Secret Knowledge: Arena of Faith Part I

By Adam Carlson

A Brief History of Man’s Search for God

Ever since man became aware of his surroundings he has struggled to make sense of what he cannot explain. He looks high and low and attributes these unexplained phenomenons to unseen, higher powers.

During the infancy of the human race, he creates a paradigm of religious thought centered on the belief that everything he could see, feel, or touch contained a spirit-force tying it to all others like it. These spirits could be angered, appeased, or in other ways manipulated by ceremonial rites or actions. Shaman of various importance and potency were the ones who were expected to interpret the signs of nature for the common man and if they were able, intervene where necessary. Scholars refer to this religious archetype as Animism, a term that encompasses the religious belief systems of such peoples as the Druids, most Native Americans, and even modern day practitioners of Wicca.

During the formative years of man, his beliefs evolve and become more complex as society grows out of the hunter/gatherer stage and develops technology for farming, architecture, defense and war. It is here that, out of the cradle of civilization, we see the emergence of theistic thought. Polytheism becomes the standard explanation for the unknown and sometimes contradictory forces of nature and fate. Springing up in Northern Africa, India and the Greek Isles, this religious archetype attributes different aspects of the natural world and its functions as well as different aspects of human nature to different deities who make up a pantheon of gods. These gods are believed to reside in places set apart from the world of man like Mt. Olympus, the heavens, or the Egyptian underworld known as Duat. Furthermore they are also believed to exist within certain forces of nature such as the sun, specific bodies of water, or even within the earth itself. These gods also have free reign to interact or interfere with man and his endeavors.