| This thread has a lot of wild speculation. I think the evidence points to, as far as we can see, that Judaism developed organically in the Palestine region, definitely influenced strongly by Mesopotamian culture and to some extent influenced by Egypt. It is unclear that Zoroastrianism predates Judaism, and I suspect Zoroastrianism had absolutely no effect on the religion until the Babylonian exile (there is no evidence supporting that theory). It is certain that Judaism predates Pythagoras. And no, there is no connection between the Pyramids of Egypt or Sumer and the pyramids in Mesoamerica, that goes beyond wild speculation into the realm of absurdity.
Jewish Monotheism almost certainly developed out of Mesopotamian polytheism; however, polytheism itself probably developed out of a kind of unconscious monotheism. After all, different cities had their own top god even though they recognized the gods of other cities. |