Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 The origin of the idea of God is unclear, but it is believed that human beings created a God who was the First Cause of all things and Ruler of heaven and earth. He was not represented by images, and had no temple or priests in his service. He was too exalted for an inadequate human cult. #2 The sense of the numinous, which is the underlying basis of religion, is difficult to explain. It is a mysterious force that people feel in different ways. It is sensed in every aspect of life, and people attempt to express their wonder and awe toward it in myths and symbols. #3 In the ancient world, people believed that it was only by participating in the divine life that they would become truly human. Earthly life was believed to be fragile and overshadowed by mortality, but if people imitated the actions of the gods, they would share to some degree their greater power and effectiveness. #4 The ancient world of Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, had a similar spirituality. The Tigris-Euphrates valley was inhabited by the people known as the Sumerians, who had established one of the first great cultures of the Oikumene. The Sumerians developed their cuneiform script, built the extraordinary temple-towers called ziggurats, and developed an impressive law, literature, and mythology

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