The Evolution of the Idea of God: An Inquiry Into the Origins of Religion (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

Grant Allen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0484476165 ISBN 13: 9780484476164

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2020

Synopsis

How did the idea of God begin, and how did it grow into the religions we know today?

This book traces the origins of faith from primitive beliefs to the rise of Mediterranean religions, showing how early practices shaped later theology and worship.

Grant Allen examines how gods arise from human origins, corpse-worship, and the worship of ancestors. The work discusses how kings were divine in several cultures, how spirits can inhabit living people, and how Christian ideas may echo older beliefs. It presents a broad view of religion as a developing system that evolves with culture, travel, and contact between peoples.

Through comparisons across civilizations, the book argues that folklore and myths are the raw material from which later theology grows. It also explains how new religions often borrow and reframe ideas that were already common in the world where they began.

• See how corpse-worship and ancestor reverence relate to early gods and religious practice.
• Understand the rise of divine kings and the idea that rulers can be gods by descent.
• Explore how possession and incarnation play a role in religious experience and ritual.
• Learn why Christianity may reflect older Mediterranean beliefs and how myth becomes doctrine.

Ideal for readers curious about the roots of religion, anthropology, and the development of belief systems across cultures.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0484476165
• ISBN 13: 9780484476164
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 468