Page "belles_lettres" Paragraph 1275
from
Brown Corpus
Adams was not breaking new ground when he claimed that the worship of an unseen power was in reality a reflection of man's inability to cope with his environment.
Students of anthropology and comparative religion had long been aware that there was, indeed, a direct connection.
But Adams was one of the first to suggest that this human incompetence was the only motivating factor behind religion.
It was this fear which explained the development of a priestly caste whose function in society was to mollify and appease the angry deities.
To keep themselves entrenched in power, the priests were forced to demonstrate their unique status through the miracle.
It was the use of the supernatural that kept them in business.
The German barbarians of the fourth century offered an excellent example:
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