« Should we devote our lives to God? What is Knowledge? » Pre-Jewish Ancient Semitic Religion Categories: History of Religion Pre-Jewish Ancient Semitic Religion Living in today’s world, we can easily become familiar with some of the religious beliefs and customs other people practice, but it is more difficult to understand the origins of these […]
Old Testament/Torah/Tanach
Biblical Monotheism and the Persian Influence – Lewis Loflin
The early Jews were not monotheists, but followed henotheism or even outright polytheists. They had one central god but believed in other gods. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) indicates the belief there was other gods. This was the tribal god, often bloodthirsty and murderous who (they claimed) ordered the killing […]
The Mythology of Evil
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS mankind has been enthralled, frustrated and terrified by the presence, nature and origin of evil. Virtually every religio-political power structure over the past 6,000 years has developed a mythology for the emergence of evil. This human concern not only has survived until today; it has intensified. Following are some selected explanations […]
ZOROASTRIANISM, JUDAISM, AND CHRISTIANITY – Hannah M.G.Shapero
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity share so many features that it seems that there must be a connection between them. Does this connection really exist? If so, how did it happen? And how much of the similarity between these faiths is due simply to parallel evolution, rather than direct contact and influence? The simplest answer to […]
History of the Ancient Sumerians
The religion of the ancient Sumerians has left its mark on the entire middle east. Not only are its temples and ziggurats scattered about the region, but the literature, cosmogony and rituals influenced their neighbors to such an extent that we can see echoes of Sumer in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition today. From these ancient temples, […]
Blood Sacrifice (full article)
Historical pagan practices have also included ritual animal sacrifice and utilized animal parts within ritual and magic. Traditional religions such as Christianity inherited their attitude towards blood and animal sacrifice from pagan origins, such as the way in which the Abel and Cain story was copied from the Sumerian story of Enkimdu and Damuzi6. Neo-paganism, […]
Yahweh/El Gods of Israel
In a September 22nd, 2002 speech to visiting Christian Zionists, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asserted, “This land is ours… God gave us the title deeds… However, recent scholarly research, including discoveries by an archaeological team from the University of Tel Aviv, not only deconstruct the Biblical Old Testament and Torah stories upon which this […]