User:Blongenberger/sandbox

Practice
Hello. What is going on here!!! I like writing around on this page. help '''hey there. this is kinda weird writing in these qotations Hey there.'''

Chocolate chip cookie

--Blongenberger (talk) 00:38, 14 February 2013 (UTC)This is really weird!!!! How do I make a footnote???

The color of my hair is blue.

--Blongenberger (talk) 04:27, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

I am going to talk about Violence

List

 * I like ...
 * Books
 * Music
 * Literature
 * Nonfiction
 * Fiction


 * I Dislike
 * 1) Some Vegetables
 * 2) Broccoli
 * 3) Cabbage

This is a citation test for a random link

Schooling
Ball State website

Origin Claims by Earth Religion Sources
It is unclear on when exactly the practices and ideologies of Earth Religion came about because of the multiple religions included underneath the Earth Religion umbrella. There have not been many documented sources on how or why Earth Religion started, and so there can not be named a specific time or cause for its origins. However, some cults and religions under the Earth Religion umbrella have tried to state how they believe religion came about, and their descriptions have many correlations to Earth Religion itself.

In the late 1800's, James Weir wrote an article describing the beginnings and aspects of early religious feeling. According to him, early man was forced to locate food and shelter in order to survive, while constantly being directed by his instincts and senses. Because man's existence depended on nature, men began to form their religion and beliefs on and around nature itself. It is evident that man's first religion would have had to material, he argues, because man relied heavily on his sense and what he could see, touch, and feel. In this sense, the worship of nature formed, allowing man to further depend on nature for survival.

Neopagans have tried to make claims that religion started in ways that correspond to Earth Religion. In one of their published works, The Urantia Book, another reason for this worship of nature came from a fear of the world around primitive man. His mind lacked the complex function of processing and sifting through complex ideas. As a result, man worshiped the very entity that surrounded him every day. That entity was nature. Man experienced the different natural phenomenons around him, such as storms, vast deserts, and immense mountains. Among the very first parts of nature to be worshiped were rocks and hills, plants and trees, animals, the elements, heavenly bodies, and even man himself. As primitive man worked his way through nature worship, he eventually moved on to incorporate spirits into his worship. Although these claims may have some merit, they are nonetheless presented from a biased position that cannot be authenticated by traditional and reliable sources. Therefore, their claims can not be relied upon.

Origins of Religion
See Also: Evolutionary origin of religions

The origins of religion can be looked at through the lens of the function and processing of the human mind. Pascal Boyer suggests that, for the longest period of time, the brain was thought of as a simple organ of the body. However, he claims that the more information collected on the brain indicates that the brain is indeed not a "blank slate." We do not just learn any information from our environment and surroundings. We have acquired sophisticated cognitive equipment that prepares us to analyze information in our culture and determine which information is relevant and how to apply it. He states that "having a normal human brain does not imply that you have religion. All it implies is that you can acquire it, which is very different." He suggests that religions started for the reasons of providing answers to humans, giving comfort, providing social order to society, and satisfying the need of the illusion-prone nature of the human mind. Ultimately, religion came into existence because of our need to answer questions and hold together our societal order.

An additional idea on the origins of religion comes from, ultimately, not man's cognitive development, but from the the ape. Barbara J. King argues that we, as human beings, have an emotional connection with those around us, and that that desire for a connection came from our evolution from apes. The closest relative to the human species is the African ape. At birth, the ape begins negotiating with its mother about what it wants and needs in order to survive. The world the ape is born into is saturated with close family and friends. Because of this, emotions and relationships play a huge role in the ape's life. Its reactions and responses to one another is rooted and grounded in a sense of belongingness, which is derived from its dependence on the ape's mother and family. Belongingness is defined as "mattering to someone who matters to you ... getting positive feelings from our relationships." This sense and desire for belongingness, which started in apes, only grew as the hominid (a human ancestor) diverged from the lineage of the ape, which occurred roughly six to seven million years ago. As severe changes in the environment, physical evolutions in the human body (especially in the development of the human brain), and changes in social actions occurred, humans went beyond trying to simply form bonds and relationships of empathy with others. As our culture and society became more complex, we began using practices and various symbols to make sense of the natural and spiritual world around us. Instead of simply trying to find belongingness and empathy from the relationships with others, we created and evolved God and spirits in order to fulfill that need and exploration. King states that "an earthly need for belonging led to human religious imagination and thus to the otherworldly realm of relating to God, gods, and spirits." As the human being evolved throughout history, our need for belongingness evolved and grew with it, leading us to ultimately create gods and spirits to help man fill those needs.

Outline
Additional Source

Evolving God
 * we crave an emotional connection with others, and this came from our evolution from apes
 * Just as from the ape our brain grew and evolved, we also evolved God
 * we desire belongingness, which is mattering to someone who matters to you ... getting positive feelings from our relationships."
 * the need for belonging came from the African apes, who are our closest living relatives
 * It started at birth, with the ape negotiating with it's mother about what it wants and needs
 * the world an ape is born into consists of close family and freinds, and emotions and relationships play a huge role
 * their reactions and responses to each other is rooted in belongingness, because they are so dependent on their families and mothers
 * the belongingness started in apes only grew as humans started to seperate from their ape ancestors, about 6 to 7 million years ago
 * "the divergence of hominid (or our human ancestors) from ape lineage"
 * as there were changes in the environment, physical changes, mainly with the brain, and social actions, we went beyond trying to form bonds of empathy with others
 * as culture and society became more complex, we began using practices and symbols to make sense of the world around us
 * "An earthly need for belonging led to human religious imagination and thus to the otherworldly realm of relating to God, gods, and spirits."

Religious Feeling
 * thought must have been founded upon sensual perceptions
 * supernatural came from phenomenon of nature
 * struggle for existence consisted of searching for food and and shelter
 * thousands of years have passed before he found weapons
 * when he came to physical acuteness, his struggle for survival became easier
 * focused more on nature around him
 * he realized his welfare was dependent on nature, thus he focused on worshiping nature
 * suns and moons all began to have personalities
 * man's first religion must have been a material one
 * he only worshiped what he could see or hear or touch
 * More stuff about Egyptian things

The Urantia Book Fellowship
 * man creates his religion out of fear of what he does not know
 * worship occurred long before the human mind could think about complex ideas
 * because of this, man worshiped what was around him, like nature
 * beyond nature worship, it evolved more into spirit worship
 * Throughout history, man ha worshiped everything around him
 * stones and hills
 * plants and trees
 * animals
 * elements
 * heavenly bodies
 * man himself
 * there was only true worship when they combined their heart of worship with their wisdom

Pictures