Introduction:
Today, the Abrahamic religions think of God as being omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, timeless, infinite, the beginning and the end, and source of all. However, by looking at the early God of the Abrahamic religions we find that he was not these at first. In other words, the original Abrahamic God is not the same as the God that we think of today. Influences such as those from Platonism have changed the Jewish (and hence Judeo-Christian) God. The God of Judaism was changed (evolved) over time.
Supporting details:
Going back in time to the Canaanites and early Judaism, we find their creator god was known as El. Most of the gods at the time were tribal and localized, each group had a god, or deity. In fact, the majority of scholars agree the Canaanites were polytheistic. Some of the evidence supporting this include Aramaic fragments showing that Jove and Yahu or Khunum were at the top of the pantheon (gods) hierarchy and that other gods existed in the region.. the groups at the time influenced each others, and had ideas about their gods which they borrowed or enhanced on to differentiate their god from others’.
Jewish polytheism (monolatrism or henotheism) was practiced at the time. This is a fact. Later, monotheism took over likely during the times of Ptolemy the 2nd. The idea of monotheism also existed in other nearby regions. ie. it was not original to the hebrews or the tribes of the Bible.
Philosophers of Platonism and Aristotle existed at that time. They and their contemporaries (including the people who put together the Pentateuch) accessed eastern ideas, from Zoroaserian, Egypt, to the Indian subcontinent where Monotheism had existed, before entering into Judaism.
Scroll down to find a list, ordered in chronological order, showing most the names, books, and groups mentioned here. That list will help you trace the evolution of thinking and cultures.
Monotheism (or a form of it) existed much earlier than the inception of the Abrahamic religions, it predates the Israelite mentions of their deities. Hindu (3,000 BC), pre-Buddhist, ideas of non-duality, non-secondness philosophes discussed the presence of a Source or an on manifested creator. Hindu thought was found in the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1300 BC). The oldest of their books is the Rigveda (1500–1200 BCE). Other Veda texts also exist, estimated to be written between 1200–1000 BC. The Upanishads (800–200 BC) represent the concluding part of the Vedas and are referred to as Vedanta which translates to “the end of the Vedas.”
The concept of Brahman is more prominently discussed in later Vedic texts and in Hindu philosophical texts like the Upanishads. Brahman is the ultimate, unchanging, infinite, and eternal reality that pervades everything in the universe. This is similar to what the Abrahamic God became.
The earliest conceptualization of Brahman can be traced back to the Vedas, particularly in the last one, the Upanishads (800–200 BC), which are considered the philosophical culmination of Vedic thought.
This, the Brahman, is likely the earliest written conceptualizing of a God which is close to how Judeo-Christians view their God today.
The idea of a Brahman predates: Homer (8th century BCE), Hesiod (late 8th to early 7th century BCE), Isaiah (8th century BCE 740 and 681 BCE), Jeremiah (7th and 6th centuries), Xenophanes (c. 6th and 5th centuries BC), Anaximander (610–546 BC), Pythagoras (570–495 BC), Anaximenes (585–525 BC), Heraclitus (535–475 BC), building the Second Temple (516 BC), Paraminides of Elea (5th century BCE) father of logic, Anaxagoras (500 – 428), Archelaus (5th century BCE), Taoism (4th century BC), Socrates (470 – 399 BCE), and Plato (c. 428 – 348 BC) . One cannot assume these philosophers that came after the idea of Brahman were not influenced by the Hindu thoughts including that of Brahman.
It’s important to note that Brahman is not the same as Lord Brahma, the god of creation, who creates but never destroys, one of many deities that exist in Hinduism. Though he is scarcely worshiped as most opt to worship other deities. Other major figures include Vishnu (the preserver), Shiva (the destroyer), Lakshmi, Saraswati. Many others exist, each representing different aspects of the divine.
Before the Upanishads (800–200 BC), but after many Buhist schools of thought, we find other important schools of thought including: the famous Code of Hammurabi (18th century BC) which is an ancient Babylonian legal code, Zoroaster (1500–1000 BC), and the Egyptian New Kingdom (1550 BC) and Pharaoh Akhenaten.
