History / ArchaeoHeritage - The Egyptian sun god and the Judeo-Christian tradition

An Egyptian pharaoh may have created the Judeo-Christian tradition. Akhenaton attempted a religious revolution in Egypt when he converted to monotheism and tried to take his kingdom along. The evidence to support this thesis is scarce. However, early Judaism does have ties to other Semitic religions and some pottery shards seem to indicate a connection with Akhenaton's favored god, Aten. 

Is the Judeo-Christian-Islamic god really the Egyptian sun god Aten? [Credit: fotopedia]

Akhenaton abandoned Egyptian polytheism in favor of the sun god Aten. Prior to Akhenaton’s reign, Aten was an obscure sun god that first appeared about five centuries before the pharaoh’s revolution. The pharaoh shifted funds away from other gods to Aten. Additionally, he disbanded religious organizations directed toward other gods. He began a colossal building program to promote Aten and moved the capital to escape the priest’s influence as well as break with the past. Priests panicked over the change fearing that angry gods would rein chaos upon Egypt and the universe might implode. Upon his death, the priests reasserted themselves and the Egyptian pantheon reemerged. 

Akhenaton died around 1334 B.C. and Judaism appears in the archaeological record a couple centuries later. There is very scant evidence for the religion prior to the 11th century B.C. However, it evolved out of ancient Semitic polytheistic religions. Somewhere along the line, the Jews abandoned polytheism and became monotheists. It is possible this split occurred at Akhenaton’s behest. 

The pharaoh began his big push in the fifth year of his reign. With little evidence for Judaism prior to the 11th century B.C., it is entirely possible that Akhenaton’s efforts trickled down to a small sect of Semites who became Judaism’s forefathers. Under this theory, the early Jews worshiped Aten the sun god, who eventually evolved into the Judeo-Christian and Islamic god. 

The evidence to support this theory is scant, but not non-existent. The major link between Atenism and Judaism comes from archeology. Researchers discovered some ancient Jewish pottery with symbols similar to Aten. This symbol may have represented the early Israelite kingdom. However, this is the only evidence to support Akhenaton as the founding father of the world’s three major religions. It will be difficult to find more direct evidence because of the great span of time and the Palestinians destroy Jewish artifacts hoping to de-legitimize modern Israel. Of course, if Allah were Aten, the Palestinians would want to destroy that evidence as well. 

Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton attempted to transform Egypt into a monotheistic society. He failed, but may have influenced a small number of Semitic subjects to adopt Aten as their one and only god. These people might have been the founders of Judaism. There is very little evidence to support this theory, but there is also little to refute it. Until more evidence is discovered one way or another, the true origins of the Judeo-Christian tradition will remain shrouded.　 

Author: Don Keko | Source: Examiner 


Provided by The Archaeology News Network