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[Rachel]

Since you seem to be pretty knowledgable in the history of Christianity, I have a question for you. I guess my biggest problem with believing that Christianity could be the "right" religion is this: If christianity were "The Way," being a completion of Judaism, then why, historically speaking, does it seem that religions existed way before Judaism? Mesopotamia, often considered the first real civilization, has had a written history and religion since 3100 BC. And all around the world there has been a written/oral history and religion by cultures who never had any contact with the Hebrews or Christians until the Age of Discovery in the 15th Century (for example the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, Japan, etc.). To further that, Crude "mother goddess" figures have been found that predate organized religion by at least seven thousand years.

Trust me, I wish I could find the truth, but it seems so hard to know what to believe. Honestly, at this point, I am more agnostic than anything. I know, it's as annoying of an idea as those independent voters. I guess what I'm trying to ask is how, historically speaking, can Judaism be proven to be THE first religion, because if this can be proven, then I guess there would be no doubt in my mind that there is something bigger that I don't understand.

[jimwalton]

Great questions. i could write a few pages here, but I'll try to do the Reader's Digest version.

The Bible says the first people were in the Mesopotamian region. The rivers mentioned in the garden of Eden (Gn. 2.10-14) coincide with the ancient Kuwait River basin and delta and the Fertile Crescent. Havilah, mentioned in Gn. 2.11, is known to be in Arabia. The ancient Sumerian legend of Dilmun places a utopian land in the same region.

The Leakeys (Lewis, Mary, and Richard) claim to have found the first proto-human skulls in Africa. Though these skulls do have some human-like traits, it has yet to be proven that they are ancestors of homo-sapiens. More skulls are being found all the time, and theories are flying around like jello at a food fight, so the jury is still out. We can't say for certain what these creatures really are.

You say that Mesopotamia is considered the first real civilization. That's hard to prove, though some of the oldest remains of civilization have been found there. We're aware of human dwellings all over the globe. I think the oldest inhabited "city" known for now is Jericho, with occupation layers as early as 7,000 B.C. It is also thought that the alphabet was invented in Sumer—all in the Middle East. Interesting, because that's where the Bible's story begins.

You say religions existed before Judaism. The Bible claims that religion started along with the start of humanity in the Middle East. But by the time you get to Genesis 4, Cain is wandering off and, reasonably, starting his own religious practices. He went to a nearby "city" to settle, and the Bible teaches that religions were springing up, and people were spreading out (as told in Genesis 5) all over the globe. If Russian and Alaska were still joined by a land bridge (which is unknown at this point), it would be easy for migrators from the middle east (or from anywhere, for that matter) to reach all points of the globe.

And, just for the record, we have very little clue about the dates for these events. Bible genealogies are not scientific, but are written to tell a certain story, and so they intentionally have lots of pieces missing.

It's no surprise that religions seem to be part of every culture in every part of history all over the world. The Bible would say it's because people have built into them a knowledge that there is something bigger than they are, and they people are aware of spiritual realities. Others, as you know, say religion is just a feeble attempt of primitive people to explain what can't otherwise be understood. That, of course, has no evidence, but it's something some people want to believe.

So the Bible says Judaism started out as the only religion, and the false religions evolved from it. The lesson of Gen. 11 and the tower of Babel is God pronouncing judgment (by this one literal/symbolic act) on all false religions where people think they can make up their own truth. As civilization spread, so did religious practice, and people's creativity with creating their own versions of religion.

You didn't say anything in your letter that contradicts what the Bible teaches. Yes, there are religions in China, Sub-Saharan Africa, Japan, etc. Evidences of religion go back as far as evidences of humanity. You said "Crude 'mother-goddess' figures ...predate organized religion by at least seven thousand years." No they don't, if by organized religion you mean sacrificial systems, idol worship, pyramid building religion. Those are all as old as the hills. Even primitive temples, or worship sites, have been found. Now, if you mean an organized priesthood and temples of gold—well, yeah, they didn't come until later.

[RLunde]

I don't think I understood you on something I asked. As far as I know, historically speaking (artifacts, ancient finds), Hinduism outdates Judaism. So, if the findings show that Judaism wasn't the first religion, wouldn't it be more logical to follow the actual findings that we have that are here and in plain view, or more logical to follow what one book says regardless of the previous statement? I really would like to know your full opinion because I can't seem to find one person who can answer these.

[jimwalton]

OK, first we'll deal with the age of religions. The internet says, "Hinduism's early history is the subject of much debate for a number of reasons. Firstly, in a strict sense there was no 'Hinduism' before modern times, although the sources of Hindu traditions are very ancient. Secondly, Hinduism is not a single religion but embraces many traditions. Thirdly, Hinduism has no definite starting point. The traditions which flow into Hinduism may go back several thousand years and some practitioners claim that the Hindu revelation is eternal." Now, the Bible says that Judaism started with the beginning of time (Gn. 1). Abraham was called by God to start a "family" of people in about 2000 B.C. (which is 4000 years ago), but Judaism started before that in what's recorded for us in Genesis 1-11. So you need to tell me where you get your information that Hinduism outdates Judaism. When are YOU saying Hinduism started, and where do you get your information?