Got a question about God, need answers from Religious people.

About 2,000 years or more ago, we had very little knowelge about the Earth. The people back then didnt have an explination for Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tornado's, Rain or any natural phenomena. In the Bible it says God destroyed city's and punished people. Isnt it possible, that it was infact just bad wheather that destroyed all the city's. Stuff like Earthquakes and that.  Because we didnt have an explination for it all back then, people thought God created Rain, Tornado's and Earthquakes to punish them, when infact it is natural. People must of worshipped lightning back then, because it made loud noise and they thought it was God doing that.

So I need an answer for this. Isnt it possible, that the whole idea of God came up because we had very little knowelge about the Earth back then. Things that people couldnt explain back then, they probly just said it was God's doings.

I am Religious myself, but I cannot answer this questions. So please Religious people answer this questions for me.

If you read alot of ancient texts, it talks alot about the weather and stuff we consider natural phenoma today.

 So could any Religious people give me an answer for this please?

also if you belive the bible, then we are technically all related. When's the family reunion broskie?proctorsurf

[QUOTE="proctorsurf"]also if you belive the bible, then we are technically all related. When's the family reunion broskie?yermomsboxx

[QUOTE="yermomsboxx"][QUOTE="proctorsurf"]also if you belive the bible, then we are technically all related. When's the family reunion broskie?proctorsurf

People have been trying to explain the at the time unexplainable for years, through many different religions. So, it's possible. Then again, I don't like to push my beliefs.BDM666

[QUOTE="yermomsboxx"][QUOTE="proctorsurf"]also if you belive the bible, then we are technically all related. When's the family reunion broskie?proctorsurf

To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.StanleyL

To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.StanleyL

About 2,000 years or more ago, we had very little knowelge about the Earth. The people back then didnt have an explination for Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tornado's, Rain or any natural phenomena. In the Bible it says God destroyed city's and punished people. Isnt it possible, that it was infact just bad wheather that destroyed all the city's. Stuff like Earthquakes and that.  Because we didnt have an explination for it all back then, people thought God created Rain, Tornado's and Earthquakes to punish them, when infact it is natural. People must of worshipped lightning back then, because it made loud noise and they thought it was God doing that.

So I need an answer for this. Isnt it possible, that the whole idea of God came up because we had very little knowelge about the Earth back then. Things that people couldnt explain back then, they probly just said it was God's doings.

I am Religious myself, but I cannot answer this questions. So please Religious people answer this questions for me.

qwerty2305

[QUOTE="qwerty2305"]

About 2,000 years or more ago, we had very little knowelge about the Earth. The people back then didnt have an explination for Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tornado's, Rain or any natural phenomena. In the Bible it says God destroyed city's and punished people. Isnt it possible, that it was infact just bad wheather that destroyed all the city's. Stuff like Earthquakes and that.  Because we didnt have an explination for it all back then, people thought God created Rain, Tornado's and Earthquakes to punish them, when infact it is natural. People must of worshipped lightning back then, because it made loud noise and they thought it was God doing that.

So I need an answer for this. Isnt it possible, that the whole idea of God came up because we had very little knowelge about the Earth back then. Things that people couldnt explain back then, they probly just said it was God's doings.

I am Religious myself, but I cannot answer this questions. So please Religious people answer this questions for me.

Superironic

If you believe that, that's cool, but It's not exactly grounds to push it on someone else. What If I said I did it, do you believe me?

[QUOTE="yermomsboxx"][QUOTE="proctorsurf"]also if you belive the bible, then we are technically all related. When's the family reunion broskie?proctorsurf

[QUOTE="StanleyL"]To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.a55assin

 I'm a GS staffer, and it's a slow day in the office.  I've been studying church and religious history in my off-time, so it seemed appropriate. :)

[QUOTE="a55assin"][QUOTE="StanleyL"]To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.StanleyL

I'm a GS staffer, and it's a slow day in the office. I've been studying church and religious history in my off-time, so it seemed appropriate. :)

To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.StanleyL

[QUOTE="StanleyL"]To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.-Karayan-

[QUOTE="-Karayan-"][QUOTE="StanleyL"]To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.a55assin

