If there is one thing that I learned in Egypt, it was that even the Egyptian court of gods began monotheistic with Amon, curiously the “hidden†one, a primordial creation-deity, but with pluralistic “theology†come mythology. It was pre-dynastic Egypt that formulated the first ideas and beliefs of a divine being, which was expressed in pictures. Some scholars suggest that hieroglyphics were invented in order to communicate spiritual thoughts to the masses, our Egyptologist Tarek Amer suggested that the Hieroglyphics were a liturgical language which the priests read from the walls during the celebrations. Indeed, standing in those great temples, the latter seems a logical explanation.
Names in ancient Egypt were very mystic and powerful, which is something that Jewish tradition picked up. It was thought that if you knew a name you had power, or if you inscribed your enemies’ name on something, then broke it, that enemy would either be afflicted, or possibly die. In the same respect, using a name could be beneficial. The God of Moses doesn’t give him a name, which can be read as a refusal to be pliable. YHWH is more a mystical description which avoids what Moses is trying to achieve and turns the situation around.
Each Egyptian god had five names, and each was associated with an element, such as air, with celestial bodies, or were a descriptive statement about the god, such as strong, virile or majestic. It is a primitive way to associate principles of physical life, politics and social behaviour with religious rites and rituals. But it soon became a method of forcing people to bow down to political aspirations.
The ideas or principles behind the gods took on human traits. They lived, died, hunted, went into battle, gave birth, ate, drank, and had human emotions. Their reigns overlapped, and, in some instances, merged. Their was no organised hierarchal structure of their reign. The influence of the various gods depended on the beliefs of the reigning king, their area of dominance depended on where the king built his capital and, consequently, the myths changed with the location of the gods.
The creator of all things could either be Re, Amun, Ptah, Khnum or Aten, depending on which version of the myth was currently in use. Hathor, Bat, and Horus represented the heavens. Osiris was regarded as the dead king that watches over the nether world, rejuvenated in his son Horus and was worshipped at Abydos and Philae as the symbol of eternal life. Ptah coalesced with Sokaris and Osiris and was worshipped at Memphis. God of the annual flooding of the Nile was Hapi. God of storms, evil and confusion was Seth. His counterpart was Ma’at, who represented balance, justice and truth. The moon was Thoth or Khonsu. Re, the sun god, took on many forms, and transcended most of the borders that contained the other gods. The actual shape of the sun, the disk (or, aten), was deified into another god, Aten.
Jewish Monotheism seems to reject the idolatry that had people running from one god to the other, depending upon which King was in power. Perhaps it was born out of the notion that if there is a ruling force, then it is in no way comparable to human-beings. It is ascribed to Abram, who left his clan in Ur of the Chaldees and moved into the land of Canaan, that he was spoken to by the One God and followed him only.
I personally see this step as a liberation from the fears incurred by politically guided Religion – not that it remained that way, but it was a step away from the lightening argument – and also from the dualistic approach.
We may experience our world in a dualistic sense, and the contrasts or poles of existence such as light and dark, good and bad, male and female, winter and summer, spring and autumn, life and death, all contribute to such a view. But Monotheism breaks away, and Jewish Theism presents the view that all things are part of one creation – and good!
Shalom
Bob
evil did not start with a snake. it did not start with the creation of life by the hands of god. evil is what does not work for someone. it is of no use. it gets him nowhere. it slows him down. therefore it is avoided. soon to become what one would consider “beyond good and evil”. evil is in the eye of the believer. “do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” further readings of nietzsche would be advised.