I am mentioning that Code of Hammurabi (18th century BC) because we find aspects from the Code of Hammurabi in early Hebrew books suggesting a sharing of ideas. This code, even though it does not discuss gods, is mentioned here to demonstrate the closeness and the reality of sharing among cultures when it came to their philosophies and day-to-day life, and worship. Other examples of sharing and similarities exist especially in the book of genesis.
Zoroastrianism, founded by the ‘prophet’ Zoroaster (1500–1000 BC) also known as Zarathustra, is often considered one of the earliest monotheistic religions. Zoroaster preached the existence of one supreme god, Ahura Mazda, who represented the embodiment of truth, goodness, and order.Zoroaster and the Hindu Rig Veda existed in a similar time period. Hinduism predated Zoroaster, though according to my knowledge (an area i am currently researching) monotheistic ideas, in Hinduism, didn’t appear until the Upanishads.
As you can see above, ideas of monotheism and monotheistic worship existed, especially known in Zoroastrianism. I see elements of Zoroastrianism in early Judaism.
Let’s take a quick look at Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. He ruled during the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom period (1353-1336 BC). This places him after Zoroaster. Scholars agree that he introduced Monotheism (or One-God-ism) worship of the sun disc Aten. This predated the Pharaoh Ramesses II and Moses of the Bible. After his death, the Egyptians returned to polytheism.
Akhenaten is often cited as the creator of the first monotheistic religion near to the lavant. Though, he said that he only knew what divinity was, so people needed him. Does this remind you of other religions?
Moving on to the Greeks
Homer (8th century BC) was an ancient Greek poet, Some believe he lived around 850 BC in Ionia, an ancient region in the western part of present-day Turkey. Others suggest he might have lived in Greece.. best known for his epic poems, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” rather than for philosophical treatises. In these works, the gods played a significant role, with various deities intervening in the affairs of humans. They often display human-like qualities and emotions, influencing events and the lives of the characters.. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, who came after Homer, engaged in more explicit discussions about the nature of gods and divinity. Homer belonged to a polytheistic culture.
Hesiod (late 8th to early 7th century BCE), an ancient Greek poet, is best known for his works “Theogony” and “Works and Days.” In “Theogony,” he delves into the origins of the gods, detailing the genealogy of the Greek pantheon and providing insights into their characteristics and roles in the universe. Hesiod’s depiction of the gods often portrays them as powerful beings with distinct personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. He describes the divine order and the struggles for power among the gods, offering a narrative that explains the creation of the world and the natural order through their actions and relationships. Hesiod belonged to a polytheistic culture, where the belief in multiple gods was prevalent. His writings centered on the genealogy and roles of various Greek gods and goddesses.
Continuing to move forward in time, in the Mediterranean, we can trace the evolution of the concept of God there. Starting with:
Anaximander’s (610–546 BC), an ancient Greek philosopher, lived in Miletus, a city in Ionia (an ancient region on the western coast of present-day Turkey). He was known for his cosmological ideas. In his writings, he proposed the concept of the “apeiron,” an indefinite or boundless principle from which everything emerged. His focus was on this primordial substance and unifying principle. In his writings we find the first use of the word “timeless” and concepts of an un-created beginning of all things. Anaximenes was a Monist. Monist thought reduces all phenomena to one principle, one basis of all things. He was the teacher of Pythagoras.
Xenophanes the philosopher lived around the 6th and 5th centuries BC. He was born in Colophon, an ancient city in Ionia (modern-day western Turkey). He later migrated and spent a significant part of his life in various Greek colonies, including Sicily. He proposed a concept of a single god who was unchanging and not in the likeness of mortals. He criticized the anthropomorphic representations of the Greek gods, suggesting that there was a higher, singular entity that transcended human characteristics.
Heraclitus (535–475 BC) came up with the concepts of Logos, and ‘opposites exist but are balanced’.
Then, Paraminides of Elea (5th century BCE) contributed more to this field, and is known as the father of logic.
Anaxagoras (500 – 428) presentes the idea of Nous as the cosmic mind, some attribute the phrase “God is One” to him.
The evolution of the idea of god continues with the other philosophers, Archelaus (5th century BCE) was a student of Anaxagoras, he a skeptic, and the teacher of Socrates. Socrates (470 – 399 BCE) was the teacher of Plato.
Interestingly, around that time Taoism (4th century BC) is known as a religion. Taoism has it’s own conception of the One God, though they avoid the word god, however philosophically, it is a search for the one Divine or Tao.
