.
— Nasir Khan, December 27, 2015I assure the followers of one Supreme God who belong to different religions, both monotheistic (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and others (Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, etc.) that old gods and goddesses were not ‘real’. They were only man-made and existed in the imagination of their believers. However, it is important to point out that for their believers they were ‘real’ and they worshipped them in earnest.
As luck would have it, Jews found one god, Yahweh, who became common in the Middle East under different names. This happened at a certain stage in history and the evolution of divergent theologies finally culminated in the concept of one God. Consequently, one universal and omnipotent God replaced the old tribal gods.
In this context, we should not forget the role of the Egyptian emperor Akhenaten (c. 1351 BC – c. 1336 BC) who also introduced one god in his realm. But he met much opposition from the powerful priests and the followers of traditional gods. After his death the old gods were reinstated and the memory of the ‘heretic’ emperor and his one god banished.
——————
Courtesy: Mark Stephens
The three daughters of the Semitic god, Hubal. From left to right: Al-Uzza, Al-Lat and Menat formed a holy trinity in Ancient Arabia. They were widely worshipped: from Nabatean Petra in the North to the legendary Kingdoms of Arabia Felix in the South, including Saba, the Biblical Sheba; as far east as Mesopotamia and Persia.
No comments:
Post a Comment