What exactly caused Abrahamic monotheism?
According to Wikipedia Judaism evolved from polytheism to monoplaxy and finally to monotheism. Strict, intolerant monotheism was a relatively new development compared to the history of religion. Abrahamic religions removed human sacrifices wherever they spreaded. However they also caused numerous religious wars because they are very intolerant.
The urban living and multiculturalism of the near east probably had a lot to do with it.
The urban living and multiculturalism of the near east probably had a lot to do with it.Maybe that's the case. However the same multiculturalism does not cause European and most of the other Middle Eastern religions to evolve into some really hostile and intolerant forms of monotheism (i.e. vandalism of temples of other religions, hatred towards syncretism even though it's impossible to completely eliminate it, execute apostates and those who fail to denounce other religions, etc). Basically Abrahamic religions managed to completely devastate the Greco-Roman culture, corrupted Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, retarded progress in Europe and later the Middle East for many years. They are also the reason why antisemitism was and is still popular in some Abrahamic regions. To understand why these crazy movements exist we have to understand how ancient Canaanite religion which seems to be a regular polytheist religion evolved into something unprecedented in human history called Judaism. Christianity and Islam are in essence variants of Judaism. So the question should probably be renamed: "How did ancient Canaanite religion evolved into monotheist Judaism?"
You have not gone back far enough. there was already some form of leadership in existence when religions started to be well known. Usually it started from survival of the fittest methods. we evolved very slowly and it is hard to get a picture of what people were like that far back. In some cases that kind of thinking still exists. It is natural for leadership grow and everyone wants to rest and relax so order becomes the order of the day.
The urban living and multiculturalism of the near east probably had a lot to do with it.Maybe that's the case. However the same multiculturalism does not cause European and most of the other Middle Eastern religions to evolve into some really hostile and intolerant forms of monotheism (i.e. vandalism of temples of other religions, hatred towards syncretism even though it's impossible to completely eliminate it, execute apostates and those who fail to denounce other religions, etc).Other religions in Europe and Middle East? What religions are they?
Basically Abrahamic religions managed to completely devastate the Greco-Roman culture, corrupted Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, retarded progress in Europe and later the Middle East for many years. They are also the reason why antisemitism was and is still popular in some Abrahamic regions.There were many causes of Greco-Roman cultural decline. There are many causes of antisemitism, Islamic corruption, limited progress, etc. as well. If monotheistic religion played a role, it would probably be a small one.
So the question should probably be renamed: "How did ancient Canaanite religion evolved into monotheist Judaism?"Are you familiar with some of the ideas of Daniel Dennett along these lines? He's published some stuff (and a couple of TED talks) on memetic evolution in religions.
What exactly caused Abrahamic monotheism? According to Wikipedia Judaism evolved from polytheism to monoplaxy and finally to monotheism. Strict, intolerant monotheism was a relatively new development compared to the history of religion. Abrahamic religions removed human sacrifices wherever they spreaded. However they also caused numerous religious wars because they are very intolerant.Hyksos Egypt My understand of what could have taken place. What you are asking is one of the pieces of the puzzle of our past. And we will understand the picture much better in a decade or two when more history has been uncovered. Recently we have learned of Avaris Egypt in the Land of Goshen. The players in this question seem to be Hatshepsut, Akhenaten and Ramses II. Akhenaten was the one who changed the religion and expanded the New Kingdom. Ramses was kicking the new religion out of Egypt and taking over the New Kingdom. Moses, an Egyptian prince became a religious leader with Akhenaten religious teachings. But that was not the goal of Ramses. When the Hyksos came to the New Kingdom they were still in an age of domestication and science and greatly changed Egypt. But it is looking like leprosy ran them out of Egypt. In 2016 the Chinese government relaxed some of the education rules and claims started to appear that the Chinese were in fact the Hyksos that had left Egypt. The Hyksos had brought the hybrid olive with them. The olive did not grow well in Egypt’s southern lands but did find in the lands north of Egypt. Such as the lands of RA. Israel for example is from right to left, el = land, ra = the god RA, Is = land. Or read in Egyptian, the land of the god RA. Egypt northern ports like Bible in Syria brought the Egyptian oil into Egypt. Before the olive oil, flax seed oil was used. But olive oil was use as food, preserved food in storage and fuel for light. Egypt could not go back to flax seed oil. The olive oil was of very high value and the Hittite Empire was expanding and taking the olive oil from Egypt’s Syria orchards. Thus, we had the wars that kept Moses out of the land he claimed in the bible to take his people to – the land with oil trees already grown, Israel. After twenty years and thirteen campaigns Egypt sued the Hittites for peace. Known as the Eternal Treaty or the Silver Treaty. The battle that Egypt lost is studied at West Point today as to why not to divide your forces. Rameses II went back to Egypt and gave the northern lands, including Israel to the Hittites. For some unknown reason the Hittite Empire fell apart. Leaving Israel open for Abraham, Moses had died and Abraham was now in charge. Abraham moved into Israel with a treaty from Rameses son. We now have the religions of the Children of Abraham. And some of the Akhenaten religion and Hyksos beliefs may well have been taken into Israel by Abraham.
When looking at an evolving timeline of the gods, the monotheism period would be very small. By the time gods evolved to only human form as in the Hebrew god. Most were married with children and the whole family were gods. I know the Jewish calendar goes back 5,000 years, but I follow the thinking that the Jewish religion began with Abraham. Closer to 3,800 years ago with the god Yahweh. And some think that Yahweh was married and his wife’s name was Asherah and was worshiped in the same temple as Yahweh.
Amh, I hear what you are saying. But, I got to say that some of our history is being rewritten today. New sciences are being applied and unexpected results are being published. Personally, I think the direction history may be going is that in pre-history stories passed down. There were plagues and natural disasters, but no talk of wars. And there are experts that say humans of the past were much smarter than we are today. Even the Fertile Crescent is in question. The cradle fifty years ago was in Egypt and was moved to Jordan. Then Israel. And now across the Mesopotamian. But we are finding out that many of the grains, nuts and animals were not created or domesticated there. I would have to say the Fertile Crescent is a second cradle built upon the migration from the first cradle that was more to the east.
Point being, when you look at the burial methods, Red Ochre burials (red earth or Adam burials) followed the spread of the human migration out of the East to the Americas, Australia and Africa. For that reason, I don’t see the tribal fighting and wars. The fighting could have come at a later time, after the age of domestication and more in the age of deities.
A book titled the ancient religions of the past. Was destroyed in library of Alexandria. Too bad, because that book would be great history to have today.
It was seen to be useful to rulers. They were right.
A book titled the ancient religions of the past. Was destroyed in library of Alexandria. Too bad, because that book would be great history to have today.What was in it?
A book titled the ancient religions of the past. Was destroyed in library of Alexandria. Too bad, because that book would be great history to have today.What was in it? I don’t know what was in the book. It is known to have exist at the time. It was supposed to be a complete history of past religions. Said to have been destroyed in the Alexandria library fire.