What can we learn from our ancient ancestors when it comes to ways of worship?

Respond to any of my notes, the textbook or the videos in the “Chapter 9–Primal Peoples” section under Assignments. Or you can address the following questions.
What can we learn from our ancient ancestors when it comes to ways of worship? In your own opinion, what are the strengths and weaknesses of having written scriptures compared to the oral tradition of primal peoples?

Professor’s Notes:

It is important to note that these are people groups who can’t speak for themselves. There are still some groups in the world that try to hold on to their ancient cultures and traditions, but most people have been influenced by modern technology, culture and religion.
* The organized religions that have withstood the test of time have done so by adding members, and then ancient beliefs and practices have often died off (though many ancient practices have also been incorporated into the newer religious systems).
* A study of ancient civilizations shows that as our ancestors moved from the hunting and gathering stage to living in settlements (made possible by learning how to grow food, and by domesticating animals), political, military and religious leaders came to the forefront as well. So religion has always seemed to be of prime importance for human beings.
* As was stated in the “Course Introduction” notes, most ancient peoples developed gods that were typically associated with nature as a way of feeling in control of their world. While most ancient people groups had creation stories and a general sense of life after death, detailed explanations of an afterlife develop over time (the earliest Hindu scriptures give different explanations for what may happen to a soul after death….eventually reincarnation and enlightenment become standard Hindu belief. Similarly, in the west, there is no clear mention of Heaven or Hell in the Old Testament, so a Jew will typically refer to the “world to come” after death. But this is a general phrase. Later, Christianity and Islam develop a more detailed view on Heaven and Hell.)
* One way to view the development of more concrete ideas of an afterlife is to remember for our ancient ancestors, life was short and difficult. They lacked our modern conveniences, so every day was a struggle to survive. They simply had no time to sit and ask “what is the meaning of life.” Once life became easier, they had time for these questions….and either used that time to find out what was true to them (the faith view) or create what became mythology and then religious systems of belief (the atheist view).
* What made out ancestors distinctive when it came to religion and belief? As our textbook notes, they relied on an oral tradition. All of our organized religions have books of scripture that have been passed down through the centuries, but our ancestors lived before writing had been developed. So they had to pass their teaching down by word of mouth. In class, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of written scriptures (strengths include it being easier to pass on the teachings over time, less opportunity to disagree over the message, easy to look up in today’s world. Weaknesses would be that we are all so busy, how much time do we take to actually read the scriptures, the challenge of putting words and messages written thousands of years ago in a very different world into practice today, and the issue of translation–if you read any ancient scripture in English, Spanish, etc…you are relying on someone’s effort to translate from the original language). The oral tradition was based on the importance of a storyteller in most cultures, who passed on that group’s history and beliefs each night. A positive would have been that everyone in a people group would have known their group’s story of creation, gods, etc…because you would have heard it since birth as part of entertainment. The important parts of the story would have been emphasized , and how it related to your own life and that of your people.
* A second distinction for our ancestors was that their place of worship (place versus space) was broader than it is for many people today. I would suggest that a faithful Hindu, Christian, Muslim, etc… would likely argue that they try to be on and faithful 24/7, but we live in such a hectic and busy world we can sometimes compartmentalize our tasks. So worship can sometimes become something we focus on at a certain place and time during the week (think of how you or those you know approach worship. Do you dress differently than you might otherwise dress, go somewhere to worship where you are on your best behavior, etc…). Our ancestors likely had places that were of importance to them for worship, but at their best every moment was a time to worship. They were connected to the land and to animals, and the stories that have survived of these people show that they tended to express gratitude for animals they killed and then used as much of the animal as possible (think of the buffalo in the American west, which natives killed and used to survive. Settlers with no connection to the animals or the land would eventually hunt the buffalo nearly into extinction).
* Finally, our ancestors seems to have had a sense of eternal time. In this regard, though they had creation stories and vague ideas of a life after death, what mattered most was the here and now. All they had to rely on was the present moment, and at their best they made the most of it. I mention in class that we humans have incredible capacity with our brains, but some of us obsess over past events in our lives, or over what may happen to us in the future (on earth or after death), and we rob ourselves of enjoying the here and now.

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