Paper 85 Overview: The Origins of Worship

Primitive religion emerged as a natural biological and evolutionary process, arising from human fears and illusions rather than moral or spiritual foundations. Early humans created their earliest forms of worship based on things they could observe and experience directly, often attributing supernatural qualities to natural phenomena they couldn't explain. This primitive worship eventually evolved into more complex forms as human understanding developed.

Religion gradually evolved beyond simple nature worship to incorporate spiritual concepts, though it remained heavily influenced by social environments and cultural contexts. Humans progressed through various stages of worship—venerating stones, plants, animals, elements, celestial bodies, and eventually themselves—each representing humanity's evolving attempt to understand and relate to powers greater than themselves. The adjutant mind-spirits of worship and wisdom played crucial roles in guiding this evolutionary process toward true religion.

Primitive religion had a biological origin that developed naturally through evolution, separate from moral associations and spiritual influences. Unlike higher animals who experience fear but lack the capacity for illusion (and thus religion), humans created their earliest religious forms from their fears and through their capacity for imagination and misunderstanding.

In human evolution, worship first appeared in primitive forms long before the human mind could formulate complex concepts about present and future life that would qualify as religion. Early worship was entirely intellectual in nature and based on associational circumstances. The objects of worship were natural elements that were easily accessible or prominent in the everyday experiences of primitive Urantians, gradually evolving to include spirits associated with natural phenomena as more complex concepts developed.

The first objects worshiped by evolving humans were stones, a practice that continues today among certain tribes in India. Stones attracted early humans' attention because they would mysteriously appear in cultivated fields after erosion or soil overturning, and sometimes resembled animals or human faces. Meteoric stones made especially profound impressions as primitive people witnessed them streaking through the atmosphere in fiery displays.

Ancient clans and tribes all had their sacred stones, and even modern peoples show veneration for certain types of stones, particularly jewels. Stones with holes were believed to have special healing properties, and hills came to be worshiped after stones, particularly large stone formations. Over time, people began to believe that gods inhabited mountains, making elevated land areas objects of worship for this additional reason, contrasting with caves which were associated with evil spirits and demons.

Plants were initially feared and subsequently worshiped primarily because of the intoxicating liquors derived from them. Primitive humans believed that intoxication had divine qualities and considered the experience sacred and unusual. The sprouting of grain similarly evoked awe and superstition, inspiring spiritual lessons and religious beliefs.

Tree worship represents one of the oldest religious groups, with early marriages often taking place under trees. Many plants and trees were venerated for their real or imagined medicinal properties, as primitive peoples attributed chemical effects to supernatural forces. Ideas about tree spirits varied greatly among different cultures—some believing trees harbored kind spirits while others thought they contained tricky or cruel entities. Various modern practices like the Christmas tree, Maypole, and the superstition of knocking on wood perpetuate ancient customs of tree worship.

Primitive humans felt a special kinship with higher animals, partially because their ancestors had lived closely with them and sometimes even mated with them. In southern Asia, a belief developed that human souls returned to earth in animal form, stemming from the earlier practice of animal worship. Early humans respected animals for their power, cunning, keen senses, and perceived spiritual guidance.

Every race has worshiped animals at some point in their history, including half-human, half-animal creatures like centaurs and mermaids. Specific animal cults developed around various creatures: the Hebrews worshiped serpents until King Hezekiah's time, the Chinese dragon worship evolved from snake cults, and the Greek symbol of medicine featured the serpent. The worship of insects and other animals was sometimes justified as an extension of the golden rule, and animal symbols often became representations of forgotten gods or vanished cults.

Throughout history, mankind has worshiped earth, air, water, and fire as fundamental elements embodying spiritual powers. Primitive races venerated springs and worshiped rivers, with some river cults still flourishing today in regions like Mongolia. Water rituals became integrated into religious practices, with baptism originating as a religious ceremony in Babylon and ritual bathing practiced by ancient Greeks.

Moving waters particularly impressed primitive minds, convincing them of spirit animation and supernatural forces at work. Various natural phenomena functioned as religious stimuli in different cultures—rainbows are still worshiped by some hill tribes in India, wind is interpreted differently across regions, and cloud formations, rain, and storms evoked fear and reverence. Fire worship reached its height in Persia where it persisted for generations, with some people worshiping fire as a deity itself while others venerated it as a symbol of their gods' purifying power.

As human worship evolved, it progressed from earthbound objects like rocks, hills, trees, and animals to include celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and stars. In many cultures, stars were regarded as the glorified souls of great men who had died, while the Chaldean star cultists considered themselves to be the children of the sky father and earth mother, creating a cosmic family mythology.

Moon worship chronologically preceded sun worship, reaching its zenith during the hunting era, while sun worship became the predominant religious ceremony during agricultural periods. Solar veneration first took substantial root in India where it persisted longest, and in Persia it evolved into the Mithraic cult. Various civilizations placed the sun in positions of cosmic importance, with the Chaldeans positioning it at the center of "the seven circles of the universe." Sun gods were often associated with virgin births and savior figures who would emerge as deliverers of favored races.

After worshiping virtually everything in the natural world, humans eventually turned to self-adoration. The primitive mind often failed to make clear distinctions between animals, humans, and gods, viewing them as part of a continuous spectrum rather than separate categories. People with unusual characteristics or conditions were regarded with reverential fear and sometimes worshiped as divine vessels.

This human-centered worship extended to various groups: the mentally ill were believed to be god-inhabited, tribal chiefs were deified after death, and distinguished individuals were eventually sainted. This evolutionary process never produced deities higher than glorified human spirits, contrasting with revelatory religion which seeks to transform humans into God's image rather than creating gods in human likeness. Human worship reached its apex when temporal rulers demanded veneration from their subjects, often claiming divine ancestry to legitimize their authority.

While nature worship appears to have developed spontaneously in primitive human minds, the sixth adjutant spirit was simultaneously working within these early humans, directing this phase of evolutionary development. This spirit continuously stimulated the worship urge regardless of how primitive its initial expressions might have been, giving clear origin to humanity's impulse to worship even though animal fear initially motivated its expression.

It's important to recognize that feeling, not thinking, guided and controlled evolutionary development, with primitive minds seeing little distinction between fearing, shunning, honoring, and worshiping. When the worship urge becomes guided by wisdom—reflective and experiential thinking—it begins to develop into genuine religion. The seventh adjutant spirit, the spirit of wisdom, enables worship to transition away from nature and natural objects toward the God of nature and the eternal Creator of all natural things.