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Aud · Jun 5, 2007, 11:53 pm

It is easy to trace Christianity and Islam as religions stemming and evolving from Judaism, however I am having a harder time finding the predecessors of Judaism itself. Although it is the first major monotheistic religion, it is not the absolute first religion to recognize monotheism. There are two earlier religions I can find that may have influenced the Hebrew bible. One is the Aten cult, a brief Egyptian religion in 14th century BC in which pharaoh Akhetaten, who kept Hebrew slaves, pronounced the sun god to be the one and only true god. This is the first monotheistic religion recorded. The other is Zoroastrianism, with one creator god named Ahura Mazda, prevalent in Iran before the rise of Judaism, and influences of its practice are found in the Hebrew bible.

A similar religion to Zoroastrianism is the historical Vedic Religion, which gave rise to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is debatable as to whether the Vedic Religion has a direct relationship to Zoroastrianism, but it may at least have influence. If this is true, would this be the recent common ancestor linking eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc) to Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)?

What do you guys think?

Jun 5, 2007, 11:53 pm	#1 (permalink) (top)
Aud Pirate Wench Location: Grass Valley, California Posts: 34	Origins of Western Religion It is easy to trace Christianity and Islam as religions stemming and evolving from Judaism, however I am having a harder time finding the predecessors of Judaism itself. Although it is the first major monotheistic religion, it is not the absolute first religion to recognize monotheism. There are two earlier religions I can find that may have influenced the Hebrew bible. One is the Aten cult, a brief Egyptian religion in 14th century BC in which pharaoh Akhetaten, who kept Hebrew slaves, pronounced the sun god to be the one and only true god. This is the first monotheistic religion recorded. The other is Zoroastrianism, with one creator god named Ahura Mazda, prevalent in Iran before the rise of Judaism, and influences of its practice are found in the Hebrew bible. A similar religion to Zoroastrianism is the historical Vedic Religion, which gave rise to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It is debatable as to whether the Vedic Religion has a direct relationship to Zoroastrianism, but it may at least have influence. If this is true, would this be the recent common ancestor linking eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc) to Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)? What do you guys think? Last edited by Aud; Jun 6, 2007 at 01:34 am.