On the Origin of Religion

About the Book

Dr. Henderson Cole examines why Homo sapiens, from the beginning of human consciousness, has created the bodies of lore that we recognize as religious belief. The author puts forth his ideas in crisply articulate, lively and consistently engaging stories. These include a dialogue with primitive man, a discussion with aliens of an advanced civilization that has no theologies, and finally detailed in a proposal requesting research funding. This is followed by two tales: an imagined television interview with a prominent scientist and a family discussion after an earthquake. These later tales investigate the consequences of understanding where our beliefs come from.

The author manages to cogently put forth his provocative, supportable theories, based on our natural development of intelligence, language and self awareness, that good-naturedly challenge the foundation of every religion without ever becoming didactic or patronizing. As religious fundamentalism of every persuasion continues to be a great source of strife in the world today, Dr. Cole gives us fresh, balanced insights into what and how we think.

About the Author

Henderson Cole was born in Wilmington, NC. The family eventually moved to New York City, where he graduated from high school in Queens. Drafted immediately into the army, he served with the 20th Armored Division in Europe in WWII. After the war he earned a PhD degree in physics at MIT and joined the Research Division of IBM. During a long career with IBM Dr. Cole had many interesting assignments, including developing computer systems that could be attached to and operate laboratory equipment, a small interaction in the Mars Lander which looked for life on Mars, a stint at the Cornell Supercomputer Center in Ithaca, NY, and as a visiting scientist to the Oil Industry Research Center in Caracas, Venezuela. Married, with four children and seven grandchildren, Dr. Cole currently enjoys teaching physics part time at a Blue Ribbon high school in Western CT.