QUOTE(Djinn Shiva @ Feb 5 2009, 01:19 AM)
It's too bad I can't watch the video. Internet connection is too slow.
But I'm glad people are realizing that Christianity has taken many aspects from other religions and perverted them to fit their own needs.
As far as they have traced back, the oldest known religion is Vedic.
Hinduism is essentially the same as the Vedic traditions, minus animal sacrifices.
And all surviving religions have stemmed from there.
I agree that the Vedic traditions are likely one of the oldest religions, however Egyptian and Vedic religious philosophy are culturally distinct in a way that suggests it did not arise from any sino-aryan religion. The oldest archeological evidence of Vedic tradition is not so much older than that of the Egyptian religion as to suggest one has any connection with the other. Typically certain names, for instance, can be traced back through a series of corruptions. This evidence is not present in the names of the egyptian figures. Although it is possible that the philosophy of the Vedas may have at some point been the first spiritual philosophy practiced and widely accepted by a culture, there is no reason to suppose that all religions stemmed from that point. Sentience likely arose in one area and spread, but culture very likely developed in distinct areas separate from one another. This is why some cultures are so different that they literally see the world differently.
I have often wondered at what point religion changed from being a sacred way of life into a tool of control. It seems that only the judaic religions really fit the mold there - does Hinduism have a similar history? Although the egyptian religion was certainly enforced by a priesthood, most evidence - what is available - seems to suggest that it held a far more sacred place in their society, a way of life, government, and existence in which the gods made themselves known according to oracles (questionable and corruptable perhaps) but also in natural phenomenon in a way that our 'modern' gods do not. God is only considered angry in the eyes of the Far Right, who only call it that when 'sinners' are struck down. When the righteous are struck down, 'God has a plan.'
It used to be, "The Gods are fickle beings. Better not anger them." Regardless who was struck down.
Those were the days.
peace