Project Gutenberg 2018-07-25 Public domain in the USA. 407 Allen, Grant 1848 1899 Allen, Charles Grant Blairfindie The Evolution of the Idea of God: An Inquiry Into the Origins of Religions Preface -- Christianity as a religious standard -- Religion and mythology -- The life of the dead -- The origin of gods -- Sacred stones -- Sacred stakes -- Sacred trees -- The gods of Egypt -- The gods of Israel -- The rise of monotheism -- Human gods -- The manufacture of gods -- Gods of cultivation -- Corn- and wine-gods -- Sacrifice and sacrament -- The doctrine of the atonement -- The world before Christ -- The growth of Christianity -- Survivals in Christendom -- Conclusion. Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive "The Evolution of the Idea of God: An Inquiry Into the Origins of Religions" by Grant Allen is a comprehensive treatise on the psychological and historical development of the God concept, written in the late 19th century. The book aims to explore the evolution of the idea of deity, tracing its roots from early primitive beliefs through polytheism to the more advanced notions found in monotheistic faiths, particularly Christianity. Allen's investigation is structured around three main parts: the origin of polytheism, the transition to monotheism, and the development of the idea of a triune God in Christianity. The opening of the work sets the stage for this ambitious inquiry by delineating the various schools of thought regarding the nature of religious belief. Allen discusses how humans have grappled with the concept of God, from the most rudimentary understandings in savage societies to the complex theological ideas present in contemporary Christianity. He emphasizes that his approach is not to disprove existing beliefs but to understand the psychological processes that led to their formation. By employing historical documents and examining primitive practices, he aims to elucidate how the worship of many gods transitioned into the worship of a singular, all-powerful deity, ultimately leading to the rich tapestry of religious thought exemplified in modern theologies. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 51.0 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Religion God BL Text Category: History - Religious Category: Philosophy & Ethics Category: Religion/Spirituality 1101024 2025-06-23T05:23:22.153513 text/html 1108914 2021-02-25T09:40:35 text/html 490279 2025-06-23T05:23:40.128450 application/epub+zip 505195 2025-06-23T05:23:28.548524 application/epub+zip 467057 2025-06-23T05:23:25.938474 application/epub+zip 935306 2025-06-23T05:23:48.103389 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 849938 2025-06-23T05:23:37.482450 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 707781 2022-09-26T04:22:33.200352 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 913203 2025-06-23T05:23:20.760489 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 913261 2018-07-25T13:43:06 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19332 2025-06-23T05:23:48.258358 application/rdf+xml 23919 2025-06-23T05:23:26.570460 image/jpeg 4499 2025-06-23T05:23:26.255479 image/jpeg 342687 2018-07-25T13:43:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 374748 2021-02-25T09:40:44 application/octet-stream application/zip 464863 2025-06-23T05:23:22.239513 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia