Only after severe investigation or after severe calamity do men awaken to the dismal fact that their spiritual guides are unreliable, their religious beliefs invalid, their clichés of prayer naïve and useless. Whichever way leads them to be confronted by these unpleasant realities, they cannot go on living in doubt and discouragement for the rest of their years. So they either cast the subject of religion out of their minds altogether or, in the efflux of time, search for a more reliable guide, a better set of beliefs, and a more effective form of worship. But because the ignorant masses are incapable of finding this for themselves, someone must arise as a prophet to guide, teach and help them. He may be quite minor and quite local but if he shows them the next step ahead, he is to that extent a messenger of God.
-- Notebooks Category 17: The Religious Urge > Chapter 1 : Origin, Purpose of Religions > # 87
