Replacing religions

Today, we are so used to our present situation that we cannot imagine any real changes. So, when you are a Christian, then your parents and forefathers have been Christians already. If you are a Moslem or a Jew or a Hindu or Buddhist, then it is the same. It seems that we have “our” religions from time immemorial. But this is quite often not the case. I cannot go into details, but I want to give a general, simplified example.

Imagine that you live in the Near East and that your family have lived there for hundreds and thousands of years. Today, your family is probably Muslim. But when we go back in time, then we see that your family was under the Sumerian influence with the belief in Enlil, Uras, Ninlil, Nergal, etc. Then some time later, the Egyptians conquered this area and from one day to the next day, the belief and religion changed to Egyptian standards, with Ra, Amun, Isis, etc. Then Alexander the Great came and brought the Greek religion with worshipping Zeus, Hera, Hermes, etc. Then the Romans came and brought the belief in the deities of Rome, in Jupiter, Venus, etc. With the soldiers, the cult of Mithras came. Then later, the Christians came, and your family believed in Jesus. And the Muslims conquered the country and now you are Muslims.

In conclusion, in a period of some hundred years and several generations of your family, you have changed your religion and belief maybe seven times or more. And each time, you thought that it is the right belief, the one and only. And maybe you have condemned your forefather for being infidels. But in fact, in most cases your family was forced to take over the new religion, threatened by violent death.

This is something to think about. Life and religion are nothing stable or everlasting like we believe. Life is based on changes.