Ancient Religions
...Jaspers states that between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C.E, "great changes took place in all the civilized world" (qtd. in Basham 36), and the great thinkers of these times began thinking independently and individually. Moreover, "after these great thinkers the world was never the same again" (qtd. in Basham 36-37). These times were dubbed the "axial period" (qtd. in Basham 37). The axial religions that emerged during this period were profound and lasting. In fact, the religions discussed in this paperJudaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianityare considered the most practiced religions to do this day. Although these religions have changed over time, their underlying structure remains intact.
Ancient Hebrew Religion
Richard Hooker states that there are four main periods in the Hebrew Religion, they are: the Pre-Mosaic Stage (1950 - 1300 B.C.E.), the National Monolatry and Monotheism (1300-1000 B.C.E.), the Prophetic Revolution (800-600 B.C.E.), and the Post-Exile Revolution (538 B.C.E., and beyond) (Hooker n. pag.). Little is known about the Pre-Mosaic stage, but some scholars have formed four main conclusions drawn from the text of Genesis. The first conclusion states that the beginning of Hebrew religion was polytheistic, involving several gods. This conclusion is formed from the "plural form of the name of God, Elohim rather than El" (Hooker n. pag.). The second conclusions is that early "Hebrew religion was animistic...and as a result...had a number of practices that fall into the category of magic" (Hooker n. pag.).
In the Monolatry period, the most significant event was the flight from Egypt. The great migration led by Moses unified the Hebrew people. They began to refer to themselves as "bene yisrael" or "children of Israel". Also at this time, Moses instructed the Israelites to worship one God, Yahweh, and to follow...
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