Max Beer

“ Religion is the first systematic attempt of man to put himself into relation with, and to find an interpretation of, the spiritual, physical and social forces of the universe, which appeared to man to be at once powerful and incomprehensible. Religion, being the result of the mental activity of primitive man, the emotional factors predominated in the formulation of its tenets. Religion may, indeed, be defined as a theory of the universe conceived by emotion and as a practice of life born of a very limited power of man over the material world. ”

“ It is a primitive philosophy of life. It took its rise whenever and wherever man awakened to the necessity of influencing and comprehending his surroundings. His religion was therefore determined by his peculiar mental development and by his special environments. In primitive societies, in which man is not yet differentiated and individualised, his mental development and his environments are practically the same as those of his gens, clan, or tribe. ”

“ In conformity with those views the Israelites thought the gods of other tribes to be as genuine and powerful as Yahve. Chemosh gave victory to Moab, Ashur to Assyria, Malkam to the Ammonites, Dagon to the Philistines. Moreover, they believed that a Hebrew leaving his tribe or his settlement for another was bound to worship other gods. David, complaining of his relentless persecution by Saul, cried, “For they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of Yahve, saying, Go, serve other gods.” ”