[QUOTE="a55assin"][QUOTE="-Karayan-"][QUOTE="StanleyL"]To answer your question, yes it's certainly possible, and in many cases likely. Many ancient religions that have faded away (and are termed "pagan" by today's religions) drew alot of inspiration from nature, with natural disasters being the vehicle of God's (or the gods' ) wrath. You have to realize however that one of the reasons those religions are no longer around and why certain ones persist today is because religions like Christianity, Islam, Buddism, etc, were not started by the idea of just bad weather, but by a person who claimed to be divine, or is/was seen by followers as divine. When religious followers can look to a prophet, a messiah, or a holy man for guidance and revelation, it becomes much more personal than just following a religion led by a faceless god who's only interaction with mankind is through floods and volcanoes.-Karayan-

I'm sure both had an impact.  One of the reasons Christianity persisted thoughout history is because Rome was the world power at the time, and they would spread Christianity to the places they conquered.  Same with Islam.  The Moors and Persians would spread their religion where they conquered.

You are correct, the Christianization of Rome in the 4th century is a big reason Christianity is so dominant today. In fact, for any religion to really be dominant it usually takes a political force to back it. But remember that the Roman empire was previously "pagan", worshiping the ancient religion of Olympus. The Roman empire left behind an old faith based on natural disasters and superstition in favor of a different faith that is based on teachings from someone who lived in the Roman empire just a few hundred years ago. Not to say anything of if Jesus really was the Messiah or if Mohammed really was a divine prophet, but being able to follow documented teaching is much more comforting as a religion than following word-of-mouth folklore. To illustrate with a gaming example, there's a reason why the tech tree in Civilization starts with Mysticism, then to Polytheism, then to Monotheism. It's a natural progression of society that we've seen happen throughout history where ancient folk religions are cast away in favor of "divinely-inspired" leadership. StanleyL

Yes, i was just stating one of the reasons.  If i recall correctly, wasn't it Constantine that made Christianity the religion of the Holy Roman Empire over the Pagan religions?  I always heard that he chose Christianity over Pagan because he was able to forsee that Christianity would eventually prevail, even though Constantine was a Pagan himself.

But yea, i'm sure that there were numerous different reason. 

Religion is like a filler for all the things we haven't figured out (yet).helium_flash

About 2,000 years or more ago, we had very little knowelge about the Earth. The people back then didnt have an explination for Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tornado's, Rain or any natural phenomena. In the Bible it says God destroyed city's and punished people. Isnt it possible, that it was infact just bad wheather that destroyed all the city's. Stuff like Earthquakes and that.  Because we didnt have an explination for it all back then, people thought God created Rain, Tornado's and Earthquakes to punish them, when infact it is natural. People must of worshipped lightning back then, because it made loud noise and they thought it was God doing that.

So I need an answer for this. Isnt it possible, that the whole idea of God came up because we had very little knowelge about the Earth back then. Things that people couldnt explain back then, they probly just said it was God's doings.

I am Religious myself, but I cannot answer this questions. So please Religious people answer this questions for me.

qwerty2305

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES - Chapter 1:5 - If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

You are correct, the Christianization of Rome in the 4th century is a big reason Christianity is so dominant today.  In fact, for any religion to really be dominant it usually takes a political force to back it.  But remember that the Roman empire was previously "pagan", worshiping the ancient religion of Olympus.  The Roman empire left behind an old faith based on natural disasters and superstition in favor of a different faith that is based on teachings from someone who lived in the Roman empire just a few hundred years ago.  Not to say anything of if Jesus really was the Messiah or if Mohammed really was a divine prophet, but being able to follow documented teaching is much more comforting as a religion than following word-of-mouth folklore.  To illustrate with a gaming example, there's a reason why the tech tree in Civilization starts with Mysticism, then to Polytheism, then to Monotheism.  It's a natural progression of society that we've seen happen throughout history where ancient folk religions are cast away in favor of "divinely-inspired" leadership. StanleyL