Apologists
Apologists of the Abrahamic religions sometimes accept that God could have revealed himself to humanity in different cultures. I can accept that humans across the planet shared information, or reached similar conclusions independently, or that they collectively evolved philosophically, even that the Divine One revealed himself to various cultures and civilizations across the planet. I accept all of these possibilities.
Unfortunately, the Judeo-christians claim ownership of the God and they assert that the Abrahamic God is the real and only one. Spme would say even pagans know God, because God revealed himself to them. Alternatively they call them heathens or demon followers. However, if you have heard of Christianity then their access to God is no longer effective, and now it is only available through the church, or Jesus.
The majority of Abrahamic religions make a point of rejecting this revelation of God found in other cultures ex. They would reject the Egyptian Akhenaten sun disk worship, reject the Zoroastrian God, reject the philosophical understanding and acceptance of Brahman and the Tao. They even reject the ideas presented by the Greek.
The Abrahanic apologists will also deny that they Incorporated concepts from the philosophy is on cultures mentioned above. They will also deny that Yahweh was evolved over time.
What the Greek philosophers have said about God matches a lot of the current christian ideas of God. Yet, apologists deny that Christianity was influenced by Greek philosophy.
In a sense, they only accept God the way they present him, presenting a sense of ownership, a sense of being the approved representatives, and a sense of “a one and only path” to access this Divine through their Church or their practices and beliefs, creed, traditions, etc..
I digress, back to the ancient lavant.
The Israelites did not exist in a vacuum, they interacted and debated and lived with nearby tribes and cultures. They were a part of the Canaanite culture before slowly separating themselves.
The above mentioned philosophers influenced the Israelites and all the tribes in the Lavant. The idea of deities and gods was undergoing an upgrade throughout the region.
Next we encounter the well-known philosopher, Plato (428 – 348 BC). He was a student of Socrates. Plato introduced the idea of a Demiurge, a divine craftsman of things, who changes Choas using Forms to create the universe.
Plato, in his work “Timaeus,” discussed the concept of a supreme, divine creator or Demiurge who shaped the cosmos. Aristotle also theorized about a “Prime Mover,” an unchanging being responsible for the motion in the universe.
We can see that Plato’s idea of the cosmos matches closely to what the Judeo-Christian cosmology became.
While the Greek philosophical ideas hinted at a singular supreme being, they didn’t necessarily establish a full-fledged monotheistic belief system. Instead, these concepts were largely philosophical. Some of these philosophers who rejected polytheism were considered Atheists at the time and persecuted. Additionally, some of the Greeks had knowledge of the monotheism of Zoroaster, these ideas were floating around among the philosophers..
Moving to the 3rd century BCE, we find an important name, Demetrius Phalerium, (350 BC–280 BC) an Athenian statesman and philosopher, a student of Theophrastus. He worked with Alexander the Great. Demetrius created the Pentateuch.
The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Traditionally ascribed to Moses, though it is impossible to prove that and most do not consider Moses to be the author..
Demetrius put together the Pentateuch after traveling and meeting with Brahmins (Indian sages) and Magi (Zoroastrian priests) while living among the Chaldeans in Babylon and while he had access to thousands of books from many civilizations that were being brought together to the Library of Alexandria. These are well known facts among scholars.
Until the Pentateuch, many if not most Jewish communities were still Polytheistic. This is a fact known by most scholars.
Quickly after the creation of the Pentateuch, it was translated into Greek, and named the Septuagint. This translation occurred over a period of time, primarily in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The name “Septuagint” refers to the seventy or seventy-two Jewish scholars (traditionally, six from each of the twelve tribes of Israel) who were said to have translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt. This translation was ordered by Ptolemy II Philadelphus around 270-250 BCE, as part of his extensive library collection in Alexandria.
The Library of Alexandria played a significant role in the creation of the Pentateuch and the Septuagint. Ptolemy II was known for his interest in collecting texts from different cultures and languages, and the library was a hub for scholars, intellectuals, and translators. The Septuagint was one of the many works translated and preserved in the library, contributing to its status as a center for knowledge and learning in the ancient world.
Religious apologists like to attribute the first five books of the Bible, known as the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, to Moses himself. However, the authorship of these books has been a subject of much debate among scholars.
