All About Adam and Eve: How We Come to Believe in Demons, Miracles, and Magical Rites

New book looks at how we created our gods, and the rituals that surround them.

Many of society’s current religious beliefs are the same as those held by ancient civilizations and even by savage tribes. All About Adam and Eve, a fascinating and revealing look at religious history, explains, in a clear and accessible way, the origin of gods from many cultures, tracing their evolution from primitive to sophisticated societies.

While publishing the first opinion survey of 20th-century America’s anthropologists and theologians on specific religious beliefs, Robert J. Gillooly sheds light on what science and religion have to say about some longstanding beliefs: that humans can talk with gods; that living gods such as the Dalai Llama, Buddha, and Christ exist; that evil spirits exist; that miracles are possible; that performing certain rites will serve one’s god; and many more. The reasons for such beliefs are detailed in light of the various cultural settings and the available historical information.

Some of the compelling ideas presented in the book include: how the Christian god originated as the volcano god of an ancient tribe; man-gods who were worshiped before Jesus; how Hebrew prophets originated as traveling fortune tellers; factual problems with the Bible, and the magic embedded in Christian belief.