quote:

Originally posted by BoatsNbullets:
If one were to look back to the Bible and before you would realize that we were visited by extraterrestrials. The ancient statues and cave drawings etc all show the same thing. UFO’s/aliens that visited us were thought to be gods. Even the Bible tells the story.

Troll this forum and I'll boot you in a heartbeat.

The earliest entity worshipped as a god has been lost to history. Written language hadn't been invented yet to record it. The best we can do is guess that it was likely the sun, moon, or earth.

That said, there are early recorded ones. Inana, a Sumerian goddess of fertility and war, is one. There is a pictographic symbol of her that dates from 3200 BC.

Researching this stuff can be a deep rabbit hole to fall down.

I also think it had to be the sun. Bringer of warmth, life (food grows towards it, etc), light.

I think the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia worshipped their gods dating back to about 4500 BC, but that the earliest written evidence was from around 2900 BC.

The polytheistic religion practiced by the people of the Indus River Valley in India (and what later evolved into Hinduism) is though to have originated around 4,500 - 5,000 BC.

For me, it comes down to faith. I believe in the God of the old and new testament-YHWH and Jesus. My God has performed the greatest act of love one can do/give, to lay down His life for a friend. The best part is, anyone and everyone can be His friend.

Impossible to know. I suppose the first thoughts of gods were from observations of natural phenomena such as lightening, thunder, volcanos, storms, wind etc.

Early man living in tribes developed certain codes of behavior to increase the odds of tribe survival. Conflict within the tribe could lead to extinction.

Reinforcing the authority of these codes by attributing them to powerful “god forces” helped reinforce the legitimacy of and adherence to the codes or moral systems.

That’s my speculative musing. But as Dennis Miller says: “I could be wrong!”

Another vote for it likely was the sun. Or at least that seems most logical.

Not all that wrong either when you consider that everything is re-branded star stuff.

Consider when man attained the power of speech and began creating language. What do you think those ancients humans might have thought the voice in their head to be?

Gobeklitepe dates back 7000 years or so and had carvings of animal "totems". I saw a show that also said they discovrred beer.

There just ain’t no way to know. The Utes believe their history in NE Utah and western Colorado goes back 10,000 years, and I have no reason to doubt that. The Clovis culture in New Mexico has been definitely radiocarbon dated to 13,000 to 13,500 years ago. Who/what did they worship? As others have suggested: the sun, moon, stars, the rain—-all of the above? I don’t know

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
The Utes...

The first ever God was created in an act of desperation, when one of our cave dwelling forefathers sat down on a rock after dinner, staring at his big toe, that was ravaged by the cave-toe fungus. He cried out to God and said.... Actually I don't know what he said, but that may have been the first cry if faith to an unseen power to cure the dreaded cave-toe fungus disease. Amen.

From a few comparative religion, Native American, and eastern culture classes that I took back in college I would reason that the first 'god' worshiped by man was something that they couldn't explain.

Fire may have been worshiped as a god.

Wind may have been worshiped as a god.

Sun/Moon/Stars may have been worshiped as a god, or several gods.

It seems probable that different groups of early humans that began to band together would for a singular concept of god, that would vary group to group. As intellect developed, so did the concept of 'god'.

Although I cannot cite specific examples, I believe evidence of worship predates recorded history. Didn't one of the mummified ice men/women have items believed to be religious in nature?

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire: believe evidence of worship predates recorded history. Didn't one of the mummified ice men/women have items believed to be religious in nature?

Of course it predates RECORDED history.

35,000 - 45,000 years ago, the people who lived there cared for their offspring and their old folks, and nurtured even the gravely injured.

Shanidar 4, the "flower burial"

Shanidar Neanderthal skull, dated to 80,000–60,000 BP
The skeleton of Shanidar 4, an adult male aged 30–45 years, was discovered by Solecki in 1960, positioned on his left side in a partial fetal position.

For many years, Shanidar 4 was thought to provide strong evidence for a Neanderthal burial ritual. Routine soil samples from around the body, gathered for pollen analysis in an attempt to reconstruct the palaeoclimate and vegetational history of the site, were analysed eight years after its discovery. In two of the soil samples in particular, whole clumps of pollen were discovered by Arlette Leroi-Gourhan in addition to the usual pollen found throughout the site, suggesting that entire flowering plants (or at least heads of plants) had been part of the grave deposit.Furthermore, a study of the particular flower types suggested that the flowers may have been chosen for their specific medicinal properties. Yarrow, cornflower, bachelor's button, St Barnaby's thistle, ragwort, grape hyacinth, horsetail and hollyhock were represented in the pollen samples, all of which have been traditionally used, as diuretics, stimulants, and astringents and anti-inflammatories. This led to the idea that the man could possibly have had shamanic powers, perhaps acting as medicine man to the Shanidar Neanderthals.

A religion, then, but a 'god' to appease or worship? Without a written record, we will never know.

I found the writings by Joseph Campbell interesting, mainly ‘The Masks of God’ series. They go way back, the material.

Yeah, I realize some are offended if internalized beliefs are questioned. I usually see a few sides to the issue.

Just about every primitive culture has had a creation story, spirituality, with a path to the afterlife.

Even when Columbus came to the new world, the natives already had a spiritual existence.

Even to ask about any deity worshipped by man, are we talking ‘modern man’? There are so many rabbit holes one can go down.

I think this is unknowable since our species has been in existence in our form for around a hundred thousand years, and we have zero records for most of that time.

Probably some nature spirit - the sun, a great mother, a giant turtle - something along those lines.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Probably some nature spirit - the sun, a great mother, a giant turtle - something along those lines.

It has been several years since I studied the subject, but it is interesting that Shamanic belief/worship has existed in multiple diverse cultures spanning most continents. Another interesting point is that shamanic worship has survived into the present day

This is probably unanswerable because worship probably predates written communication, or at least any form still existing today.

My guess is man worshiped nature until he learned to subdue it. Then man worshiped himself.