The Evolution of the Idea of God: An Inquiry Into the Origins of Religions — Inside the Classic

From Dead Ancestors to Living Gods

Allen's central thesis emerges clearly in the middle excerpts: godhead springs from the primitive dead man. He argues that early kings were considered gods by descent from deified ancestors, a belief he traces through Egyptian, Peruvian, Mexican, Chinese, and Parthian examples. The Pharaoh's essential divinity is a prime article of faith among Pyramid-builders, and even later Greek dynasties retained the title of god or goddess. Allen draws heavily on Frazer's work but offers a distinct interpretation—where Frazer sees animistic origins, Allen insists that the dead ancestor is the root. This divergence shapes the entire argument, as he repeatedly grounds divine status in lineage from the deceased.

The Incarnation as a Logical Outcome

Allen treats the Christian incarnation as the culmination of a long chain of reasoning. He states that in ancient Egypt, 'the God was the Dead King, the King was the Living God,' a formula he applies broadly. The inference that children of gods are themselves divine appears in many cultures, especially early despotisms. The Mexican kings swore to make the sun shine and rain fall, a promise Allen links to their status as children of the Sun. He notes that the Chinese emperor is held responsible for droughts. These examples build toward his claim that Christianity's incarnation was not a novel idea but a résumé of common Mediterranean cults, cosmopolitanizing religion by absorbing central and universal elements.

Gods by Inspiration and Possession

Beyond hereditary divinity, Allen identifies a second class of gods: those made divine by inspiration or indwelling of a spirit. He describes the germ-idea of divine possession, where a ghost or god temporarily inhabits a living person. This concept broadens the scope of his inquiry beyond royal lineages to include shamans, prophets, and oracles. The excerpts suggest that Allen sees this as a parallel path to godhood, one that coexists with descent-based divinity. His treatment of possession as a 'germ-idea' indicates he views it as an early and persistent element in religious evolution, though the excerpts do not reveal how fully he develops this strand.

Method and Scope in a Vast Synthesis

Allen acknowledges that his synthesis depends heavily on predecessors, citing Frazer extensively while offering his own interpretive twist. The problem divides into three parts: the origin of polytheism, the elimination of most gods leading to monotheism, and the rise of Christianity as a universalizing force. His method is comparative, drawing on savage beliefs, historical documents, and ancient monuments. The excerpts show a careful balance between acknowledging debts and asserting originality. Readers should note that Allen's argument is cumulative across twenty chapters, and the excerpts provide only glimpses of his full chain of reasoning. The preface's promise to be constructive rather than destructive sets a tone of explanatory ambition rather than polemic.

Allen's work rewards readers who attend to his repeated distinction between humanist and animist schools, as this framing underpins every chapter. The excerpts reveal a writer deeply engaged with Frazer's data but committed to a different explanatory model. First-time readers may find it useful to track how Allen defines 'godhead' in each cultural example, noting whether the origin is a dead ancestor or a possessing spirit. The book's length—over 158,000 words—means that the excerpts represent only a fraction of the evidence marshaled; patience with the comparative method will yield a clearer picture of his overall argument.