本帖最后由 费事傾 于 2013-11-30 11:42 编辑
Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and East Semitic Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Chaldean peoples living in Mesopotamia (approximately the area of modern Iraq and north east Syria) that dominated the region for a period of 4,200 years from the fourth millennium BCE throughout Mesopotamia to approximately the 10th century CE in Assyria.[1]
Polytheism was the only religion in ancient Mesopotamia for thousands of years before entering a period of gradual decline beginning in the 1st century CE. This decline happened in the face of the introduction of native Eastern Rite forms of Christianity, as well as Manicheanism and Gnosticism, and continued for approximately three to four centuries, until most of the original religious traditions of the area died out, with the final traces existing among some Assyrian communities until the 10th century CE.[1]
As with most dead religions, many aspects of the common practices and intricacies of the doctrine have been lost and forgotten over time. Fortunately, much of the information and knowledge has survived, and great work has been done by historians and scientists, with the help of religious scholars and translators, to re-construct a working knowledge of the religious history, customs, and the role these beliefs played in everyday life in Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia during this time. Mesopotamian religion is thought to have been a major influence on subsequent religions throughout the world, including Canaanite, Aramean, ancient Greek, and Phoenician religions, and also monotheistic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
It is known that the god Ashur was still worshipped in Assyria as late as the 4th century CE and it is rumoured that Ashurism was still practiced by tiny indigenous Assyrian minorities in northern Assyria (around Harran) until the 10th century CE.
Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, worshipping over 2,100 different deities,[2] many of which were associated with a specific city or state within Mesopotamia such as Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Assur, Nineveh, Ur, Uruk, Mari and Babylon. Some of the most significant of these deities were Anu, Ea, Enlil, Ishtar (Astarte), Ashur, Shamash, Shulmanu, Tammuz, Adad/Hadad, Sin (Nanna), Dagan, Ninurta, Nisroch, Nergal, Tiamat, Bel and Marduk.
Some historians, such as Jean Bottéro, have made the claim that Mesopotamian religion is the world's oldest religion,[3] although there are several other claims to that title. However, as writing was invented in Mesopotamia it is certainly the oldest in written history. What we know about Mesopotamian religion comes from archaeological evidence uncovered in the region, particularly literary sources, which are usually written in cuneiform on clay tablets and which describe both mythology and cultic practices. Other artifacts can also be useful when reconstructing Mesopotamian religion. As is common with most ancient civilizations, the objects made of the most durable and precious materials, and thus more likely to survive, were associated with religious beliefs and practices. This has prompted one scholar to make the claim that the Mesopotamians' "entire existence was infused by their religiosity, just about everything they have passed on to us can be used as a source of knowledge about their religion. "[4]
Although it mostly died out 1,600 to 1,700 years ago, Mesopotamian religion has still had an influence on the modern world, predominantly because Biblical mythology that is today found in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Mandeanism shares some overlapping consistency with ancient Mesopotamian myths, in particular the Creation Myth, the Garden of Eden, The Great Flood, Tower of Babel and figures such as Nimrod and Lilith (the Assyrian Lilitu). In addition the story of Moses' origins shares a similarity with that of Sargon of Akkad, and the Ten Commandments mirror Assyrian-Babylonian legal codes to some degree. It has also inspired various contemporary neopagan groups to begin worshipping the Mesopotamian deities once more, albeit in a way often different from that of the Mesopotamian people.
上列文章是从維基百科抄下來的, 最後一段說明, 猶太人的創世記是抄襲美索不达米亞的神話。
美索不达米亞人信奉多神, 而以色列人信奉一神, 竟然抄襲多神教的神話, 一不小心, 就會自打嘴巴。以色列人口口声声說耶和華是獨一無二的真神, 但看看創世記:
Gen 1:26 神說、我們要照著我們的形像、按著我們的樣式造人、使他們管理海裡的魚、空中的鳥、地上的牲畜、和全地、並地上所爬的一切昆蟲。
神只有一位, 就是耶和華, 何來 “我們”?
这節經文跟一神信仰有矛盾, 要修改。改不得, 圣經是神的話語, 一字不能改, 咋办?
神話是可以天馬行空的。耶和華是獨一無二的真神, 卻有三个 “位格”, 可以一分為三, 又可以三合一, 所以, 創世記的 “我們”, 是指圣父, 圣子, 圣灵, 三位一体。
哈! 咁都得? 為什麼不得? 齊天大圣只有一个, 卻可以拔出一撮毛,變成一群, 於是一声号令, “我們”一起打妖精。这样一來, 一个齊天大圣都可以說”我們”了。
正是信不信由你, 信者得救, 不信就要下地獄, 你敢不信? |