11
votes
Accepted
What is the oldest known religious song/chant?
Religious song is likely as old as religion or song. The Standard of Ur dated to the 26th century BCE, shows someone playing a harp:
.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons, public domain, my highlighting).
...
- 1,613
7
votes
Does the Abrahamic God smite people with lightning?
Apparently, yes.
In the Bible there are several instances of fire raining down from the sky or "coming from the presence of" God and falling upon people. Some interpret these as lightning-strikes. ...
- 9,772
7
votes
Why are Gods in the Greek pantheon portrayed as performing unsavory & amoral acts?
One of the purposes, in regard to Greek mythology, is elevating human dignity, which leads to humanism.
In the Trojan war, the gods are portrayed as petty and squabbling, where Hector, in ...
- 14.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Are there any old religions/mythologies where people would get tattood to get closer to or for their god?
The Maori and their tattoos, the Ta Moko and Kiri Tuhi
I'll start by saying that the Ta Moko is well represented of course in the Maori folklore and traditions.
For the mythology:
The legend of ...
- 595
6
votes
Does the Abrahamic God smite people with lightning?
For this answer to work you will need the entire story of Job and his struggles, which is why I have included all of Job 1. I like it because it is the first poetic book in the Old Testament of the ...
- 4,051
6
votes
What do the abrahamic angels call God?
I fear behind this question lie the translation used... Angels do not overspeak, that said. There is reference of them here and there, but they keep their angelic mouth shut.
Genesis 3-23/24 in king ...
- 3,501
5
votes
Accepted
Why is easter called 'easter'?
"Ostern" the german word for Easter actually has the same etymology as the english term (citing the German wiki page):
"Das neuhochdeutsche Ostern und das englische Easter haben die gleiche
...
- 166
5
votes
Why is easter called 'easter'?
Many have said that it comes from the goddess Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. I had actually thought that Easter came directly from worship from her, because ...
- 373
5
votes
In Abrahamic religions, what is the origin of angels?
There is no specific myth of the origin of angels in mainstream Christianity or Judaism, but more apocryphal stuff abounds. The closest you'll get in the Bible proper is Psalm 148, where Yahweh ...
- 7,156
4
votes
Was the story of Adam and Eve influenced by Sumerian Ninti and Enki?
I find myself agreeing with Arthur George: The connection is indeed tenuous, as to Enki and Ninti being recast as Adam and Eve in the Bible, based on Professor Kramer's suggestion. I have written two ...
4
votes
Are angels ever depicted fighting in Abrahamic religious texts?
We know that they do, but we do not know how. Take a look here (Isaiah 37:36-38):
36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and
eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. ...
- 3,501
4
votes
Are there religions with no concept of afterlife?
Buddhism has the belief that nothing lasts forever and therefore basically doesn't believe at least in an eternal after life(which is what I believe you were implying).
A passage in the Nirvana ...
- 763
4
votes
If angels cannot reproduce, then why did God castrate the angel Samael?
The answer is given in the very quotation you cite: in that tale, angels can indeed procreate, and have "demonic offspring."
Tales frequently are inconsistent.
- 903
3
votes
Is there a god called Iob/Job/Yov?
A friend of mine wrote to me that this is probably a reference to "Jove" which is another name for the Roman god Jupiter.
- 1,327
3
votes
Was Eannatum, the real historical figure that was characterised as Adam, in the Garden of Eden narrative?
If there is a connection, and I cannot stress this if enough, all it would indicate is that yet another biblical myth is based on older stories. It certainly doesn't in any way "prove" that ...
- 5,354
3
votes
Accepted
Who came first, Egyptian pharoah Horus-Aha 3100bc, or, Horus the Deity?
Short answer: no, Hor-Aha did not pre-date the first mention of the deity Horus.
Long answer: Aha is according to Egyptology either:
The second Pharaoh of the first dynasty, or
Another name for Nemes,...
- 5,354
2
votes
Is there a god called Iob/Job/Yov?
According to Wikipedia, there was an Egyptian deity named Iabet, sometimes also known as Iab.
If this is what Rabbi Ashenburg is referring to, then perhaps the story was that prior to arriving in ...
- 942
2
votes
Is there a connection between Adam and Eve, and Ask and Embla?
I can't provide any sources, this is from memory. It seemed there may have been a war of beliefs going on, to have a greater foothold in Scandinavia. The creation story of Adam and Eve may have been ...
- 21
2
votes
Do humans become angels when they die?
As the above says, the Bible does not equate humans as angels in either the current or afterlife. In fact it says this of angels: “Therefore, angels are only servants--spirits sent to care for people ...
- 19
2
votes
Are there any established religions that explicitly support homosexuality?
In Greek Mythology, Zeus is said to have fallen in love with Ganymede, a kouros, per his beauty. Zeus abducts him to serve as his cup bearer in Olympus. The story has strong homosexual implications, ...
- 14.1k
2
votes
Accepted
Untangling Bahamut, Behemoth and Leviathan
Behemoth and Leviathan are both of Babylonian origin, where they are creatures of the primal Chaos, Behemoth of the Earth and male, Leviathan of the Ocean Deep and female.
Some historians claim ...
- 5,354
2
votes
How was hubris involved in the conversion of Lucifer into Satan?
The only canonical reference to Lucifer is:
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in ...
- 240
1
vote
What inspired the story of The Sinai Event and what other stories did it inspire?
The Ten Commandments contain little that was new to the ancient world and reflect a morality common to the ancient Middle East. In 1901 archeologists uncovered fragments of a copy of the Law Code of ...
- 5,354
1
vote
How was hubris involved in the conversion of Lucifer into Satan?
Among critical scholars, the Lucifer mentioned in Isaiah and Daniel is not considered the same as Satan.
Isaiah chapters 13-23 describes a series of “burdens” on various nations, e.g. Babylon, Tyre, ...
- 5,354
1
vote
Was the historical Hyksos account, the real story behind the biblical exodus narrative?
This question has already been addressed in the history stack exchange.
In short, the account of the expulsion of the Hyksos, which is in The Antiquities of the Jews (first mentioned in the 3rd ...
- 349
1
vote
Is there a complete list of Abrahamic texts?
Try Louis Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews. It is a pretty comprehensive collection of such texts. The first four volumes are available online here.
- 241
1
vote
Are there any established religions that explicitly support homosexuality?
Homosexuality was practiced by the ancient Greeks and Romans as well as ancient Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. Although condemned in the the Bible, the Old testament mentions that prostitutes ...
1
vote
Was the story of Adam and Eve influenced by Sumerian Ninti and Enki?
Sadly most of the recast here are based on somebody's wild theories without referring to the translation from the thousands of ancient tablets of sumerian, akkadian, assyrian and babylonian. Hebrew ...
- 19
1
vote
Are Noah and Ziusudra the same person?
You cannot deny the Hebrew-Sumerian connection, for example: in creation, both stories identify creation of modern man as the Adamu (derived from Adam); then, there was Abraham who was raised up from ...
- 19
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