Monotheism: Cause and Consequence
Abrahamic traditions
In a story in Genesis God calls a man named Abraham to give his one and only son as a sacrifice which was his most adored. Abraham goes as far as laying his son on the alter, but before he sacrifices Isaac God gives him a ram in place for his son. This gave birth to faith an idea that is so prevalent in our culture today. Abrahamic traditions was discussed in our class about three religions that were born from this one man’s actions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; more than half of the population follows two of these religions: Christianity and Islam.
Historians have found older artifacts that have pointed to proof that Abrahamic traditions weren’t the first monotheistic religions. In the film “Who is God?” Morgan Freeman talked about Egyptian history before Abraham. Akhenaten an Egyptian Pharaoh felt that there were too many gods being worshipped and there wasn’t enough focus on him. He closed down other god’s temples and told the people that they can worship the sun god through his worship. However after Akhenaten’s rule this idea of one god collapsed and things went back to polytheism. It wasn’t until Abraham that you can see this idea of one god explode throughout Rome and Europe and is in our culture today. So what caused Abraham and his belief to flourish so much more than Akhenaten? Faith. Abrahamic traditions were passed down from generations to generations because they had faith in God.
The study of cause and consequence can show how through 4000 years one action, Abraham’s faith, can change the course of history dramatically. The silk trade route was largely influenced by religions stemmed from Abraham: Judaism, Islam, and eventually Christianity. Abrahamic Traditions were the leading cause of the crusades which Islam and Christianity were at war, introducing these groups to one another. These religions have also influenced so much of our culture in America. Sharrif brings up a point about two groups taking a test. He has them fill out a survey about if they believe in a god that is punishing or one that is forgiving. He makes the tests he hands out easy to cheat on to see what side if any will be more susceptible to cheating. The students that had an idea of a punishing god didn’t cheat on the test while some students that had a forgiving god cheated on the test. Religion causes people to work together because not only do they have reverence for God, but they also have trust in one another because they have faith in God.
Work Cited:
Freeman, M. (n.d.). Who is God. Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://fod-infobase-com.proxy.nicoletcollege.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=138057&loid=466044
Wells, C. (n.d.). How Did God Get Started? Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://nicoletcollege.brightspace.com/content/enforced/11367-2021-SPRING-6599/How%20Did%20God%20Get%20Started%20Excerpt%201.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=WLh0aS9APbv2RVGxI0Bhq9WwB&ou=11367
Sharrif, 2018. Creating God. July, 16, 2018 Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/transcripts/628792048