Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Soul Invictus · 07-29-2002, 10:30 PM

I don't know a lot of history on other religions, but I have heard the Jesus story was very similar to gods' stories before him (Krishna,Zoroaster,and Vishnu I think are a few) I ask a very very basic question of how this coincidence can be explained....Isn't Judaism the oldest acknowledged form of religion? I'm wondering with Christianity coming into the picture a significant time after that, but not before Zoroaster, Krishna, etc, how do adamant Christians justify their God as the first and only god. (Isn't there a verse that goes along the lines of... "in the beginning was god and the word was god...etc?) The only way I see them validating that is through a Judeo influence...thus the proverbial Judeo-Christian
belief. A little history lesson is appreciated to explain such relationships between the history of these religions...

Peter Kirby · 07-30-2002, 12:46 AM

Zoroaster was not a god, and the earliest biographical (hagiographical) accounts of him were written long after the writing of the gospels.

Judaism is not the oldest acknowledged form of religion. There are civilizations in Egypt, the Mesopotamian valley, and India with religions that are more ancient than Judaism.

best,
Peter Kirby

Steven Carr · 07-30-2002, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by peterkirby:
<strong>Zoroaster was not a god, and the earliest biographical (hagiographical) accounts of him were written long after the writing of the gospels.

Judaism is not the oldest acknowledged form of religion. There are civilizations in Egypt, the Mesopotamian valley, and India with religions that are more ancient than Judaism.

best,
Peter Kirby</strong>

Even the Bible does not have God giving the 10 Commandments and the Torah until the Israelites have come out of Egypt, implying that Judaism was newer than the Egyptian religions.

Soul Invictus · 07-30-2002, 06:57 AM

Oh, so Zoroaster was a real person? What about Vishnu? Mainly I'm looking for how Christianity offshot from Judaism.

Peterkirby....thanks for thar info. Do you know anything about the Sumerian Tablets, or any ancient religions before Judaism?

Jayhawker Soule · 07-30-2002, 07:40 AM

<a href="http://religion.rutgers.edu/vri/aneast.html" target="_blank">This</a> is an interesting site. See, in particular, the "Mesopotamia" section.

CX · 07-30-2002, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Soul Invictus:
Isn't Judaism the oldest acknowledged form of religion?

Not by a long shot. The religions of Ancient Egypt, Sumer, Babylonia, Canaan etc. long precede Judaism. Sheesh. Why do so many people think this?

CX · 07-30-2002, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Soul Invictus:
Do you know anything about the Sumerian Tablets, or any ancient religions before Judaism?

I recommend "Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization" by Leo Oppenheim. It's a little dated, but it gives a good overview of Ancient Mesopotamia. You can also check out the ANE (Ancient Near East) section of <a href="http://eawc.evansville.edu/" target="_blank">Exploring Ancient World Cultures</a>.

Radcliffe Emerson · 07-31-2002, 08:47 AM

Scholars say now the Judaic concept of one god arose in their theology after one of the Egyptian pharoahs claimed the sun god was the only god. The common belief now is the Egyptians were the first civilization to have the one god belief, albeit shortlived, as the Judaeans' belief in one god emerges after the Egyptian belief.

Vinnie · 07-31-2002, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Not by a long shot. The religions of Ancient Egypt, Sumer, Babylonia, Canaan etc. long precede Judaism. Sheesh. Why do so many people think this?

*Cough*maybetheytakethefallliterally*Cough*

07-29-2002, 10:30 PM	#1
Soul Invictus Contributor Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 15,576	Background on Judaic effects on Christianity I don't know a lot of history on other religions, but I have heard the Jesus story was very similar to gods' stories before him (Krishna,Zoroaster,and Vishnu I think are a few) I ask a very very basic question of how this coincidence can be explained....Isn't Judaism the oldest acknowledged form of religion? I'm wondering with Christianity coming into the picture a significant time after that, but not before Zoroaster, Krishna, etc, how do adamant Christians justify their God as the first and only god. (Isn't there a verse that goes along the lines of... "in the beginning was god and the word was god...etc?) The only way I see them validating that is through a Judeo influence...thus the proverbial Judeo-Christian belief. A little history lesson is appreciated to explain such relationships between the history of these religions...

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

07-30-2002, 12:46 AM	#2
Peter Kirby Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: the reliquary of Ockham's razor Posts: 4,035	Zoroaster was not a god, and the earliest biographical (hagiographical) accounts of him were written long after the writing of the gospels. Judaism is not the oldest acknowledged form of religion. There are civilizations in Egypt, the Mesopotamian valley, and India with religions that are more ancient than Judaism. best, Peter Kirby

07-30-2002, 06:57 AM	#4
Soul Invictus Contributor Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 15,576	Oh, so Zoroaster was a real person? What about Vishnu? Mainly I'm looking for how Christianity offshot from Judaism. Peterkirby....thanks for thar info. Do you know anything about the Sumerian Tablets, or any ancient religions before Judaism?

07-30-2002, 07:40 AM	#5
Jayhawker Soule Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,777	<a href="http://religion.rutgers.edu/vri/aneast.html" target="_blank">This</a> is an interesting site. See, in particular, the "Mesopotamia" section.

07-31-2002, 08:47 AM	#8
Radcliffe Emerson Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: the dark side of Mars Posts: 1,309	Scholars say now the Judaic concept of one god arose in their theology after one of the Egyptian pharoahs claimed the sun god was the only god. The common belief now is the Egyptians were the first civilization to have the one god belief, albeit shortlived, as the Judaeans' belief in one god emerges after the Egyptian belief.

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.