Since the dawn of civilization, men and women have sought to understand who they are.  The physical world became their universe, and from the earliest of times, this environment became one over which they would have control. Those who took their orientation from the Book of Genesis knew that their task was to subdue the world that was declared “good” by God.

     The earliest thinkers understood that the human species was the pinnacle of the food chain.  We were different.  We could think, plan and achieve goals because we have been created in the image of God.  We were creators. Almost immediately, even in very primitive cultures, there was a link established between humanity and an invisible power that lay beyond what could be known to the senses.

     We learned to harvest the crops from the earth believing that the sun was God.  Societies were established around readily available supplies of water.  Armies were maintained not only to defend the societies that were forming but also to attack and expand their emerging empires.

Technologies often determined superiority, e.g., iron replaced bronze, horse and chariots prevailed over the armies of foot soldiers and ships were able to transport vast armies that laid siege to those taking refuge behind walled cities.

     As cultures became more stabilized, commerce replaced the smash and grab mentality of lesser-evolved peoples.   Centers for learning and the arts flourished.  Still more primitive societies engaged in warfare because they wanted what others had achieved.  Through conquering and enslavement, societies found the booty they acquired permanently changed not only their genetic structure through mating but also through ideas that proved superior to their own.  Even through violence, humanity was evolving.

     As stabilization continued, information was spread through the development of the printing press.  Knowledge was collected and used as the foundation for further development.  Cultures continued to collide through commerce, education and interracial mating.  The development of the nation state went to a new level when the United States completed its manifest destiny.  Europe and Africa continued to hold ethnicity as a priority while the U.S. developed into a melting pot of all ethnic groups, resulting in an economic powerhouse.  The U.S. became a magnet attracting people wanting the opportunities that other cultures were hard pressed to offer.

     Having evolved from being hunter-gatherers, humanity exploded with creativity in every field from agriculture to the behavioral sciences.  With more leisure time people could engage in research and development.  With the advancement of electronic technology, the information age was born.  Significant events in rural parts of the world became instantly known everywhere.  Entrepreneurial creators amassed enormous wealth, propelling even more research and development.

     As men and women became accustomed to increased wealth and freedom, formal values, taboos and customs began to change.  Taking increased responsibility for pursuing what they wanted, people became more mobile, 54 percent of marriages ended in divorce and the power of religious bodies to inform culture began to lose relevance as pluralism replaced dominant belief systems.

     Looking at the staggering acceleration of colliding cultures, humanity became faced with unique opportunities to redefine what they wanted to achieve and become.  The Internet removed from world governments their practice of controlling information by manipulation and deception.  As the global economy continued to expand, more people began to create instead of fighting and protesting.  Cultures not engaged in making contributions to the rest could cease to exist.  The focus could no longer be on world domination but on market changes and consumer spending.   Even countries awash in wealth from their oil production invested their profits, an act that continues to fuel the growth of the global economy.  The world is coming together whether its societies like it or not.

     What has been happening may be a result of God’s creative abilities manifesting in areas that lie outside what religious bodies have considered sacred.  Could it be that humanity is hardwired as a collective to create more and more sophisticated forms that benefit all others, e.g., less reliance on fossil fuels, a greater focus on global warming, conquering diseases and sharing ideas that are far removed from issues that once were couched in the sacred language of religious beliefs?

     What happens to God’s creations when religions continue to lose relevance?  Has their task of being the leaven for the loaf finally succeeded beyond their wildest dreams as they clutch onto systems of belief that block such understanding?  Perhaps!

     Slowly men and women are creating from what is within them.  With increased ability to share information, people all over the planet are learning what works and what does not.  Hong Kong, for example, became the primary change agent for China once that nation assumed control of that economic powerhouse.  Thousands of years of tradition vanished over night.  The double-digit growth pattern of China’s economy is evidence of their resolve to catch up and surpass the creativity of others.

     Spirituality is the core driver of all events.  Creative minds are engaged in problem solving.  Warriors in rogue nations who engage in destructive means to achieve leadership will learn that governing effectively and empowering people has more to do with economic expansion than holding absolute power through the use of fear.  People need to create, and when that aspect of their lives is denied, instability will remain in those societies.  The world’s societies will distance themselves from them until they learn that their focus belongs to a paradigm that is no longer useful.  When human desire remains focused on the destruction of others, there can be no creativity.  We thrive or die by what our thoughts create.

     Humanity has already discovered its divinity but will not call it by that name.  What is happening in the world’s societies is precisely what religion has prophesied since the beginning of recorded history.  What may be losing ground is the significance of keeping human events under the guise of what is sacred.  The seed God planted will continue to sprout beyond its primitive beginnings in spite of what religious leaders are saying.  They may be the ones whose paradigm has lost its way because of their refusal to keep pace with humanity’s evolution.