Early Civilizations: The Birth of Engineering, Politics, Writing, & Religion - Essay Sample

Introduction

Civilization kicked off in the river valleys of Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, over 5000 years ago. They created a system that worked by building cities and dividing them into states and regions. This system brought about the early birth of engineering and politics. They also developed the skill of literacy by inventing writing, which is the steppingstone for education to date. Another vital aspect or system that forged early civilization in this era is religion and myth. The Near Eastern used religion and myth as an answer to any mystery; this religious belief became a culture in which religion acted as a constraint. This means that people's actions were based on their religious beliefs. The early Eastern religion was built on two primary principles; first, the early near Eastern was so open-minded to religion that they viewed everything in nature (moon, star, fire, and mountain) as a potential god. They also created myths to make their gods more realistic. The second principle is that all the gods are human-made, created either birthed by another human or artificially made by a human. These human-made gods had limited powers, efficiency, durability, and existence. This paper will highlight the development of Monotheism in ancient Near East, which was invented by the Hebrews who branched out from the Near East, and how monotheism has contributed to Western civilization.

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Ancient Egypt

The first attempt at Monotheism started in Ancient Egypt during the reign of Akhenaten (1353-1336 BC) but ended right after his death. Akhenaten began to worship Aten, the sun disk god on the 5th year of his reign. Monotheism became more established by the Hebrews in Babylon. The Hebrews believe in one God (Yahweh) who, unlike the gods of the Ancient East, is more superior. According to sources of the western tradition, "Yahweh was fully sovereign, absolutely free; there were no limitations whatsoever on his power" Akhenaten's reforms to close down all temples were the first instance to change Egyptians to embrace monotheism. The political unification, through the belief that gods favored kings, encouraged Egyptians to worship one god firmly. Over time, significant political events have influenced the development of Monotheism. This reason is vital because Monotheism started in an era where states and empires were present, and kings were called kings of kings. This rise of Monotheism caused many conflicts in authority. In Egypt, the Pharaoh was seen as divine and had all authority. An example of conflict in power can be traced back to the 13th century B.C when Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. The book of Exodus in the Bible lists the series of confrontation that took place before and after Pharaoh let Israelites leave Egypt.

Religious Evolvement

The most crucial detail in the development of Monotheism is how the religion evolved right among the people, unlike Ancient Near Eastern, who created myths to help convince people about their gods. The Hebrews saw things firsthand; miracles, death, journeys, commandments, promise land, and other aspects that help strengthen their faith and belief. According to Perry, "Hebrew religious thought evolved through the history and experience of Jewish people"; their view of God began to shift from what the Ancient Near Eastern believed to a more powerful, sovereign, eternal, and supernatural being who is more conspicuous than nature and any creation.

As much as the Hebrews pioneered Monotheism, they still leaned on the Near East when it came to other aspects of civilization. As for western civilization, both the Near East and Monotheism has contributed individually. The idea that a single universal God helped build the standard for right and wrong, morals, family, politics, and economy, all of which governs western civilization. Ancient Judaism also contributed to the evolution of monotheism, even though it was not thoroughly monotheistic. The evidence from the Bible suggests Israel as a monotheistic world country. There is however, no evidence to suggest that Jewish people practiced monotheism because excavations prove that there were other gods worshiped in Israel. The aftermath of Judaism is what influenced the development of monotheism among the Hebrew people.

God and Justice System

The idea that only one true God exists may well have been the most significant innovation in history. According to sources of the western tradition, "Therefore men and women had to measure their actions by God's laws and were responsible for their behavior." The system of accountability gave birth to the justice system and the division of power (politics). Every man's action should abide by the commandment, which was the first universal rule. Monotheism led to the formation of a basic universal rule of law applicable to all people without exception. Despite that, human-made laws can be changed based on the human mind or time; it still abides by the fundamental rule of law. The idea of equality can also be traced back to Monotheism; the Hebrews believed that humans are created in the image of God. This idea built the blueprint against things like slavery, racism, unequal pay, and other social imbalance that can be mapped to inequality in western civilization. The last aspect that monotheism has contributed to western civilization is in interpersonal relations. Monotheism has influenced western civilization's view of proper interpersonal relationships with other people. Western civilization is built on collaborative effort; we all depend on each other. Monotheism was created by the division of labor system, where people have appointed positions based on their merit and specialty while working together to achieve their goal.

Conclusion

The Near East, Greeks, and Hebrews were all pioneers to western civilization and contributed to various aspects of Western culture. Monotheism, which was derived by Hebrew, plays a significant part in western civilization because it helps build institutions like the rule of law, democracy, education, economy, and family. All of which is based on the idea of a single God. Monotheism evolution took place over a long period. The societies and empires that embraced monotheism were first dominated by polytheism. The transformation into monotheism was influenced by different factors such as the rise of Akhenaten and the end of Judaism temple.

Bibliography

"1320: Section 10: Akhenaten And Monotheism". 2020. Usu.Edu. https://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320Hist&Civ/chapters/10AKHEN.htm.

"How Did Monotheism Develop? - Dailyhistory.Org". 2020. Dailyhistory.Org. https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_Monotheism_Develop%3F.

Hoffmeier, James K. Akhenaten, and the Origins of Monotheism. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Perry, Marvin. Western civilization, a brief history. Cengage Learning, 2015.

Schweitzer, Frederick, and Marvin Perry. Anti-semitism: Myth and Hate from Antiquity to the Present. Springer, 2005.

Underhill, Ralph. "Economic and political antecedents of monotheism: A cross-cultural study." American Journal of Sociology 80, no. 4 (1975): 841-861.