Monotheism vs. PolytheismDates and Terms from the Textbook:

Akhenaton (New Kingdom, 14th century B.C.) syncretism Zoroastrianism Yahweh Henotheism Northern kingdom: Israel; southern kingdom:

Judea Prophets

Textbook Questions: What theological problem is more difficult for

monotheists than polytheists? What were the three attempts at monotheism in

the ancient Near East? How successful were they?

Questions to Ponder:Can the Bible serve as an historical source?  Why

and/or why not? 

Akhenaton Hymn to the Aton

Akhenaton and

Nefertiti, playing with their little children and worshipping Aton. Note the hands at the ends of the sun’s rays.

Questions:

1. How accessible to human understanding does Aton seem to have been?

2. What relationship does Akhenaton have with Aton?  What are the political implications of this relationship?

3. Can this source help you account for the reversal of Akhenaton's religious policy after his death?  How did the religion promoted by Akhenaton contrast with traditional religion? 

Enuma Elish

Tiamat: primordial mother as sea monster

Mesopotamian Fertility goddess

Questions:• For those acquainted with Genesis: how does the Enuma Elish compare

and contrast with the Hebrew story of the creation of the universe?  Which came first?  In what order are things like night and day, the heavenly bodies, and human beings created? 

• What are the gods like?  How do they compare or contrast with monotheistic gods such as that of the Hebrews?  Are they all-powerful or just very powerful?  Do they have bodies?  Do any of them embody a moral standard?

• Did Mesopotamians think that human beings and the gods interact?  Why, according to the Enuma Elish, do human beings exist? 

• What roles do male and female characters play in creation in the Enuma Elish?  Archaeologists have recovered many female statues and statuettes with accentuated breasts and hips from Neolithic times in Mesopotamia.  What might such figures have represented?  There is also some early written evidence, dating to a time before the Enuma Elish, that Mesopotamians believed that a fertility goddess created the world.  Does this evidence suggest a contrast with the Enuma Elish?  If so, how might you explain it? 

• Why is one of Marduk's weapons a flood?

I Kings

• Did the Hebrews as a people have a relationship with their god?  How did the Hebrews explain suffering and disaster?  How did other peoples?

• Did Hebrew kings rule by divine right?  Were there limits to their authority?  Can you explain the role of the prophets?

• Which seems to have been more religiously tolerant: monotheism or polytheism?  Why?