“Faith” and Fundraising Part 2

Back somewhere in the mists of time, some human at the dawn of the human age must have noticed that very few people around him/her had natural "faith." Those who did have this quality seemed to be extra-ordinarily productive, were self-giving, self-motivated, self-assured, maybe even self-actualizing people. They probably had the kind of relationships that were many, nurturing, mutually fulfilling and well-rounded. These people seemed to be able to put away the base nature and let the more positive human qualities shine forth.

Other people in the family, tribe or clan – in fact, probably the great majority of people observed by these long-ago sages -- seemed to let all the qualities of greed, fear, anxiety, and a war like nature supersede any more peaceful inclinations. Whenever an incident would happen, most of the people would give vent to their baser nature. An opportunity for food or shelter would trigger greed; the mastodon triggered fear; the lack of resources would occasion anxiety; an aggressive move by a neighboring clan would provide the opportunity to make war on them and beat them into submission.

So this person somewhere in the dim dark past figured out that one of the most perplexing questions a human being can have is the question, "Isn't there anything after this life? Is all we get just one go-around at this existence?" So this fellow, being very creative, decided to invent a scenario where there is an after-life, and he begins to tell his friends and neighbors all about it; how great it will be in the life beyond, how the streets will be paved with gold, or whatever. This greatly relieves the fears of the person himself, because the more he touts this view the more he comes to believe it himself. Further, his fellow family, tribe or clan members gradually get the hang of it, too, and start to believe it's really something.

The "priests" of whatever religion is this made-up story is about to become, came immediately to the fore. They, too, were motivated by greed, fear, anger and anxiety. They saw the opportunity available in other people’s fear and saw that they could cash in on this phenomenon, this new view of the universe that included an after-life, and make a more secure life for themselves than those around them had by taking on the "duties and responsibilities" of perpetuating the set of rituals and rites that came to be in vogue or dominant at any given time, and their work tended to satisfy the question about life after death, relieved the general anxiety of the population, and gave them comfort. So people did what the priests of the religion said to do in order to have their fears calmed. So religions of one kind or another have been touting the after-life every since.

This has also turned out to be something of a civilizing agent, although the history of the various religions still has in it a lot of war and skullduggery. It became a way to get people to put down, put away, or at least to discipline their baser nature of greed, fear, anxiety and warlike nature somewhat so that they can be productive and have good relationships. So the religions that developed served two purposes: Getting people to act in more socially appropriate ways that allowed civilization to grow and more comfortable existence to apply, and relieving their fears about this life being all there is to life, and giving some meaning and purpose to the daily druge of existence, helping people overlook the really rotten conditions they lived in, and the oppression of the greediest ones that, over time, robbed the other people of all they had, including their dignity and self-respect.

Now, we need to link in how faith and fundraising grow out of the situation. It gets even more interesting, if you’re into this kind of thing. Next post will be March 12.