SCIENTIFIC HUMANISM -nihil obstat felicitas (VIII)

3. From Polytheism to Gods

It is known that the first known religions were polytheistic due to the great variety of natural phenomena and living beings, which required the existence of multiple gods.

Monotheism is a much more recent concept, first documented in the figure of Pharaoh Akhenaton (born 1350 B.C.) and later followed by Moses (born 1393 B.C.) and the Jewish people.

Later, thanks to the proselytizing efforts of the Roman citizen Saint Paul (born 7 AD), and finally through the imposition of the Roman Emperor Constantine I (272 AD), Christianity spread as the dominant monotheistic religion in the Eastern Roman Empire (Constantinople), adopting the symbol of the cross, despite the fact that the Empire had crucified hundreds of thousands of people for 400 years, mainly slaves and rebels against the Empire.

A more recent monotheistic religion is Islam, which arose with Muhammad (born in 570).

These religions were often imposed by the use of force, violence, torture and even death of the so-called "infidels". Let us remember the "persecutions", the "inquisitions" and the "holy wars" in which the "faithful" tortured and killed the "infidels" in the name of their religions. 

The endless history of conquests, wars, genocides, humiliations, tortures and murders perpetrated in the name of the vast majority of the great religions is self-evident and represents our first great paradox: extreme religious violence.

However, there are other religions with ancient origins, such as Buddhism, which originated in India in the 6th century B.C., and which has a different and more universal approach to human existence and the universe.

From the same period we find Chinese Confucianism, which is more of a humanistic social value system focused on human relationships than a religion per se.

There is also Chinese Taoism, which arose around the 4th century B.C. and later as a religion incorporated concepts from Buddhism and Confucianism.

In antiquity, thousands of years of struggles between empires, supported by their gods, are recorded. As one empire conquered another, the gods of the conquered empire disappeared or were sometimes assimilated. Although many of these gods had different names, they were associated with the same natural phenomena or celestial bodies. In this case, it is possible to somehow understand this kind of confrontation and subsequent assimilation of the supposed "gods".

In the monotheistic scenario, we have the two major monotheistic religions of the West: Christianity and Islam, whose empires have clashed and fought for more than a thousand years. Here, however, this struggle becomes much more obscure and incomprehensible. If there is only one God, then conceptually it should be the same God. 

This is what we call the monotheistic paradox, because it reveals its dark secret: domination by force, using religion as an excuse.

The truth is that, with few exceptions, human beings have abused religions and their humanistic sense to capitalize on power and control other human beings. As a result, the transcendental, ethical and moral sense of religions has been continuously lost and distorted.

Ultimately, religions become a set of arbitrary dogmas and rules of behavior that have little to do with the theological sources and foundations themselves.

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For Scientific Humanism, existence is necessary and eternal and encompasses all that exists in and out of time and space, including ourselves as an integral part. Religions, as human institutions with hierarchies, dogmas, and rules, are human creations.

Universal ethics and paradigms of social cohesion, which are repeated in all religions, already exist in themselves. They are "divine. 

Empathy, solidarity, cooperation, consent and reciprocity are the values that we, human beings, define through Scientific Humanism.

Definitions:

Polytheism: refers to the belief in multiple gods and is common in many ancient religions, such as the religions of ancient Greece and Rome, the religions of ancient Mesopotamia, and the religions of the Norse peoples, among others. These religions had a variety of gods and goddesses representing different aspects of nature and life.

Monotheism: Refers to the belief in a single god. The most prominent monotheistic religions are Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. These religions teach the existence of a single supreme God and have sacred texts and specific teachings that guide the lives of believers.

Buddhism: A religion that originated in India in the 6th century BC and was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha. Buddhism focuses on the search for enlightenment and liberation from suffering through the path of knowledge and spiritual practice.

Confucianism: A philosophy and social value system developed by Confucius in ancient China. Confucianism focuses on the importance of human relationships, morality and ethics, and seeks to promote social harmony and personal righteousness through teachings and rituals.

Taoism: A Chinese philosophy and religion that originated in the 4th century BC. Taoism emphasizes harmony with the Tao, a principle that represents the fundamental path or force underlying the entire universe. Taoism seeks to live in harmony with nature and promotes spontaneity, simplicity, and the pursuit of immortality.

Scientific Humanism: It is a new stream of thought that emphasizes the value and dignity of human beings and places emphasis on reason, science, and ethics based on a scientific understanding of the world. Scientific humanism seeks to promote empathy, solidarity, cooperation, and other universal human values as the basis for a just and ethical society.