Unpacking humanity’s evolving relationship with the divine reveals a profound journey. Each perception epoch, as we’ve identified, is distinctly characterized by a specific understanding of ultimate reality, reflecting the era’s fundamental “truth about reality” and the influence of its “Holders of truth.” Throughout these shifts, it’s worth noting that beyond anthropomorphic interpretations often associated with traditional religious views, the concept of “God” for many thoughtful individuals represents an ultimate, often unattainable Mystery – a fundamental Source whose pervasive influence on life is intuitively recognized. This underlying intuition regarding an ultimate ground of being transcends specific epochal manifestations, even as its explicit articulation changes.
1. The Concrete Era
In the Concrete Era, people’s minds are predominantly governed by the concept of a monotheistic God. This God is perceived as the ultimate Creator of both the world and humanity, and is actively involved in directing the events of the world. The divine truth is absolute and transcendent, but its concreteness is further emphasized by the presence of a specific, tangible messenger or even a divine Son on Earth (e.g., Jesus Christ in Christian tradition). This makes the divine directly accessible and relatable within the physical world. The Priest and the Sovereign then serve as these direct intermediaries or embodiments of divine authority, whose pronouncements are considered the direct expression of God’s will and the ultimate truth about reality. Human functioning is understood within this divinely ordained, hierarchical cosmos, guided by revealed laws and moral principles.
2. The General Era
The General Era witnesses a significant shift in the relationship with the divine, famously encapsulated by philosopher Nietzsche’s declaration, “God is dead.” Belief in a traditional, personal God either diminishes significantly or is actively undermined by the rapid advancements in scientific progress. This progress instills in people the idea that all phenomena are scientifically explainable, leading to a diminished need for divine intervention. Moreover, through the application of knowledge and technology, it is now humans who are perceived as creating “miracles” and shaping the world. The divine, if acknowledged at all, is often seen as a human construct or deemed irrelevant to the practical functioning of the world. Reality is increasingly defined by collective human action, overarching ideologies, and general scientific laws.
3. The Autonomous Era
In the Autonomous Era, while traditional religious concepts of God may be seen as unfashionable or outdated, the inherent human need for an ultimate source or ultimate reality persists. People, in their pursuit of individual autonomy and abstract understanding, often conceptualize the source of everything as some form of autonomous “Consciousness” or “Cosmic Consciousness” that exists by itself. This “Consciousness” may be content-wise similar to the traditional concept of “God,” yet the term “God” is consciously avoided due to its perceived lack of modernity.
However, despite its seemingly sophisticated and factual veneer, this conceptualization of “Consciousness” as an ultimate, self-existent entity can be argued to embody a new form of faith. Critics might point out that the claim of an inherent “conscious” quality to ultimate reality is an assertion that lacks empirical verification, leading to philosophical challenges regarding how such a quality could exist independently without a division into “that which is conscious” and “that of which it is conscious.” From this perspective, “Consciousness” is perhaps more accurately employed as an adjective – describing an attribute of experience (e.g., “being conscious of something”) – rather than as a substantive noun representing an ultimate reality itself.
4. The Basic Era
The Basic Era is characterized by a direct and immersive perception of the divine. There is no preconceived conceptual premise about reality and the way to reach it, as is the case in the first three eras.The individual of this era perceives a powerful “Force” that penetrates and creates both themselves and everything around them. This Force is not an external, transcendent deity, but an intrinsic, immanent energy that pervades all existence. Crucially, the individual feels “one with” this Force. This understanding aligns with the Shaman’s role as a Holder of truth, where the divine is deeply integrated with nature and spirit. Truth is experiential, holistic, and tied to the interconnectedness of all living things, the spiritual essence of the world, and the primal rhythms of nature. Communication with this spiritual essence is perceived as possible and fundamental to human functioning within the world.