[QUOTE="StanleyL"]You are correct, the Christianization of Rome in the 4th century is a big reason Christianity is so dominant today. In fact, for any religion to really be dominant it usually takes a political force to back it. But remember that the Roman empire was previously "pagan", worshiping the ancient religion of Olympus. The Roman empire left behind an old faith based on natural disasters and superstition in favor of a different faith that is based on teachings from someone who lived in the Roman empire just a few hundred years ago. Not to say anything of if Jesus really was the Messiah or if Mohammed really was a divine prophet, but being able to follow documented teaching is much more comforting as a religion than following word-of-mouth folklore. To illustrate with a gaming example, there's a reason why the tech tree in Civilization starts with Mysticism, then to Polytheism, then to Monotheism. It's a natural progression of society that we've seen happen throughout history where ancient folk religions are cast away in favor of "divinely-inspired" leadership. helium_flash

Yes, i was just stating one of the reasons.  If i recall correctly, wasn't it Constantine that made Christianity the religion of the Holy Roman Empire over the Pagan religions?  I always heard that he chose Christianity over Pagan because he was able to forsee that Christianity would eventually prevail, even though Constantine was a Pagan himself.

But yea, i'm sure that there were numerous different reason. 

I thought he basically just said, If God helps me win this battle, I'll be christian. So he had crosses painted on everyone's shields, and he won. Correct me if I'm misreferencing.

You are correct, the Christianization of Rome in the 4th century is a big reason Christianity is so dominant today. In fact, for any religion to really be dominant it usually takes a political force to back it. But remember that the Roman empire was previously "pagan", worshiping the ancient religion of Olympus. The Roman empire left behind an old faith based on natural disasters and superstition in favor of a different faith that is based on teachings from someone who lived in the Roman empire just a few hundred years ago. Not to say anything of if Jesus really was the Messiah or if Mohammed really was a divine prophet, but being able to follow documented teaching is much more comforting as a religion than following word-of-mouth folklore. To illustrate with a gaming example, there's a reason why the tech tree in Civilization starts with Mysticism, then to Polytheism, then to Monotheism. It's a natural progression of society that we've seen happen throughout history where ancient folk religions are cast away in favor of "divinely-inspired" leadership. StanleyL

[QUOTE="helium_flash"]Religion is like a filler for all the things we haven't figured out (yet).quiglythegreat

What exactly do you mean by that? 

[QUOTE="helium_flash"]

[QUOTE="StanleyL"]You are correct, the Christianization of Rome in the 4th century is a big reason Christianity is so dominant today. In fact, for any religion to really be dominant it usually takes a political force to back it. But remember that the Roman empire was previously "pagan", worshiping the ancient religion of Olympus. The Roman empire left behind an old faith based on natural disasters and superstition in favor of a different faith that is based on teachings from someone who lived in the Roman empire just a few hundred years ago. Not to say anything of if Jesus really was the Messiah or if Mohammed really was a divine prophet, but being able to follow documented teaching is much more comforting as a religion than following word-of-mouth folklore. To illustrate with a gaming example, there's a reason why the tech tree in Civilization starts with Mysticism, then to Polytheism, then to Monotheism. It's a natural progression of society that we've seen happen throughout history where ancient folk religions are cast away in favor of "divinely-inspired" leadership. the_leet_kid

Yes, i was just stating one of the reasons. If i recall correctly, wasn't it Constantine that made Christianity the religion of the Holy Roman Empire over the Pagan religions? I always heard that he chose Christianity over Pagan because he was able to forsee that Christianity would eventually prevail, even though Constantine was a Pagan himself.

But yea, i'm sure that there were numerous different reason.

I thought he basically just said, If God helps me win this battle, I'll be christian. So he had crosses painted on everyone's shields, and he won. Correct me if I'm misreferencing.

I may be wrong.  I'm not too sure if it was Constantine or Charlemagne who turned the Roman Empire into Christianity.  I looked it up, and you were right, Constantine did paint the crosses on his shield so i think it was Charlemagne. 