The prevailing academic view is that these books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, are the result of a compilation of various sources and were likely composed by multiple authors or groups over an extended period of time. This is known as the Documentary Hypothesis, which suggests that multiple authors or groups (“J,” “E,” “P,” and “D”) contributed to these texts. The Documentary Hypothesis has serious drawbacks. Find more on this below under the Additional Resources section. There are other theories and hypotheses among scholars besides the Documentary Hypothesis. None of them presume that Abraham wrote these books.
Apologists will argue that some of the information found in these books is geographically or historically correct. It is important to be aware that the presence of some accurate, geographically or historically correct information in any book does not imply that all the stories and details found in that book are. Borrowing and adapting stories to each new religion or tribe was a common occurrence, it can also enable someone to use existing knowledge to write a new (‘historical’) narrative writing (as if recounting) stories from the past.
The fact that a Greek translation was undertaken in order to create the Septuagint implied the existence of these texts in Hebrew before their translation. However, the actual dating of the original Hebrew texts is not explicitly stated in the Septuagint or anywhere. They may have been authored immediately before their translation, not centuries before, as the texts claim about their own origin.
Understanding the authorship of these books is a fascinating area of study among scholars. I have shared some interesting YouTube videos you could watch and from there continue your research in this area.
The books of Moses could have actually been authored at the time of the Library of Alexandria and Ptolemy II and by borrowing from existing sources pieced together the, today, well-known stories of Moses. It is impossible to know the date of authorship definitely, but it is safe to assume that they were not written at the time of the myth of Moses.
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Furthermore, some linguistic analysis suggests that certain linguistic features found in the Books of Moses could align with a later date, pointing to developments in the Hebrew language that occurred after the traditional dating of these texts.
The Documentary Hypothesis has troubling problems, ex. written at the same time, not separated by centuries, rather written by separate groups of authors present in Alexandria around 270 BC and they had their own voices. This is Russell Gmirkin’s adaptation of the Documentary Hypothesis . 4 sources one used Yahwe, another sources used elohim
4 different voices and different agendas
The DH presumes or proposes they were separated by centuries as the books of moses were evolving.
Yes, distinct voices yes different groups of authors, but there is no evidence for their separation by centuries
Many problems, In some parts E uses J, in other parts J uses E, in other divided into 2 different sources like the Joseph stry if u divide it neither story makes any sense,
J and E authors together in the same room, in Alexandria. And J and P. I fthey were all talking to each other. Duetornonmy says theres only 1 temple. Preconception. Legal, folklore, privmite and advanced and imagination.
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Today and yesterday
Today, most do not know who the God of the Bible used to be.
When individuals accept (based on faith) the official story preached by the Abrahamic religions and their claims about God, they don’t take into consideration, or are unaware of, all of the above.
Today, the Abrahamic religions (and others) like to claim ownership of the path or knowledge of God, or claim they have always been monotheistic and known the True God, and for you to know this God you need their guidance.
They also claim that God talked or revealed himself to them, and delivered his guidance to humans to them, thus expecting you to obey the rules.
Ancient philosophers used an approach called “by negation” to help understand God. They agreed that God is larger than a human, and that God is difficult to describe. The philosophers from Indian to Greek resorted to finding God by explaining away all that which could be explained away. Learn more on what they found in this document: Finding god by denying yourself: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BkPew4DDzPwcOJM2vPW7sq4xP2RUxOy6EmW-Art_160/edit?usp=sharing
Conclusion
When an Abrahamic religion follower tells you that you are an Atheist for not believing in their religion, you can educate them. Their own religion changed their local God to match the idea of a One God.
The idea existed outside of their religion, predated their religion, and they took it on, thus the Abrahamic religions upgraded their God, and they do not own the concept of a One omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, timeless, infinite, the beginning and the end, and source of all God.
You do not require faith in the church, faith in books, saints, or any holy living traditions in order to know God. You do not need to follow man, books, religious apologists, etc. You don’t even need the names mentioned here.
God is larger than any religion and any human conception. God is not the property of the Abrahamic religions.
Please scroll below for a LOT more of interesting information, such as intriguing similarities between the story of Abraham and the Hindu concept of a Brahman. Look for “was Abraham a Brahman?” and look for the timeline that places the above mentioned names in chronological order to help put history into perspective.