little knowledge of.

As civilizations grew, leaders personified the forces of nature into characters called gods. Spiritual forces (thought processes) were also personified into characters, many being called angels (good) and demons (evil). Objects were used as symbols that helped represent spiritual concepts. All these elements were incorporated into mythical dramas that tried to explain how the world works. These mythologies were the foundation of early religions. They were all founded on right brain associations. They would forge people into city-states and nations and give them a sense of right and wrong beyond the limits of mere survival.

The gods of the Hindus revolve around the cycles of nature. The gods of the Babylonians in the Enuma Elish represented the forces of geology. The gods of the ancient Egyptians in the Legend of Osiris represented the elements of agriculture. Each culture incorporated their gods into their way of life.

As trade routes expanded, these stories got all intermixed. By the thirteenth century BC, climate change threatened the current world order. People began to worship the gods of mythology as if they controlled the forces that they represented. It was a dark period for humanity. It was then that the first five books of the Bible were written.

Sacrificing one’s children to appease the anger of the gods was an adulterated version of sacrifice. It was a practice going on in the land of Canaan. God set out to eradicate the practice from the face of the earth. That was the reason for empowering the people of Israel to fight against it. God warned Israel not to succumb to the practice themselves or they would suffer the same consequences.

The Hebrew religion, which would become Judaism, was established on the rule of law. It would supersede the Egyptian and Babylonian religions from which it evolved and forge the people of Israel into a nation. Among its laws, ten were written in stone, a metaphor that testifies to their lasting endurance. Those who won’t follow them will not find peace in the world. From its very beginning, it would foretell the coming of a Messiah. At the center of its teaching was the tabernacle, a symbol representing communion with the source of life, referred to as YHWH.

Nearly a millennium later, Buddhism was born in India. It would develop alongside Hinduism. It has no belief in gods. It is focused on inner contemplation, where the physical desires of humankind are seen as a trap, preventing people from realizing their higher spiritual capacity. The carnal versus spiritual battle is at the core of its belief.

Two thousand years ago, on the fifth day of the Mayan long count, Jesus was born. His teachings on love, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit would evolve into a new religion that would overshadow Judaism. Although many Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, no other person in history fits the bill. Jesus never condemned a sinner, neither would he allow it in his presence. That influence has a powerful effect on those who see themselves as imperfect beings but want to live a better life.

On the fifth night of the Mayan long count, Islam came into existence. Its writings were influenced by Old and New Testament teachings, but they revert to the early days of Judaism where Moses and Joshua were out fighting to restore order in the land. Islam undermines many of Christ’s teachings. A call to fighting in the Koran is the reason that the Muslim world has seen so much violence throughout its history. Most Muslims do not subscribe to terrorism, yet the book they follow is adamant about the need to fight for their cause, so the fight continues.

During the Renaissance, humanity shifted to a left-brain orientation where science took the lead in how we view the world. Science is one of the two branches of theology. But church leaders saw it differently. Science was supposed to support the teachings of the church. When this didn’t happen as expected, fundamentalists separated the two into opposing disciplines that, for a time, ran concurrently.

During the twentieth century, science challenged many long-held beliefs of the church with such hard-core evidence that fundamentalists regarded it as a work of the devil. The science community, in turn, became disillusioned with the church’s refusal (or inability) to integrate any of their findings concerning origins into the beliefs of their followers. Atheism has become popular as a result.

Sacred scripture is not either true or false; its truth is only in its proper interpretation. It was written to inspire, not inform. In reading the words, you get a history lesson that is missing many details. As my father once told me, you must learn to read between the lines. True religion is about establishing a communion with the source of life through a spiritual awakening. What it reveals cannot come from a book or a scholar. It comes from the cosmos itself. Few have achieved that level of awareness. Without it, life seems to have no meaning.That is the challenge we face today, to restore that spirit that gives life meaning and continuity.

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