Are most religions, to some extent, a form of ancestor worship?
It seems like many of the language choices for expressing ideas are made on the basis of how the ancestors who shared that religion spoke rather than, say, on the basis of clarity of communication with others who do not share the worldview. I find it hard to believe that there haven’t been theologians who have expressed the same ideas as the Bible, for example, in much more compelling language, and yet they aren’t admitted to the canon.
Another instance is the idea of a satisfying afterlife. It is not necessary at all that afterlives be anything other than a dark dimension of some kind, as in the Greek worldview, or that there be any afterlife at all. But there is a need to to honor our ancestors, so they are depicted as celebrated and rewarded, and given powers so they can stay close to us and hear us.
Godsgirl55: Jesus was officially designated "God from God, begotten not made" to place him above the deified Roman emperors, who were adopted as Gods, yet still created. So you see, you’ve demonstrated exactly the phenomena I am talking about: the circumstances justifying the language have passed, but you still speak that way because its how Christian ancestors spoke.
Many people will not see it that way, and some (such as the Christian Fundamentalists) might even find the notion offensive. But in a psychological sense, it could be possible. Religious people talk of deities in a rather familial sense (father, mother), and in many traditions, greet one another as brothers and sisters. I would not have accepted such an idea just a couple years ago, but the more reading I do on the background of religious thought, the more I find that everything comes down to a certain set of mythological, archetypal, and/or ancestral themes. Ancestor worship is a very strong theme within ancient religions, and likely has carried over into certain aspects of modern theology.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Interesting post…*
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February 4th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Many people will not see it that way, and some (such as the Christian Fundamentalists) might even find the notion offensive. But in a psychological sense, it could be possible. Religious people talk of deities in a rather familial sense (father, mother), and in many traditions, greet one another as brothers and sisters. I would not have accepted such an idea just a couple years ago, but the more reading I do on the background of religious thought, the more I find that everything comes down to a certain set of mythological, archetypal, and/or ancestral themes. Ancestor worship is a very strong theme within ancient religions, and likely has carried over into certain aspects of modern theology.
References :
February 4th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Hi ya!
I can’t answer for other religions, but Christianity does not teach ancestor worship. We believe in Jesus Christ, to honor and worship Him (He is God Almighty) We do not worship anyone else but God. There may be some pantheists or witches that do that, but not in Christianity.
As far as theologians expressing the same ideas as we see in the Bible, well, they aren’t canonized since those ideas are already in the Word of God.
The Bible is inspired by God, and He does not want His Word changed. The Bible applies to everyone no matter what culture or time we happen to be in.
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February 4th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
any religion that views people as being the children of god IS ancestor worship!
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