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Monotheism Vs Polytheism Essay

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Before going into the rise of monotheism it is important to understand polytheism. Not in the standard dictionary sense, but in the context of the time. Our meaning of religion today compared to the meaning of religion back then are two totally different things. This same conclusion was made when famed egyptologist Jan Assmann while recalling writing a book about the religious practices of ancient Egypt,” … I consciously avoided using the term “religion” because I felt very strongly that there was a major difference between the term “religion” as it was understood in the Western tradition, with all of its biblical implications, and I was about to describe with regard to the ancient Egyptian world.” ( Assmann, Jan. Of Gods and Gods: Egypt, Israel, and the Rise of Monotheism. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2008., 10). Because in ancient times the way the gods were worshiped was more in style of a cult than how we think of a religion. So comparing monotheistic practices to polytheistic practices would distort the whole meaning of …show more content…

In Egypt the law was not a sacred institution nor was it a medium to satisfy the gods. It was more along the lines of communicating with the gods instead. The way to live our life in favor of the gods wasn’t by helping the world i.e. saving orphans and rescuing the poor, but by giving sacrifices and praying to the gods. The relationship between the gods and mortals in ancient Egypt was cold. Because of this the gods didn’t play a role in political aspect of egyptian society. Now talking about the Fertile Crescent, the gods played a huge role in the political world. Since they were higher beings and did many things for the people why not having them involved in the dealings of the people. Gods would be called upon in Mesopotamia to have treaties and laws backed up. Sort of like a godly gold

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