(August 1, 2010 at 3:53 pm)Spencer Wrote:(August 1, 2010 at 2:12 pm)SleepingDemon Wrote: The judeo-christian god and the muslim god alike were the amalgam several gods that existed before it. If you look at the mythologies within christianity, judaism, and islam you will find elements from previous religions and mythologies. Monotheism itself comes from a period in Egyptian history when a single pharaoh eradicated all of the egyptian gods and forced worshipping a single god upon his kingdom. This was subsequently undone after his death, but it had not been done before then.
Is there an explanation as to how or where the first God originated?
I'm sorry if my question was confusing. I understand that man technically created God, but obviously Christians don't believe that, so my question is more, where do Christians believe God came from?
Evidence for such is hard to find. We've found a few precious cave paintings that appear to be men worshipping a god, but there were many civilizations that preceeded the isrealites and had other gods. Polytheism was here a good 2000 years or so before monotheism. My uncle is a preacher, I asked him about this before, and he said that he believes there has always been a "christian" orthodoxy, we just haven't found evidence for it. Really you can argue and present archeological evidence that completely destroys that theory, but it doesn't mean anything to them.
"In our youth, we lacked the maturity, the decency to create gods better than ourselves so that we might have something to aspire to. Instead we are left with a host of deities who were violent, narcissistic, vengeful bullies who reflected our own values. Our gods could have been anything we could imagine, and all we were capable of manifesting were gods who shared the worst of our natures."-Me
"Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, even if religion vanished; but religious superstition dismounts all these and erects an absolute monarchy in the minds of men." – Francis Bacon
"Atheism leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation; all of which may be guides to an outward moral virtue, even if religion vanished; but religious superstition dismounts all these and erects an absolute monarchy in the minds of men." – Francis Bacon