Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Ethics & moral philosophy
|
Buy Now
Religion, Power, and Illusion - A Genealogy of Religious Belief (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R637
Discovery Miles 6 370
You Save: R144
(18%)
|
|
Religion, Power, and Illusion - A Genealogy of Religious Belief (Hardcover)
Expected to ship within 9 - 15 working days
|
According to anthropologists, religion arose in the Neolithic
period, a time that began 12 thousand years ago when people
abandoned the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and started settling down
in communities. By the time of the ancient Egyptians, religion had
reached a significant level of development. The spirits of the
seeds and the weather had evolved into gods. In the end, the gods
numbered more than a thousand; every god required a temple, and
every temple needed a priest, or several of them. For the Christian
god to reach its final form took an additional three hundred years.
It was accomplished through the work of dozens of bishops who
wrestled with the problem of how a god consisting of three persons
could really be one entity. Religion, Power & Illusion: A
Genealogy of Religious Belief puts forth the idea that modern
concepts of God are inextricably tied to the generations of mortal
priests that shaped biblical and religious ideas. Religious
orthodoxy as we know it today is the result of the countless
solutions proposed by priests, not necessarily as the result of
so-called primary texts or teachings, with various bishops
condemning various proposals as heretical and blessing others as
conventional. But how were orthodoxy and heresy distinguished? Any
position that increased the power of the bishops was, by
definition, orthodox, and any position that undermined it was
heretical. Thus, the Christian god that we have today is a
construct assembled over many years, and for two thousand years it
has served to augment and solidify the power of the bishops who
created it and who sustain it. Religion, Power & Illusion
concludes that priestly power is so firmly rooted in the human
condition that religion is not likely to disappear any time soon.
It also explores the defective logic used by religious promoters,
and what is necessary for experiences to be non-illusory.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.