“Faith” and Fundraising Part 2

Back somewhere in the mists of time, someone at the dawn of the human age must have noticed that very few people around him/her had what we called in the previous post "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 nurturing, mutually fulfilling and well-rounded. These people seemed to be able to put away the baser elements of human nature and let more positive qualities predominate.

Other people in the family, tribe or clan – in fact, probably the great majority of people observed by our long-ago sage -- seemed to let all the qualities of greed, fear, anxiety, and a warlike nature supersede any more peaceful inclinations. Whenever an incident would happen, most of the people would give in to these emotions. 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? Does it have to be this mean and ugly, so absent of grace, beauty and peace?"

So, being very creative, our lone individual decided to invent a scenario for human existence in which there was an after-life, and he/she began to tell friends and neighbors all about it; how great life will be in the time beyond death, how the streets will be paved with gold, or whatever. This probably relieved the fears of our sage, personally, because the more she/he talked about this view the more belief in the scenario seemed to come alive. Not only that, but family, tribe or clan members gradually got the hang of it, and they too started to believe.

The "priests" of whatever religion this made-up story was 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. They saw ways to use this scenario to make a more secure life for themselves than those around them had. They did this by taking on the "duties and responsibilities" of perpetuating the set of beliefs, 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 some comfort. So people did what the priests of this new phenomenon called "religion" said to do in order to have their fears calmed and their lives made a little easier -- at least in their minds. So religions of one kind or another have been perpetuating this idea of an after-life ever 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 skulduggery. 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 three purposes: First, it helped people to act in more socially appropriate ways that allowed civilization to grow and develop a more materially and emotionally comfortable existence. Secondly, it did so by relieving peoples' fears about this life being all there is to human existence, and giving some meaning and purpose to the daily drudge, 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. Third, religions helped the priestly class develop a life for themselves that extended their own greed and fear through the power they developed over the people. It became intoxicating, self-aggrandizing, as they now had the power of even the rulers in their hands to manipulate.

Now, we need to link how faith and, ultimately, philanthropy grow out of the situation. It gets even more interesting, if you’re into this kind of thing. The next post will take a look at this.