Evolution Of Religion: Conflict Between Islam And Western Civilization

To begin with the Mesopotamians believed in the gods and goddesses. They would praise them for a significant reason either if its water, nature, wind, sun, etc. and each god has their own specific powers. To please the gods they will have to sacrifice one for a specific desire or necessity. In The Epic of Gilgamesh it is said that gods feast and love the smell of burnt human flesh; “When the gods smelled the sweet savor, they gathered like flies over the sacrifice” . The relationships that Mesopotamians have with their gods is cruel, they please the gods with sacrifices. This is what they believed was necessary to have a peaceful life with no catastrophic chaos. The Mesopotamians wanted harmony with their gods so they don’t die. Mesopotamians did not only believe in one god but many gods so they would worship the gods for specific needs. They also viewed the gods as the highest level class, in other words

Life and human fortune was very instable in Mesopotamians’ eyes. People just observed death and afterlife from a distance and some made them into a series of myths. For instance, “The Epic of Gilgamesh” expresses its idea on eventual death. No matter how hard Gilgamesh tries to lengthen his life, his death is predestined. The Mesopotamians viewed afterlife as an inevitable end.

There were many ways that the Ancient Egyptian society and the Mesopotamian society were similar yet at the same time they were very different. Egyptians and Sumerians agreed on religion in a sense that both cultures were polytheistic. However, the relationships between the gods and goddesses were different between the Sumerians and Egyptians. This essay will discuss those differences in culture, religion and the viewpoints on death and afterlife.

Ancient Egyptians were different from the Mesopotamians in their beliefs of the afterlife because Egyptians saw the afterlife

Most societies that developed in ancient civilizations were centered around their belief systems. The Egyptians and the Mesopotamians were no different in this sense. Both civilizations were polytheistic and built elaborate temples to praise their gods. Additionally, the leaders in both regions were believed to be related to the gods because of the great power they held and the wealth under their control. However, the Mesopotamians had a pessimistic outlook on life because of the unpredictability of their environment. The Egyptians, on the other hand, had an optimistic outlook because the Nile River inundated their region regularly, which could be predicted by the stars. The similarities and differences in the religions of these two

The Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion and society were similar, but their government system was different. The religions in Egypt and Mesopotamia were similar because both were polytheistic, had beliefs of an afterlife, as well as priests who were part of the upper levels of the social hierarchy. Social similarities between Egypt and Mesopotamia included: rigid social structure, dependence on slavery, and authoritative religious structure. However, the system of government was different because Egyptian society was governed by a theocratic monarchy, while Mesopotamia was ruled by a traditional monarchy.

For the Mesopotamians view of the afterlife was not always a good thing. Mesopotamians did not live a long life they would die at a young age due to the sickness that thee had back then. Mesopotamia is a place that the Mesopotamians believed to be between two rivers. Mesopotamia first got started through a poems and myths that the ancestors told. They also believed that everything has a personality. The Mesopotamians believed that the afterlife death was a descent of the underworld believed to be ruled by the god Nergal. They lived bad lives and their idea about the afterlife resemble the hardness that they will have to face during their present life. They will ¨wasted no times¨ preparing for the afterlife. This is what usually happens to

Even though they believed in an afterlife, the thought of it was not pleasant. The people of Mesopotamia lived very difficult lives and when one was deceased it was more of a reminder of how hard life was. “Likewise, the dead could rise up and torment the living if not given a proper burial, so the bodies of enemies were buried in a manner such as to prevent this from happening.” (4) Unlike where we burry the deceased today, some of the Mesopotamian children were found buried in various places such as under the floors in houses and even in cooking

Religious behaviors developed to what they are today beginning in the pre-historic times of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and the Neolithic. There is evidence of these behaviors in the archaeological artifacts as well as mythological evidence. Religious behaviors evolved as humans evolved.

Most of the human ‘Homo sapiens’ is born into a religion. That religion could be Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian or Atheism, etc, a set of beliefs which someone inherits from his family, and till the death, that man will likely stay with his or her religion because almost every human has tendency to be religious. On the other hand, the reality of the religion does not matter to him unless someone conducts any investigation to get to the religious truth. In the essay ‘Homo religiosus,’ Karen Armstrong says that, today’s religious followers accept the religion into which they were born, without doing the hard work required. This means that someone follows his ancestor’s religion from the beginning for his life and he or she is not able to prove his ancestors were wrong because he or she has faith in his own religion. Faith is the main concept of the religion because people have deep faith in their own religion. In addition, faith is nothing but mere fantasy and faith has no basis in reality. Therefore, people have no ability to conduct investigations to find out the religious truth. In addition, elements and places of religion vary from religion to religion. Religion is one of the most prehistoric institutions which have been noticed to practice in any society past and present even in the ancient world where cave paintings were popular. Institutions, like politics and entertainments, have been greatly influenced by the religious faith. The truth of religion might give

The first category of culture is religion. There were several similarities between the Mesopotamians and Egyptians. The Mesopotamians and Egyptians had their own religion and beliefs. Both were polytheistic, meaning they believed in numerous gods or goddesses instead of one god or goddess. There were also several differences between the Mesopotamian and Egyptians. While the Mesopotamians and Egyptians worshiped thousands of deities, there were four main essential deities for the Mesopotamians: An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga. An was the god of heaven. Enlil was the god of wind and became the power of energy, force, and authority on the earth. Enki was the god of

Religions played an important role in both Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. It allowed people to worship Gods who they believed to ensure good lives. However, both civilizations did not use judge morality. Sumerians believed that Gods give them good living condition rather than judge it. Sumerian religion was created from myths and ritual prayers. Sumerians were “literal servants” and obey to the Gods. They offered prayers, gifts to the gods and Gods blessed people with good condition. Gods of Sumerians were Heaven creating of day and night, The Great Above making up of the space between the sky and the earth, and The Great Below where people go after death. Like Sumerian, Egypt religion was also created from myths along with traditions.

The physical environments of Egypt and Mesopotamia do explain their cultural differences. Egyptians had natural barriers and fertile, predictable land, while Mesopotamians had unpredictable land and no protection from invaders. These key differences are the basis of the cultural differences between the two regions, and explain different parts of their culture, such as their outlook on life/afterlife and their rulers.

Religion was practiced throughout Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both the Mesopotamians and Egyptians shared polytheistic beliefs. Each god was responsible for an action, but they did not consider the gods to be equal in Mesopotamian society, in order to please the gods, a sacrifice must be made to please them in order to avoid the god’s wrath. The separation of church and state did not exist in both ancient civilizations, pharaohs of Egyptian society was known to be a god on Earth, the incarnation of Horus, the falcon god. The Mesopotamian rulers were known as a representative to the gods. Although they worship to several different gods, they do have differences between the two. The idea of an afterlife, In Mesopotamia didn’t exist but for the Egyptians the idea of an afterlife was of significant importance to them, rituals were held to ensure that the body and soul would be ready for an eternal life after death. The writing systems of both the Mesopotamians and the Egyptians have many similarities. Pictographic writing, which was developed by the

I believe that religion and evolution can co-exist. In the past, some of the most influential people that contributed to science like Albert Einstein and Galileo Galilei believed in the possibility of a high universal power and still pursued a career that may have contradicted religion. Although many may disagree with this statement, I can personally can say I grew up in a Catholic household yet I am still able to believe in evolution. Religious doctrines focus on moral principles while science based theories like evolution focus on facts. Although theories like evolution contradict literal interpretations of the Bible, over time I have learned that scriptures like these are not meant to be taken literally but allegorically. For example, the