According to Petronius, who echoed Lucretius, “it was fear that first made the gods.” The fear he was talking about was a fear of the unexplainable - fear of hidden forces in the earth, oceans, skies, and rivers. The role of religion and morality is not clear at first. Heaven and utopia are buckets in a well: when one goes down the other goes up when religion declines Communism grows. Destroy that hope, and class war is intensified. For since the natural inequality of men dooms many of us to poverty or defeat, some supernatural hope may be the sole alternative to despair. It has kept the poor (said Napoleon) from murdering the rich.
It has conferred meaning and dignity upon the lowliest existence, and through its sacraments has made for stability by transforming human covenants into solemn relationships with God. It has helped parents and teachers to discipline the young. To the unhappy, the suffering, the bereaved, the old, it has brought supernatural comforts valued by millions of souls as more precious than any natural aid. Scientists often question the value of religion. Inside the book, which is a condensed version of his life work, you can find an interesting chapter entitled Religion and History that explores the role of religion throughout history. Will and Ariel Durant have written a masterpiece in The Lessons of History. “Even the skeptical historian develops a humble respect for religion, since he sees it functioning, and seemingly indispensable, in every land and age.”
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