I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure
I often say the same thing. I don't pretend to know what I don't know. "Truth" is pretty big, and I won't have time to cover much of it during my sojourn on this earth. That does not make Truth unknowable, of course, it does mean that it is only progressively knowable. It means that we inevitably depend on the discoveries and understanding of our grandfathers, incomplete as it is, to which we add our own, and to which our grandchildren will add theirs. Hopefully we don't forget more than we learn, as happens occasionally.
It is good to note, though, that the mere fact that I don't know is not proof that the "men who are sure" are therefore necessarily ignorant. A little humility is always a good thing. I, of course, try to exercise as little of it as possible... (rimshot)
The truth is that the origin of what we call civilization is not due to religion but to skepticism.
There is some truth in this. Your impatience with the old religions is understandable, you may find to your surprise that many, not all, of the believers here are impatient with Religion. As in all things, there is religion, and then there is Religion.
In fairness, though, two things have to be recognized. The problem with primitive religion as you describe it is the problem with primitive man. It is rooted in a primitive understanding.
Our grasp of Truth is always approximate due to the limitations of finite humanity. As long as we understand that, as long as we leave the door open for further clarification we're fine. The moment our human understanding becomes doctrine, untouchable, the long journey toward "Truth" becomes high-centered and stuck in its tracks.
There are two approaches to Religion, for the purpose of this discussion; one views the received wisdom of our fathers as untouchable and complete; one regards it as a signpost pointing the way forward. You will find both kinds of people in any religion, in any academic setting, in any political party. Its a human thing.
You will find also that some believers love Religion for the embedded truths and are prepared to ignore or forgive its eccentricities. You will find believers who are skeptical of Religion for the tendency of some to use it to shut down the flow of Truth. Both are right, depending on the context.
The fear of God is the death of wisdom.
The love of God is something else. It pulls you forward into the search for Truth, it is the love of God that will draw you like a magnet toward love, toward creation, toward wisdom, toward the Good. If you are driven by a hunger to know, to build, to love, to search, the likelihood from where I sit is that God has his hook in you. You may or may not have put a name to it but God has your number.
This is what happens: someone discovers something, a piece of the Truth, and begin to spread the word. On a good day this discovery, or this epiphany, becomes the catalyst for further discovery. Occasionally though, with some people, it becomes a kind of mysterious artefact, only half-understood, to be stored in a glass case to be admired from afar, taken down and polished from time to time, but never examined too closely.
For others it is the same thing of beauty, just as admired, but fit for use, fit to be pulled apart and examined and reassembled for the sheer joy of it. Some people park their Corvette in the garage and never drive it for fear they may scratch it; others take it out and open it up on the gravel roads and mountain switchbacks and the joy of it overcomes the fear of getting it banged up.
Some people pin a picture of a Corvette to their garage wall but never imagine they could have one.
The difference is not rooted in the adherence to or rejection of some nominal Religion, but rather a different understanding of who and what God is, who and what we are, and who and what is our place in this life. The stories of the Pharisees is a good example, the priesthood that so completely dedicated itself to Religion that they missed the Christ in their midst.
You find the same failing among religious folk, scientists, academics, and ordinary people in every time simply because people are people. You can so admire your Grand-Dad's fly-rod that you never take it out of its case and never get it wet.
The modern world is the child of doubt and inquiry
The modern world is the child of the progressive discovery of Truth. It is the child of getting it wet.
Sigh.
Is a '65 convertible with a 427 engine too much to ask? I'm afraid it is...