The Egyptian Religion

This myth, although mostly incomplete, was central to the Egyptian religion. It explained the importance of the Pharaoh, Ma’at, and establishes the Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife and magic. Egyptian mythology evolved and grew, like many other mythologies in other civilizations. The mythology, like every religion, was important to the Egyptian way of life. It was a guide that explained how to live their lives and to survive their death.

In conclusion, Ancient Egypt has a very complex religion and beliefs that would be considered bizarre in many parts of the world. They believed in many gods, some took part in the creation of the universe. Others brought the flood every year, offered protection and took care of people after they died. The ancient Egyptians thought that it was important to recognize and worship the gods because they represented the peace and harmony across the land. BIBLIOGRAPHY “Egypt.” Encyclopeadia Brittanica: Macropedia.

There were few things to impress themselves upon the Egyptian mind; their psychological impact however was immense. There was the Nile itself, source of all life, there was the mysterious regularity of the Sun, Moon and stars; there was fertility and death. It was out of fear and mystery of these things that "...the Egyptians made their complex heirachy of Gods, and their strange religion. In the service of that religion they made their architecture" (Romer: 75,1982). Thus, the art and architecture of Ancient Egypt stemmed directly from their religion.

It is believed, Atum represents the hills left behind by the Nile River after its annual flood, which the Egyptians also used to grow their cro... ... middle of paper ... ...raoh of Egypt making their rules ligament. The Pharaohs embodied Horus in this life and Osiris in the afterlife, which gained many of the kings love and respect from their people; and also established the law that no one can seize the throne through murder. The origin story and myth of Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nepthys established the rule of the king and laws that the Egyptians followed. The sun was one of the most important things to the Egyptians, because they knew they need the sun for their crops to grow and without they would not be able to survive. From this the sun became their most important god Ra; he became their chief god and was the center of their culture.

The last verse in Judges reads, “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what right in their own eyes” (21:25), this conclusion is perfect for a book whose entire writings describe a time of such turmoil. The most prevalent form of worship throughout the book of Judges is idolatry. This is one of the sins of the covenant but the people of Israel for some reason cannot abandon this tradition among themselves. Idolatry is the worship of an idol, statue, or some other god or gods. The most popular among the people of Israel were Baal and Astartes.

The people of Ancient Egypt believed that the Pharaoh was a god, plus their ruler. Many Pharaohs built large temples to honor their gods. The temples would have large statues and a place to worship. The Ancient Egyptians participated in religious rituals so that the gods could make them live happy lives and give them plenty of food. Only priests could enter the sacred buildings.

The funeral rites with their meaning were described in a series of sacred text known collectively as the Book of The Dead (Cunningham). Osiris was the god who presided over the ceremonies (Cunningham). The Egyptians further conjectured that the deceased would go before the god Anibus, and if they passed a series of sacred test they would eventually move on to live with the gods for all eternity (Hieronimus).

Ancient Mesopotamia Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates was home to the ancient civilizations of Sumer, Babylon, and Akkad. The Mesopotamian people were predominantly of polytheistic faith; the social construct of gods allowed them to develop meaning and order in their lives. Every aspect of life was dominated by the belief that submitting to the worship of gods would shield them from divine wrath. Cities were endowed with patron gods that were guardians and the duty of the ruler was to act upon their behalf. Ziggurats were built to honor the holiness of the gods and to appease them in hopes of attaining their blessings.

Sacrifice was believed to encourage fertility, demonstrate devotion and appease the gods. “The Mayan gods were thought to be nourished by human blood, and ritual bloodletting was seen as the only means of making contact with them.”1 Mayans believed that if they did not follow these rituals then cosmic disorder and commission would be a result. Bahá 'í Faith was founded by Bahá’u 'lláh, in 1863, in Tehran, Iran. Bahá 'í Faith is Monotheistic believing in only one god, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There is three core principles that establish this religions teaching and doctrines this includes the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of humanity.

The afterlife was an essential part of the Egyptian society, and embalming a dead body was a great, ceremonious task that citizens went through. The embalming process was designed to assist the dead in navigating the afterlife and finding peace. There was even a process called the “opening of the mouth”, that allowed the dead to speak and retain their bodily functions. The gods were the rulers of space and time, and the Pharaoh was believed to be a higher human himself. It was he (or she, in some cases) that talked to the gods and bridged their otherworldly bodies to the common folk.