[QUOTE="StanleyL"]You are correct, the Christianization of Rome in the 4th century is a big reason Christianity is so dominant today. In fact, for any religion to really be dominant it usually takes a political force to back it. But remember that the Roman empire was previously "pagan", worshiping the ancient religion of Olympus. The Roman empire left behind an old faith based on natural disasters and superstition in favor of a different faith that is based on teachings from someone who lived in the Roman empire just a few hundred years ago. Not to say anything of if Jesus really was the Messiah or if Mohammed really was a divine prophet, but being able to follow documented teaching is much more comforting as a religion than following word-of-mouth folklore. To illustrate with a gaming example, there's a reason why the tech tree in Civilization starts with Mysticism, then to Polytheism, then to Monotheism. It's a natural progression of society that we've seen happen throughout history where ancient folk religions are cast away in favor of "divinely-inspired" leadership. helium_flash

Yes, i was just stating one of the reasons. If i recall correctly, wasn't it Constantine that made Christianity the religion of the Holy Roman Empire over the Pagan religions? I always heard that he chose Christianity over Pagan because he was able to forsee that Christianity would eventually prevail, even though Constantine was a Pagan himself.

But yea, i'm sure that there were numerous different reason.

I was actually responding more to Karayan.  As for Constantine, his mother was a Christian, so that faith was present in his upbringing even if he didn't practice it.  He actually made Christianity legal throughout the empire (it stopped getting persecuted), it wasn't actually made the official religion of the Roman empire until about 80 years later under a different emperor.  The legend goes that he turned to the Christian God to help him defeat Maxentius, who was also vying for control of the Roman Empire.   He won and became Emperor, so he stayed faithful to Christianity as a result.  

Are you saying that Christianity is more believable than the roman Pantheon? Because it is not. And both can be pushed upon gullible people in an equally easy way.-Karayan-

In a way, yes. We're not talking about the mindless masses who will listen to any smooth talking preacher. The religions widespread in both the Eastern and Western civilized world today survived many reawakenings of science and enlightenment over the last 2000 years, and have adapted as such. The same cannot be said for many ancient pagan religions.  And while I agree that political force is a valid reason for the staying power of such religions, you have to look at why these governments chose to side with these religons over others.

About 2,000 years or more ago, we had very little knowelge about the Earth. The people back then didnt have an explination for Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tornado's, Rain or any natural phenomena. In the Bible it says God destroyed city's and punished people. Isnt it possible, that it was infact just bad wheather that destroyed all the city's. Stuff like Earthquakes and that.  Because we didnt have an explination for it all back then, people thought God created Rain, Tornado's and Earthquakes to punish them, when infact it is natural. People must of worshipped lightning back then, because it made loud noise and they thought it was God doing that.

So I need an answer for this. Isnt it possible, that the whole idea of God came up because we had very little knowelge about the Earth back then. Things that people couldnt explain back then, they probly just said it was God's doings.

I am Religious myself, but I cannot answer this questions. So please Religious people answer this questions for me.

qwerty2305

Your question is very dumbfounded, please don't take offense it is true and you should accept it otherwise you're just ignorant.

First of all, let's consider from your standpoint that you are correct, the ancient people took "natural" events as God's actions, now I don't know your definition of natural but natural does not include weather, and for whatever reason people made up a god for every weather phenomena - which is quite valid, think about Greek, Eygption and other ancient civilizations' false gods and you'll see that they contain gods who use weather phenomena (Zeus and Thor using thunderbolts or the gods for harvest etc.). However, the Jewish people only believed in one God as were instructed by Moses on the Mountain when he recieved the 10 Commandments of God for his people.

 Secondly, you say "things that people couldnt explain back then, they probly just said it was God's doings". Now let me ask you, why would you attribute the people of ancient times to be that stupid? Just because you are taught that they were stupid compared to us does not make it so. In fact if you would take time to explore ancient civilizations you would have indeed realized they were not stupid at all. If you observe other texts, for this instance we shall discuss Indian mythology and history, you would see that the Indians wrote many times about 'Vimanas'. Now these are attributed to be flying machines of the Indian literature and culture of 15 000 years past. More importantly is that the Chinese and Korean writings also have similar writings. I will not simply write it out for you, search for knowledge it is out there. People were not stupid.

Finally, you say your religious, so then you accept God's existance. Very well, then why would you say that people thought it was God's doing... God created everything, then obviously everything that happens either thunder, lightning, rain, etc are God's doings.