When did faith evolve and is it an advantage for evolution ?

[Steken]

Uh, OK.

Somewhat more relevant to the OP, perhaps, is this lovely article from the New Yorker, about the Neolithic momuments in Göbekli Tepe – believed by some archeologists to be religious in nature. As the article states, they’re

estimated to be eleven thousand years old—six and a half thousand years older than the Great Pyramid, five and a half thousand years older than the earliest known cuneiform texts, and about a thousand years older than the walls of Jericho, formerly believed to be the world’s most ancient monumental structure.

It’s a great read; highly recommended.

The specific quote which reminded me of this thread was this one:

One day, they [the site’s diggers] found an irregularly shaped stone, about the size of a tea tray, its upper surface pitted with small hemispherical holes. “We believe it was cultic,” one graduate student told me of this object. “That’s what we say whenever we don’t know the purpose of something. Of course, maybe it was not cultic. Maybe it was a contest, to see who can make the most holes the fastest. Anyway, they didn’t have sacred and profane then. It’s a young distinction.”

[Kobal2]

Haha, at least the guy is honest because I couldn’t read “We believe it was cultic” without immediately going “Oh, so they have no idea what it is, OK” in my head. Then I read the rest of the quote :).

[Steken]

@Kobal2

Haha, at least the guy is honest because I couldn’t read “We believe it was cultic” without immediately going “Oh, so they have no idea what it is, OK” in my head. Then I read the rest of the quote :).

My thoughts exactly!

The whole article is full of offbeat, unexpected bits and pieces of comedy gold like that.

[monavis]

@Bullitt

God wants us to believe. It is up to us.

Can you prove that?

[Bullitt]

@monavis

Can you prove that?

Can you disprove it?

[Steken]

Don’t start, you two.

[monavis]

@Bullitt

Can you disprove it?

Yes in a way. I can prove it is the words of another human and no proof that it is from God. Just belief in another human’s thoughts or beliefs.