There have been many religions throughout the thousands of years of world history. The three most prominent religions are Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. They are similar in the fact that each religion views Abraham/Ibrahim as the father of their faith. They all proclaim that there is a Heaven and Hell, Judgement Day, and each has a divine prophet who has delivered God’s message to mankind.
Other well-known religions are Hinduism are Buddhism, although many claim that Buddhism is not a religion. These religions or faiths are more mystical, and soul/spirit focused as opposed to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Hinduism and Buddhism both teach how human beings can become more than human, super-human, or divine spirits.
The following is the chronological order of the appearance of each spiritual teaching:
The world’s first and oldest spiritual writings are on the walls of the tomb of King Unas, dating back to around 2500 BCE though many Egyptologists concede that these scriptures are much older. The writings of these ancient scriptures taught that Man is on a spiritual journey and has the potential to become a divine being capable of God-like abilities.
Around 2000 BCE “The Book of Knowing the Transformations of Ra and Overthrowing Evil” is written. It is the first spiritual written account of Creation. Over 85 percent of the written Egyptian scriptures were destroyed by the invaders/conquerors of Egypt over the pass millennia. The hieroglyphs on Egyptian tombs and temples are spiritual in nature; and have given us a better, though not complete, understanding of their religion.
Approximately 1700 years later, 600-300 BCE, the writing of the Hebrew Bible Text began. These texts were compiled from long oral tradition, centuries after their actual occurrence. The priests and other writers of the Hebrew Text made their own contributions to them and altered portions to fit their current standard of morality. This accounts for the many contradictions in the dates and ages written in the Hebrew Bible text. Many believe that the Hebrew Bible is part history and part fiction due to political and religious differences during those times.
Also, around 600-300 BCE, appeared the Rig Veda. It is the oldest Hindu scripture written down. The Rig Veda was also derived from long oral tradition as well. The writings of Rig Veda inspired the writing of the Bhagavad Gita, it is the most celebrated text of Hindu spirituality. The Bhagavad Gita focuses on the pathways to wisdom, to one understanding the “Self”. It teaches a scientific method as to how one can become enlighten to the reality of existence and of one’s true Self.
The next spiritual writings appeared at approximately 6 BCE. At this time Buddhism and Confucianism scriptures came into being. Its teachings are that the Self in Man is the same Self in God. It teaches that one must live a moral life to achieve freedom and salvation. It is remarkably like the Egyptian spiritual writings in that Man has a higher Self that can only be realized through spiritual cultivation.
From 33 CE to 325 CE Christianity begins with the formation of the Christian Bible, which occurs after the death of Jesus. Their belief is that Jesus Christ is the “Son of God” and was sent to teach man the way to salvation. There are different Christian denominations, and each has a different number of books that make up their bible. E.g., there are 66 books in the Protestant Bibles: 73 books in the Catholic Bible and 83 books in the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible.
Many other books existed but were not chosen to be included in the canon, such as, the “Book of Mary”, the Book of Thomas, the writings of the Gnostic’s Christian’s, and many other spiritual views of that time. These books were said to contain information about man’s divinity and how to achieve it, which is somewhat contrary to popular Christian doctrine which states that man is weak, and imperfect and only through Jesus can he/she be saved and allowed to enter Heaven.
In 7 A.D. came the establishment of Islam and the Quran. These teaching were taught by the Prophet Muhammad. The Islamic religion does not deny the other prophets, they proclaim that the Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet that God will send before the end of days. They believe that Jesus was a Prophet, but not the “Son of God”. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism teach that Abraham/Ibrahim is the father of their religion. Their scriptures state that God spoke directly to Abraham, Moses, Muhammad, and Jesus and made a covenant with each of them and their descendants.
Religion is an extremely complicated issue because most human beings have a need or desire to connect to God, their creator. They need to understand their purpose in life, they need to know why they were created, and what comes after death? However, with so many spiritual scriptures, doctrines, and belief systems, most of us aren’t convinced that we have a connection to our creator, which is why so many people suffer spiritually and psychologically. I’m confident that by continuing to access this site and the information that’s in it, you will find answers to the many mysteries of life.
