by Andrea Gardiner Ph.D.

Created on: August 31, 2007

Prior to religion and social structure as we now know it, there was no separation between man and nature. Just as the animals of the earth are born with an instinctual, biological knowing so was the nature of man. The species of men were very close with the animals and earth, and worked cooperatively for the evolution of all creature-hood. Man did not need to reassure himself of his power because he instinctively knew it. The species existed contently in this knowing.

At some point in the history of men, there was a desire for an evolution in consciousness. Although consciousness had always been present in the species of men (and all things) it existed as one of a biological nature. The new desire however was for a specialization or a consciousness that consciously created. In order to do this, man would need to be more reflective in nature. He must be able to create, interact with his creation, and reflect upon it to consciously alter his desire and thus create again. Also, he must have an ordered environment that would provide enough contrast for him playfully birth his desires. He must be able to do this guilt free and without inhibitions.

Thusly, religion fulfilled all of these requirements. It provided a reminder of the unseen to the species of men. Particularly in the Western religion of Christianity, man is appointed dominion over the rest of creature-hood. This appointment gave them special permission to fulfill the desire to consciously create. It gave them permission to separate from their biological knowing and thus from the earth. This dominion is expressed in such Bible stories of the naming of the animals. When God created Adam he told him that he was special and made in his image, also he had dominion over all the earth and the creatures in it. Since Adam was in charge so to speak, he was then charged with the duty of naming all the animals in the Animal Kingdom.

To further this attempt of separation from nature, Western religion took on a patriarchal nature. The god-head of this system was to be a male. This male god was endowed with all the creative abilities of man. He is able to create on his own with no feminine energy. When he did create mankind (as told by creation story of Genesis) he first created the male. This male was in his image and unto his likeness (this serves an important clue to the nature of man). The female was then given birth to from the male. The woman is not thought of as existing in her own right, unto her own energetic

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