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Sashalee
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| Joined: | Wed Mar 21st, 2007 |
| Location: | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Posts: | 9 |
| First Name: | Sashalee | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Wed Aug 8th, 2007 02:53 pm |
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What religions existed before God called Abraham and why were they not athentic in God's eyes can you name them where they were established
Sashalee
Last edited on Wed Aug 8th, 2007 02:53 pm by Sashalee
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Sashalee
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japhy
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| Joined: | Thu Apr 26th, 2007 |
| Location: | Princeton, New Jersey USA |
| Posts: | 179 |
| First Name: | Jeff / japhy | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | (Roman) Catholic |
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Posted: Wed Aug 8th, 2007 04:19 pm |
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Well, Scripture doesn't really answer that, although it's clear from Joshua 24:2-3 that Abraham came from a family of idol-worshippers. I would venture so far as to say that true worship of God -- of Yahweh, the one true God -- was lost almost entirely somewhere between the time of Noah and that of Abraham. I say "almost" because Melchizedek was identified as "a priest of God Most High" (Genesis 14:18ff). But I do not think Abraham knew of this God Who came to him, because God did not introduce Himself in reference to those who believed in Him.
Compare God's "introduction" to Abraham (cf. Genesis 12) to His "introductions" to Isaac (cf. Genesis 26:24), Jacob (cf. Genesis 28:13), and Moses (cf. Exodus 3:6). To the descendants of Abraham, God introduced Himself in reference to their forefathers (e.g. "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob"); but He does not say to Abraham, "I am the God of Adam, the God of Seth, the God of Noah".
As for why the existing religions were not pleasing to God, I would generalize that they did not recognize the actual God. Paul writes about false religions in general in the opening of his letter to the Romans (1:20-25):Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
These early religions recognized the splendor of creation but failed to acknowledge the true Creator.
A historian could probably give you a much more accurate answer as to what the actual individual religions were during the time of Abraham, but I cannot; I'd guess the Sumerians and the Babylonians were established by then, but that's not saying much.
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[Mary said,] "Do whatever he tells you." - John 2:5
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Racaela Fultz
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| Joined: | Sat Aug 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | Indiana USA |
| Posts: | 146 |
| First Name: | Racaela | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Nondenominational, will be Catholic Advent 2007 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 10th, 2007 03:30 pm |
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Attack of the History Major! Yeah, that's me.
Okay, let's see. Abraham was from Mesopotamia (he used to live in Ur). Another contemporary culture was Egypt, and Abraham visited there several times. So, let's see.
The Mesopotamians had many, many Gods. The Epic of Gilgamesh includes some of them and their natures. They had Gods like Ishtar, Anu, Enlil, and Enki. These gods each had specific rhelms - the god of love, the god of the sky, etc. Mesopotamians had priests to the gods, and each city had its own specific god which was sort of its patron. These gods, though, in the stories, were capricious, childlike, and unloving.
The Egyptians also had many gods, including Ra and Aten and Osirus. Once again, each god had a story and a specific rhelm - there was a god of the night, a god of childbirth, and so on. They also had priests and temples and a complicated mythology and religious practices.
Why weren't these legitimate? Because these people worshiped many gods, not the One True God. They worshiped the creature (these gods were often in the form of animals) instead of the creator. These gods were made up, and often demanded things such as child sacrifice. I have been told that these gods were actually demons.
However, I'd like to add something else. I don't think that these people necessarily went to hell. See, in CS Lewis's Last Battle, when the Narnians arrive in "heaven" they see one of the Calormens, Emeth, a man who spent is life workshiping the demon-god Tash, there as well. Why is he there, the Narnians wonder in shock!
Aslan, the good Narnian God, goes to him and tells him that because he was serving Tash, the only god he knew, from true devotion and a pure heart, honestly seeking god and what was right, he was actually serving Aslan the entire time, not Tash at all, and is therefore in heaven. I tend to adhere to this view, spefically for those who haven't had any chance to hear the truth.
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"To be deep in history is to cease to be protestant" - Cardinal Newman
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