Have you ever wondered or seen a list of the oldest religions in the world? Well, if you haven’t, you will be surprised that the list is not uniform, and the order of listings changes with every blog site you visit. However, Hinduism stays top, but there is no mention of the gods of Olympia, or those of Egypt. Which, should be listed, as they were active when Hinduism first came on the scene some 5,000 years ago. Nor is Göbekli Tepe a temple rediscovered in Turkey. Located in the Germuş mountains of south-eastern Anatolia, this site presents monumental round-oval and rectangular megalithic structures erected by hunter-gatherers in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic age between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE. These monuments were probably used in connection with rituals, most likely of a funerary nature. Distinctive T-shaped pillars are carved with images of wild animals, providing insight into the way of life and beliefs of people living in Upper Mesopotamia about 11,500 years ago. What is more, Göbekli Tepe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Surprisingly, it is less than thirty -years since it was rediscovered in south-east Turkey, some 58 km due north of the Tell Abyad, Syrian/Turkey border crossing.
Religions and their age.
1. Hinduism (Circa 7,000 BCE)
2. Judaism (Circa 2,000 BCE)
3. Zoroastrianism (Circa 1,500 BCE)
4. Shinto (Circa 700 BCE)
5. Buddhism (Circa 600 BCE)
6. Jainism (Circa 600 BCE)
7. Confucianism (Circa 600 BCE)
8. Taoism (Circa 500 BCE)
Source: https://www.oldest.org/religion/religions/
From the above list, when should we date religions as they have changed over a period of time, and are not the same as the original religion when it first emerged. In the above list we find Judaism as number two, however; on other sites Judaism is listed as third or fourth, as I have said, it depends on which site you visit. For research purposes, they are useless as they are non-standard. I take Judaism to show the difference the religion has changed over-time.
Judaism, this site claims it goes back to 2,000 BCE, which is not the Judaism of today. Back then, Judaism was a polytheist religion. Arguably the most important of these gods was Ba’al (“master”), who is mentioned 90 times in the Bible. Ba’al was an honorific title for the god Hadad, in much the same way that “Adonai” (“my master”) is an honorific title for Yahweh.
We see Judaism as we see it today, originating from the 5th or even from the 4th-century BCE, but not before the return from Babylonian exile. From the above list, I say that Judaism should be ranked with Taoism. This would also affect all the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity, which has taken the Hebrew Old Testament as its own. So Judaism, as we know it today, should not be dated before the 5th-century BCE. Or should it be classed, even when it was in the throes of paganism, without a monotheist God? Christians will inevitably choose 2,000 BCE, for the birth of Judaism. Otherwise, everything they believe in from the messiah, king David, Jesus’ genealogies, Joseph, and Mary’s travels to Bethlehem to pay Taxes, the flight to Egypt, etc., will cause their religion to be null and void. What do you say?
Jeanne, J.E. pp. Jero Jones.
R&I ~ MJM
Jero Jones
Article URL : https://breakingnewsandreligion.online/discuss/