The Roots of Religion – Man’s Way or God’s Way?

One of the main arguments against the theory that humans are highly evolved animals is that there is far more to human life than simply survival and reproduction. There is a core nonphysical part of every human being – that part of us that demands a reason for living, harbours thoughts of life after death, and yearns for companionship with other nonphysical beings. Biblically, this part of a human is known as the spirit and soul (these two are different parts of our nonphysical make-up). The fact that each of us possesses a spirit is what makes us human – we were made in the image of God, Who is a Spirit. We thus have the potential to communicate with the Lord through our spirit, but most people are unable to do so because of sin. Nevertheless, the human spirit is on a continual search for the Spirit Who made it. This, in a nutshell, is the source of religion.

In contrast to the above view, Richard Dawkins sees this nonphysical side of a human as a product of a strange area in our brains that was mistakenly produced by evolution. I say mistakenly, because the tendency of humans to be religious is one of the many things that Dawkins claims is an odd by-product of natural selection. This is the part of our brain that apparently makes us so susceptible to ‘contracting’ religion, as though it was some kind of cultural virus (known as a meme). Children, especially, are susceptible to ‘contracting’ religion from their parents, according to Dawkins (Chapter 5 – The Roots of Religion in The God Delusion).

The enormous differences between these two explanations for the roots of religion require some consideration. Firstly, no one can deny that all humans have an unrelenting desire to believe in something. Religious people (including agnostics) believe in various higher powers, whilst atheists believe in the power of randomness in the universe. Dawkins has written several books to explain his beliefs, so atheists are certainly not above the common human denominator of needing to believe in something.

Amongst those who are generally categorised as ‘religious’, there are many further divisions. Unlike the popular notion of our day, the many religions in this world simply cannot all share a common source. A cursory glance of just a handful of the world’s major religions shows that they contradict each other – not just on small, nonessential points, but at their very foundations. Dawkins lumps all religions together and tries to explain how religion evolved in human society. However, by starting with the concept that religion is a mistake of natural selection, he sets himself an impossible task.

In this article, I will seek to explain something about religion, but with a different starting point. My premise, as in the first paragraph, is that religion is a product of the sinful human spirit trying to communicate with a Holy God. Every human mind asks the question “Why am I here?” or, phrased differently, “What is the purpose of my life?”. Atheism’s answer is that there is no reason or purpose to life, other than passing on your genes to the next generation. This answer is deeply unsatisfying for most people, who still seek to live for something besides propagating their genes. Indeed, many atheists dedicate their lives to particular purposes that have nothing to do with their own reproduction (e.g. conservationists). These purposes help to occupy the human mind, but they leave the deep cravings of the human spirit unanswered.

These spiritual cravings or longings are the reason why every culture expresses some kind of religious tendency. This explains why Western explorers and missionaries did not find a void of belief in the people they ‘discovered’, but an enormous diversity of well-established religions. In contrast to the inherently racist evolutionary notion that some human races are more primitive than others, in reality all humans have the same spiritual needs, which produces religion.

Consequently, I believe that those who were not part of the nation of Israel during the Old Testament period, and those who had not yet heard the gospel during and after the New Testament period, still had the opportunity to find their Creator. The chief means of finding God for those who did not have theological texts to read or missionaries to hear was by studying His creation. As Paul explains in Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead. These people could therefore get an idea of God from what they saw around them, although most people chose to worship created things rather than their Creator. The purpose of the Bible is to articulate God’s message to mankind, and especially to proclaim the Good News that our sins may be forgiven through the cross of Christ.

Yet hundreds of religions exist that purport to reach God (or higher powers) in some way that does not include the cross of Christ. How can Christians be so sure that we have found the real Way and that all others are false? I think that one of the answers can be found by examining the foundations of religious beliefs, and to what extent these beliefs reflect basic human nature. If a religion can be shown to reflect normal human nature, then it is man-made. If, however, it goes against the grain of human nature entirely, then it must have another Source.

Humans are inherently selfish, so it is not surprising that religions are ultimately self-serving, even though it may appear to be serving a particular deity. Atheism is blatantly self-serving (only my genes are important), so it requires little explanation. Other religions appear to be geared to serve the initiators and/or main perpetuators of the religion (priests, gurus, traditional leaders etc.). By convincing other people of their worldview, the group or single person initiating a religion can get their followers to serve them. However, even the followers may require promises of better lives for themselves before they submit to the leaders or follow a particular set of beliefs.

