(November 29, 2021 at 8:15 pm)Oldandeasilyconfused Wrote: The great heretic of ancient Egyptian history Ahkenaten introduced monotheism to Egypt in the 14th century bce. This was in the form of the sun god, Aten. All of his works were destroyed by his son, Tutankhamun, and all of the old gods were restored. The Egyptian religion lasted for another 1000 years. The Torah was not written for at least 500 years after Ahkenaten.
Another interesting thing about Ahkenaten (Amenhotep IV) and his destruction of the other temples and seizure of their wealth is that he proclaimed only he could pray directly to Aten, leaving the populous to pray to him as an intermediary. Thus, we have not only the guide for shifting power from the clergy to a ruler but the prototype for praying to god in the name of an intermediary.
