INFLUENCE OF EGYPTIAN AND BABYLONIAN RELIGION ON JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY
Both Egypt and Babylon had well-established religious cultures that included numerous gods and religious practices for worshiping those gods. The following chart includes a sample of Egyptian religious practices alongside common religious practices found in Judaism and Christianity. Entries under the Egyptian Religion column are extracted from the Ancient Egyptian religion Wikipedia website.
| Features of Ancient Egyptian Religion |
Common Features of Judaism and Christianity |
| Included a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals. | Jews and Christians have many different movements and denominations with different religious traditions. They all claim to follow the same god, but the evidence of diverse traditions and doctrines indicates that they are really polytheistic — not monotheistic as they clam. Furthermore, the fact that each religion has leaders that function as idols and gods also testifies to polytheism. |
| Centered on interaction with many deities. | See Religion is Idolatry. |
| Believed in a pantheon of gods, which were involved in all aspects of nature and human society. | See Religion is Idolatry. |
| Some deities were believed to exist in many different manifestations, and some had multiple mythological roles. | Jews recognize only God. Christians differentiate between, God, the holy spirit and Jesus. Jews and Christians idolize their religious leaders. |
| Some gods had vital roles in the universe while minor deities or “demons” had very limited or localized functions. | Both religions believe that satan and demons have power over people. |
| Religious practices were efforts to provide for the gods and gain their favor. Religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate these phenomena and turn them to human advantage. | Jews and Christians pray, pay tithes, do good works and make offerings to gain favor with God. |
| Ceremonial religious practice centered on the pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who was believed to possess a divine power by virtue of his position. | Pharaohs are symbolic representations of all religious leaders (e.g. Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Rabbis, Priests, Pastors, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists ) who are believed to have unique spiritual qualities that set them apart from others and qualify them to serve as leaders. Religious organizations (e.g. churches, synagogues, ministries, etc.) are all led by pharaohs in a variety of positions. |
| Pharaoh acted as the intermediary between his people and the gods and was obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings. | Pharaohs are symbolic representations of all religious leaders (e.g. Rabbis, pastors, priests, evanglists, prophets, etc.) who function as mediators between men and God through teaching, conducting rituals, and receiving offerings. Religious organizations (e.g. churches, synagogues, ministries, etc.) are all led by pharaohs in a variety of positions. |
| The state dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and to the construction of the temples. | Religious buildings are common features of Judaism and Christianity. |
| Individuals could interact with the gods for their own purposes, appealing for their help through prayer or compelling them to act through magic. | Jews and Christians are encouraged to pray, sing and worship God and Jesus privately. |
| Belief in the afterlife and funerary practices. | Most religions, including Judaism and Christianity believe in the afterlife and have funeral practices. |
| Made great efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death. | Most sects of Christianity include doctrines about saving souls after death. |
| Provided tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased. | Preservation of the physical body after death is a common practice in both Judaism and Christianity. |
| Religious beliefs changed over time. | Doctrines and Judaism and Christianity are constantly changing in one way or another. |
| Consisted of a vast and varying set of beliefs and practices, linked by their common focus on the interaction between the world of humans and the world of the divine. | Christianity is comprised of many denominations. Judaism is made up of several movements. |
| Sometimes deceased Pharaohs were believed to be divine. Occasionally, distinguished commoners such as Imhotep also became deified. | Jewish and Christian religious leaders are believed to have divine qualities that equip them to speak for God. Some religions, Catholicism in particular, declare deceased religious leaders to be saints who are highly revered and to who prayers are submitted. |
| Depictions of the gods in art were not meant as literal representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible, as the gods’ true natures were believed to be mysterious. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the abstract deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each god’s role in nature. | Jews, to their credit, are careful to avoid making physical representations of God. Christians, on the other hand employ iconography and artistic symbolism liberally. |
| Often grouped gods together to reflect divine relationships. Pairs of deities usually represent the duality of opposite phenomena. One of the more common combinations was a family triad consisting of a father, mother, and child, who were worshiped together. | Jews, to their credit, are pure monotheists. Christians, on the other hand, have created the trinity doctrine. |
| Relationships between deities could also be expressed in the process of syncretism, in which two or more different gods were linked to form a composite deity. | The Christian doctrine of the trinity links three entities into one, composite deity. |
| Included elaborate beliefs about death and the afterlife. | Abrahamic religions have distinct beliefs about the afterlife. |
| Believed in the possibility of a paradisaical afterlife. In the fully developed afterlife beliefs, the soul had to avoid a variety of supernatural dangers before undergoing a final judgement in which the gods compared the actions of the deceased while alive (symbolized by the heart) to determine whether he or she had behaved in accordance with standards of truth, justice, and order. | Judaism and Christianity both have doctrines about heaven. |
| Had no unified religious scripture, but produced many religious writings of various types. | Both Jews and Christians have many sacred texts — much of which does not agree with other writings. |
| Included myths/metaphorical stories intended to illustrate and explain the gods’ actions and roles in nature. | Both Judaism and Christianity embrace myths (e.g. creation, flood, etc.) based on the Bible. |
