Michael, that is just something that people say, as if it meant anything. Is there something per se primitive about eating or sleeping? Only in the sense that they are natural, and therefore present as soon as the species exists. A fine French meal is anything but primitive, it is a work of art. Similarly, the instinct to worship is natural. (Indeed, it is the very basis of being in love, as opposed to having the hots). We are beings who esteem things, and reflect that esteem in our behavior. The greater the admiration in which we hold something, the more compelled we are to show outward signs of respect.
This is coupled with our propensity to show gratitude, which is, in fact, the flip side of anger. Just as we want to assault someone who does us harm, we want to embrace someone who does us a boon. We need not get physical, though: invective will satisfy fury, and singing praise will satisfy grateful affection.
If we feel fortunate to be alive, we naturally want to thank someone. Of course, there are our parents, but if we have a sense of the blessing of life that exceeds their responsibility, then we search for someone else to express our feelings to. If we are over- awed by the majesty of the universe, it is natural to seek someone to pay respects to, insofar as the universe itself is a mechanism. God stands, for some poetically, for some in fact, as the recipient of our veneration and gratitude. In worshipping God, we are merely being human........ |
