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By Root 1632 0

and how good and evil relates to human existence. Other early societies, such as the Hebrews, also evolved such knowledge; however, they claim their knowledge came directly from Yahweh. In the book of Genesis, the serpent tells Eve that if she eats the forbidden fruit “. . . God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (emphasis added) (Genesis 3:5). This is a key moment in the Bible, because it turns people into conscience beings knowing right from wrong. Such consciousness brings awareness of life, and a unambiguous future death. This, of course, sets people apart from animals in a dreadfully significant way, as the knowledge of good and evil remains hidden from animals—only humans can know good and evil. Inevitably, the gods played a role in matters of morality. In ancient societies the gods determined what humans faced after death; thus, to gain a pleasant future in the hereafter, one must obey the gods in the here and now. Therefore, the gods’ requirements for entry into the afterlife, or for avoiding a painful now, became virtue in this life.[54] How did people know what the gods’ desired? The priest, shaman, sage, or seer told them.

Now the circle is complete. If the gods tell the shaman to slaughter the neighbors, it must be a good thing. It comes down to who contacts the gods and reveals God’s truth to the poor humans denied contact with the immortals. Somehow, a trusted priestly class developed and gained exceptional power. Trust is the key word, because believing a particular mortal divines the thoughts of god requires trust. Must the priest be obeyed? In society after society, the answer was yes, the priest—god’s representative—must be obeyed.

It often happened that the priest and king were in full agreement about god’s commands, so the king ordered the population to obey god’s demands. A powerful permutation results when the priest and king, often one in the same person, agree. To disobey makes a person a traitor and a heretic. The Hebrews despised their neighbors because they obeyed gods (priest) ordering them to throw babies into the divine fire to appease them. How could a person throw their tiny new child into a roaring fire? The priest and king gave the command, and the people obeyed. Based on this, I opine that the combination of king and priest is the most tyrannical power combination of all time.

Achieving a lasting world peace is a dream reaching back millenniums; however, overcoming ancient human traits to achieve lasting world peace has proven impossible. History tells us these human traits are deep set and unchanging. Today neighboring nations aim powerful weapons at one another because their gods tell them the other nation, with false gods, is evil, fit only for destruction.[55] From 8,000 BC to AD 2010, the fundamentals remain the same.

The Role of Food, Disease, and Administration in Ancient Times

Agriculture, coupled with animal husbandry, was the most important invention in secular history, and this was accomplished in the prehistoric era. After the development of agriculture, good land for growing crops and building irrigation systems became more important. As these lands were discovered and developed, people had to protect them from interlopers who would damage, destroy, and steal what had been built-up. When the world began to move to this stay-in-one-place “urban” lifestyle, a lot changed. The direct result of these changes were relatively large cities, trade with other parts of the world, the wheel, sailing boats, writing, and a growing dependence of people upon one another as specialization became common.

Trade and the compact nature of urban living made disease a common threat. Goods coming in from Asia to the Middle East might carry diseases that the people in the Middle East had never confronted. In addition, living around herd animals, and probably using their waste products to fertilize crops and whatnot, meant more contact with the diseases spread by herd animals and their by-products. There is little doubt