| Among the significant Egyptian myths were the creation myths. | Both Jews and Christians embrace the creation narrative found in the book of Genesis. |
| Included written procedures for religious rituals which were used as instructions for those performing the rituals. | Both Judaism and Christianity follow religious rituals and liturgical forms. Some Christians like to think of themselves as being non-liturgical, but even these follow a standardized order of events in their religious services that fit the broad definition of liturgy. |
| Included prayers and hymns written in the form of poetry. | Judaism and Christianity are both well known for their prayers and music. |
| Included religious buildings (i.e. temples) in most towns. | Both Judaism and Christianity are well known for their religious buildings. |
| Included oracles through which gods gave knowledge and guidance to priests who served as mediators between people and their gods. | Both religions respect and employ religious leaders (i.e. priests, false prophets) to lead ritual worship and communicate God’s word to his people. |
| Included private, personal religious practices by common people (i.e. laity) in homes and shrines where people sought sought to discern the gods’ will, seek knowledge, or affect the gods’ behavior to their own personal benefit without the direction and supervision of priests. | Both Judaism and Christianity encourage common people to pray, worship and read Bibles privately. |
| Employed magic through the use of words (i.e. songs, prayers, incantations), manipulation of objects and ritualistic behaviors of the physical body to positively influence their gods for personal benefit and prevent or overcome negative events. | Both Judaism and Christianity use words in songs, preaching and prayer. They also rely heavily on ritualistic behavior that manipulates physical objects (e.g. Torah, cross, prayer shawl, ceremonial clothing, musical instruments, body movement, sacraments, etc.) in worship designed to impress God so that he will bless them. Magic in religion is discussed more fully in Religion is Magic. |
From this chart we see clearly that both Judaism and Christianity are modeled after Egyptian religion. But. what about Babylon? The relationship of Abrahamic religions to ancient Babylon religions has been documented in many scholarly articles including, but not limited to, the following:
We learn from these articles that the origins of Judaism and Christianity are not as pure as Jews and Christians like to believe. What we learn, in fact, is that the beliefs and practices of both religions exist in the ancient religions about which God said “do not follow their customs or do their deeds.”
The following are a few examples of customs and deeds that originated in Babylon that are found in Judaism and Christianity
| Features of Ancient Babylonian Religion | Common Features of Judaism and Christianity |
| Included temples that supposedly served as dwelling places for their gods. | Synagogues and churches are physical places where people go to meet with God. |
| Priests mediated between gods and people. | Rabbis, priests and pastors always teach about God, lead people in worship, and pray for people. |
| Priests and priestesses conducted the business of the temples and performed religious activities on behalf of people. | Rabbis, priests and pastors always are in charge of the business of synagogues and churches and always perform religious activities (e.g. sacraments, prayer, music, weddings, funerals, etc.) on behalf of the people. |
| Temples had training programs for people who wanted to be priests and priestesses. | Denominations, synagogues and churches have programs (e.g. Sunday school, Bible studies, etc.) and institutions (e.g. seminaries, Bible colleges, yeshivas, etc.) for training people to serve in ministry. |
| Included public rituals, worship and festivals and private devotions. | Includes regular services and periodic festivals and special events (e.g. music, evangelism, etc.). |
| Tithing was widely practiced in ancient, near east religions. | Tithes and offerings are fairly common practice in both Judaism and Christianity. |
| Included music in worship. | Music is a common feature of both Judaism and Christianity. |
| Religious leaders were distinguished by unique clothing. | Religious leaders in both Judaism and Christianity are often identified by their clothing and adornments. |
| Included public and private prayer to gods. | Prayer is a common feature of both Judaism and Christianity. |
| Included a theology of personal morality and sin. | Jews and Christians both have strong attitudes about morals and sin. |
| Included a theology of life after death and practiced burial of the dead. | The afterlife is a feature of both Judaism and Christianity, and Jews and Christians both have unique funerary rituals. |
| Included belief in angels, demons and the devil. | Belief in angels and other supernatural beings is common in both Judaism and Christianity. |
| The Babylonian creation myth depicts order emerging out of chaos. | The creation narrative found in the Bible is similar to the Babylonian creation myth |
| Flood myths are found in Mesopotamian religion and many other religions. | The story of Noah and the great flood is similar in many ways to the Mesopotamian flood myth. |
What we learn from these comparisons of ancient Egyptian and Babylonian religions to Judaism and Christianity is that these neither of these well-known, modern religions are unique. They both have their origins in Egypt and Babylon. And this fact tells us why we need to pay attention whenever the Bible mentions Egypt and Babylon. They are not there just for historical reference.
Knowing history without understanding the symbolism of Egypt and Babylon only yields intellectual (i.e. ginosko) knowledge. Old/First Covenant religionists are content with this kind of knowledge. But, history that is enlightened with spiritual (i.e. epiginosko) knowledge of the symbolism of these two nations has the power to correct and train us in righteousness. This is the kind of knowledge that New Covenant disciples (i.e. learners) desire and seek. Old/First Covenant religionists, on the other hand, are content practicing the sin of religion and are unwilling to die to their religion so that they might become righteous.
New Covenant disciples have already learned that Egypt and Babylon represent religion. They have circumcised their hearts, escaped from bondage in Egypt, and come out of Babylon. Old/First Covenant religionists, however, have chosen to remain in bondage to religion.
New Covenant disciples have taken to heart God’s commands not to follow the customs or do the deeds of religious nations such as Egypt, Babylon and the many religious kingdoms of Canaan. That means they do not believe or do any of the things that Egyptians, Babylonians and Canaanites believe or do.