Even when we were dwelling in caves, humans knew they weren't in control of the elements. A flash flood could wipe away their home and destroy their food supply. Since humans hate not being in control, they invented gods to thank when the weather was fine and the fish plentiful, and when conditions failed to meet expectations, a god to blame. There were river gods, and earth gods, and sun gods, and well, a god for everything that impacted daily life. Monoliths were built to honor these gods, and sacrifices made depending on the god. One horrible god named Molech, or Baal, or Ashtoreth demanded the sacrifice of the firstborn son of every woman. Every year these babies were brought to an altar, where they were rolled into a huge fire. Ever heard the story of a firstborn son demanded as a sacrifice? It originated here.
Thousands of years passed, until a desert people decided that there was only one god, and his name was El. And these people, so sure they were right, still managed to live peacefully for the most part amongst the worshippers of multiple deities. Another thousand years, and El morphed into El-Shaddai, then Shaddai, then Yahweh, then YHWH, or the god that shall not be named. Still, the Hebrews lived peacefully for the most part among followers of other gods. When the Greeks and Romans introduced yet another set of gods, the Hebrews for the most part accommodated whoever was in charge.
Then a new sect was born - followers of a Jewish rabbi who traveled around the area teaching the Jewish faith, but without all the strict laws in place at the time, like stoning a married woman to death if she was raped if she didn't cry out, since women are known to entice men. The followers of this new Jewish sect were hunted, killed, and exiled by folks like the Romans, who had their own gods. This new religion wouldn't have taken off except for one woman. Two hundred fifty years after Jesus died, a Turkish innkeeper named Flavia Julia Helena met a Roman soldier and had a son. That son became the new Caesar, the latest in a line of Roman emperors. Helena became a follower of Jesus, and converted her son. Constantine sent her to Palestine to figure out where the events of Jesus' life took place, because no one really remembered. So Helena traveled through the region, and when she figured this must be the place where Jesus was buried, a stake went in the ground and a basilica built around it. This piece of wood must be the cross that he was crucified on, so pooph!, it was named the true cross, and splinters of it sent to the new Christian basilicas. The sites Christian tourists worship at today in Israel were determined to be accurate based on the intuition of one woman.
This new religion, Christianity, believed in the same god as the Jews, but with the twist that Jesus died to save them from their sins, and was resurrected into heaven to sit alongside El/Shaddai/YHWH. Believing their religion to be superior, they often would force the Jews to either convert or die. Those who escaped, along with the town's pagans, would start over in a new place, only to be killed or exiled by the next religion that came through. But Christianity was rapidly splintering into different sects too, over one question. Was Jesus born a god who became man and then was resurrected to become a god again, or was he born a man, died a man, and was "adopted" by God as his favorite? Or was he both human and divine the entire time? One side became the Eastern Orthodox, another the Roman Orthodox. The Gnostics and Nestorians, Adamists, Thomasines, and Manichists among many other Christian sects were hounded out of existence.
And then there was Muhammed. 500 years after the birth of Jesus, he confirmed that there was one god, and it was the god of the Jews, and Jesus was his prophet. But there were still too many rules in either religion, so he rewrote them to make them even simpler to follow. A few years after his death, Islam too splintered into different sects depending which leader they believed was the true successor of Muhammed. His followers, again believing that they were the only correct faith left the desert to spread their religion, destroying whole cities in the process, and capturing the Jewish city of Jerusalem, which they declared theirs. Which led the Catholics to declare the Crusades to recapture Jerusalem, take back the land and drive out the infidels.
Centuries of war over who was right. Hating anyone that didn't belong to the same religion, or at best thinking they were never as good. The Jews of Israel are still at war with the Muslims of Palestine. Roman Catholics look down on Protestants for their lack of ritual, and like to justify being better than the Jews based on the story that the Jews killed their messiah, Jesus. Baptists insist that, unless you proclaim Jesus as your savior and are baptized in their church, you are damned to everlasting torment in hell. Coincidently a fiery place, much like where the god Molech resides.
A version of Christianity in the US is all white, straight, and male dominated, where women are subservient to men in all matters, including their healthcare. They want the Ten Commandments to be placed in all government buildings because we're a "Christian nation" (we're not, by the way.) At least they're honest about it. They want power. Many others who claim to be Christian will say that they love everyone as Jesus commanded, but condemn "the sin" of being born gay or transgender, and they certainly don't want THOSE people in their church. They'll love the undocumented immigrant, the drug addicted, the homeless, the mentally ill, the trans kids, but won't help pay for school lunches, better health care, or housing for the homeless. They'll support charities that feed the starving children in Ethiopia, but those starving children better not think they can come here and attend the same school as their children.
I know too much about the history of gods to believe that any religion has it right. I've known really good people who have been Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Lutheran. I've also known some really nasty people in all religions, or no religion at all. In truth, no one really knows if there is a higher power or not, or what happens to us when we die. And this scares people to death. Ancient mariners were certain that the earth was flat and that there were sea monsters and sirens near the edge. Science proved that the earth was round, and continues to solve some of the biggest puzzles humans needed supreme beings to explain. But when science contradicts religion, trouble ensues. How can you reconcile the science that says that humans evolved over millions of years, and our most recent ancestors were apes, with the bible story of Adam and Eve? You can't. So you splinter off to form yet another religion or religious sect that insists you are right and science is wrong.
Perhaps some day scientists will discover not just how big the universe is, but who made it. But even then, believers in Allah, Jehovah, Jesus, Buddha, Isis, Baal, Zeus, Thor, or Chauntea (the druid's Mother Earth) will insist that their god is the only god, and go to war with anyone who says different.
I'm okay not knowing the mysteries of the universe, but if, after death, God introduces herself as Loretta, who used to be known as Larry, I'm good with that.
