The Geologic Model of Religion

Book excerpt: "Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity" The opening line of the film Troy captures the tragic essence of personal mortality: ones' passing into oblivion and fading from all memory. Since the prehistoric dawn of humanity death has shadowed everyone’s footsteps. Even into the current scientific era religion has long been the only defense. The sole comfort against oblivion offering a promise of new life or even immortality. The Geologic Model of Religion is a sympathetic study of this defense from its ancient beginnings, drawing upon archaeology, anthropology and comparative religion to clearly explain one of the most complex subjects known. From the study a new model emerges which: * Decomposes religion into its distinct worldview and afterlife paradigms * Categorizes evidence of belief systems held by prehistoric hunter-gatherers, culminating in the Temples of Rebirth such as Gobekli Tepe * Concludes that spirituality began in the Fertile Crescent 11,000 years ago, spreading with the Neolithic revolution throughout the world * Shows why judgment in afterlife was the keystone in the emerging edifice of civilization, and how it enabled hierarchies overcoming Dunbar's number which limited village sizes * Overviews the interaction between science and religion and projects the ultimate fate of religion itself There might be 100,000 books written about religion but the Geologic Model of Religion is unlike any other. Drawing upon evidence from anthropology, archaeology and scripture religion is divided into worldviews and afterlife paradigms. This new model evidences several long lost prehistoric religious belief systems and explains the origin of spirituality in settled societies.