One example of an ultimately self-serving religious idea is that of Karma in Buddhism. If you do good things, then you can expect good things to happen to you – i.e. the only reason to ‘be good’ is to be able to claim good things for yourself. Furthermore, the “I want a better life” goal may apply to more than just the current life, but also to the next life or eternity. In the Hindu caste system, one aims to be reincarnated into a higher caste (i.e. have a better next life) by being a faithful Hindu in this life. Muslims who are willing to commit suicide for their faith as an act of jihad are promised many virgins in paradise, a promise that is clearly based on human lust. As a final example from a mainstream religion, Catholics are encouraged to do good works and buy indulgences (hence generating an income for the Church), with the goal of reducing their time spent in purgatory. These very different religions all share something in common – the motive for being religious or doing certain deeds is to help oneself.

Another principle that we find in the above examples is that adherents to these belief systems must do something in order to qualify for this better life. In atheism, the only life is the current one, and it is up to atheists to improve their own lives. In the other examples quoted above, the followers of these religions have to do certain things to get a better next life. This principle also panders to human nature – we like to do things ourselves and get credit for what we have done. If we work hard or obey all the rules, then we want a reward and recognition for it. At the end of the current life (in atheism), or in the next life, we want to show what we have achieved and parade our achievements in front of others to get their praise.

In contrast to all other belief systems, the message of the Bible is that everything is about God. The universe, the earth, and all that is in it were created for His glory, and humans in particular were made for His plan and purpose. The worshipper of the true God gives Him glory and honour because it is His due, not because he/she wants to get something from Him in return. Throughout the Bible, we find that God blessed those who loved him and obeyed His commands out of a sincere heart – i.e. those who did not seek the gifts, but the Giver. This is evidenced by those times when the faithful were stripped of their blessings, or when they experienced difficulties and even persecution. After he had lost all his children and possessions, Job said: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:5) and “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Similarly, David proclaimed whilst he was hiding in a cave for fear of his life: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth” (Psalm 57:5).

In the Old Testament, many of God’s blessings on those who loved Him were material – e.g. children, land and livestock. However, there were many Old Testament prophets who did not even experience these blessings, yet they had a real relationship with the Lord. In the New Testament, the followers of Christ were told not to expect any material blessings in this life, but rather difficulties and persecution. Jesus told His disciples: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you” and “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:18&20). Paul and his co-workers experienced this first-hand as they travelled the world to preach the gospel: We are hard- pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Cor. 4:8-9).

Similar to other religions, there is a promise in the Bible of a life after this one, and in that life believers in Christ will go to heaven. Nonetheless, the depiction of heaven in the Bible is very different to depictions of the afterlife in other religions. In the Bible, the entire focus of heaven is God – heaven is a wonderful place because of God’s presence (Rev. 21:22-23). Believers spend eternity worshipping God and giving Him glory, not fulfilling all the desires they had in this world.

In contrast to other religions, the Bible declares that no human can work their way into heaven or get there on their own. Nothing we do can make us worthy of getting to heaven. Rather, we must recognise that the only way we will get to heaven is if our sins are forgiven through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life for us as a gift, not because we deserved it, but because He loves all people unconditionally (John 3:16). The works that Christians do after they are saved are simply acts of thankfulness towards the One who saved them. Those who do such works in this life to glorify the Lord are promised crowns (i.e. rewards) in the next life, but the sole purpose of these crowns is to throw them at the feet of Jesus in worship! (Rev. 4:10-11).

Finally, we need to examine Christianity itself, and those who claim to be Christian need to examine their lives in the light of the Bible. If the religion we label as ‘Christianity’ remains self-serving and self-centred, then we are following yet another man-made religion. If we think that our good works should provide us entry into heaven, then we are following man’s way and not God’s Way. Real Christianity is based first and foremost on loving Jesus Christ and serving Him, regardless of what it may cost you personally. Our love for the Lord should show in our daily lives as we do things that please Him and bring Him praise, not ourselves. The Christian life goes entirely against our own nature, as we naturally want to be the most important person in our lives. As proof that we are following the only God-made religion, Christians need to follow Jesus’ instructions: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”