THE BEGINNINGS OF BELIEFS

Or
What’s Wrong With Our Picture?

By John A. Chapin – 2009 CE

As I have previously written in Genesis – 2012 AD (also found on scribd), “Man

today is expected to derive an understanding of his being by accepting the
teachings of formal religions. Where did these understandings come from and how
credible was their reporting? If we are to understand the origins of our current
beliefs, we must ask the questions what did man believe and what was the basis for
his beliefs before formal religion was invented? Since our belief system as we
know it today is tied to our understanding of history, we must ask if we have a
correct understanding of our ancient history.”

What can be said regarding possible connections between where we are today as a
civilization, where we came from, and where we might be headed? This is important
today as we are beginning to seek major changes in our environment, economy and
relationships. Is there an overall plan for our development, or is what develops
just a random occurrence of events? Before we can discern where we might be
headed from past events, we need to identify the past events which might provide
unique understandings, or which might provide a perspective that may be different
from what today is generally accepted as correct. It is important to understand
1) the beginnings of our current system of beliefs, 2) how these beliefs were
changed over time, 3) who changed these beliefs and for what purpose, 4) how past
beliefs are implemented today, and 5) how our current beliefs affect our desired
outcomes for our nation and the world.

The beliefs which are held by many who today reside in the United States of
America, have been formed from the teachings passed down by ordinary people and
scholars of the Judeo-Christian community as well as from the major religions of
the Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims. We pride ourselves in having such a diverse
background of nationalities yet when we look at our individual beliefs in light of
our political, economic, and philosophical interactions in today’s world, it is no
wonder the populace is confused, argumentative, and seemingly without recognizable
values. So, what’s wrong with our picture?

The western civilization has formed a complex conglomeration of beliefs derived

from several ancient civilizations as well as from changes made during its
development. The interesting point to be made is that today each of the hundreds
of sects and numerous religions all claim their belief system is the correct one.

The Judeo-Christian system of belief is thought to have had its beginnings with
the Talmud which was formulated using the teachings of Jewish wisdom and oral law
which is believed to have begun c. 200 BCE and finalized c. 500 CE. The written
Jewish law is described as the Torah. During the period of Persian rule (c., 538
– 330 BCE) which included the Jewish Great Assembly, c. 445 BCE, the Bible (Old
Testament) was canonized and was accepted as the central authority on which Jewish
life was to be founded.

Between the period of The Great Assembly and the publishing of the King James
Version of the Bible in 1611 CE a number of revisions pertaining to Judeo-
Christian beliefs occurred. It has been suggested, as a result of analyzing
writing styles that much of the Old Testament consists of forgeries from the
seventh through the fifth centuries BCE for the purpose of writing a history for
the Hebrew sect. The Bible was further changed in 325 CE when the Council of
Nicea, formed by the Roman emperor Constantine, removed or modified at least 45
documents from what would become the Holy Bible of the Christian world. Our
awareness of these missing texts is a result of the discovery of Essene documents,
known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, and scrolls found in Egypt known as the Nag Hammadi
Library, as well as from documents which were secreted in the archives of the
Catholic Church. The Apocrypha consisting of 15 books originally in use by the
Jewish community but left out of the canonized version of the Bible were
eventually incorporated into the Greek version of the Bible known as the
Septuagint and later appeared in their entirety in the Latin Vulgate version as
well as placed into the King James Version. In 1546 CE the Council of Trent
decreed that the Canon of the Old Testament include the Apocrypha. However, the
editions of the Bible prepared by the Protestants have followed the Hebrew Canon
and do not include the Apocrypha.

The point to be made here is the Bible as we know it today has had a long history
of development. If this work as originally described was ‘the Word of God’, how
can these changes be justified or accepted? A study of history beyond this very
limited Judeo-Christian understanding reveals a myriad of other likelihoods and
possibilities as to the origin and sanctity of early Jewish beliefs.

Most of what we in the Western World understand about the beginnings of our
civilization and its development in the modern world essentially comes from three
ancient historians; namely, 1) Herodotus c. 485 – 424 BCE from Asia Minor, 2)
Berossus c. 290 BCE a Chaldean, and 3) Manetho c. 280 BCE reportedly a
Heliopolitan priest from Egypt. These three writers have had little effect on the
beliefs held by modern day westerners either because they are not understood or
have just been ignored. The focus on western understanding has been limited and
even restricted to the Bible. The basis for the writings of these three
historians is derived from more ancient writings found on clay tablets, papyrus
scrolls, and other edifices and artwork. These include:

1. Sumerian and Akkadian Kings Lists from Mesopotamia, c. 3500 BCE to 2125 BCE
2. Mahabharata & Ramayana Tests from pre Hindu India, c. 4000BCE to 2000 BCE
3. Erra Epos Text & Atrahasis Epic from Mesopotamia (Akkad), c. 2500 BCE
4. Palermo Stone from Egypt, c. 2500 BCE
5. Enuma Elish Text from Mesopotamia (Babylon), c.2000 BCE
6. Turin Papyrus form Egypt, c. 1400 BCE

Until the nineteenth century, virtually everything our western civilization knew
about our origins came from the Bible. The Bible was written by men with secrets
to conceal from other competing sects and from the Roman and Jewish authorities.
Today it is clear that this Bible is a collection of myths, legends, and parables
from various cultures cobbled together with bits of history and philosophy.

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, known as
the Pentateuch, are attributed by the Judeo-Christian community to Moses. It is
quite possible that these books were prepared using earlier Sumerian texts known
as the Enuma Elish. The Enuma Elish is the earliest writings from Mesopotamia
consisting of seven tablets also known as the Epic of Creation. The first six
tablets describe the creation of the heavens and the Earth and all upon the earth,
paralleling the six days of creation in the Old Testament. The seventh tablet
describes the Babylonian god Marduk as he surveys his creation, paralleling the
biblical seventh day. The Sumerians, and later the Babylonians & Assyrians,
unlike the Judeo-Christians, followed the god-kings sent to earth from heaven
while the Egyptian kings, beginning around the third dynasty, began to take on the
role of God.

Egyptians, from the beginning of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, were found to have
anticipated by two thousand years the idea of creation by the power of the Word
which appears in the Book of Genesis. The Memphite Theology explains that
creation began as a divine concept and was given reality by expression through the
spoken word. The creator god first perceived the world as a concept and then
brought it into being through his spoken word. The Memphite Theology is concerned
with the creative functions of thought (consciousness), the spoken word and the
ultimate creation of reality from concept. The Egyptians made no distinction
between mind (a spiritual state of being) and matter; both were understood as
aspects of a single scheme. They believed there were only different levels of
consciousness in which all is one and the absolute one is all. While the
Egyptians recognized the concept of a creation model, it is not evident they
understood its details. One conclusion which I outline in Genesis – 2012 AD is
that the creation stories of the Sumerians, Egyptians, and later borrowed by the
Hebrews were prepared by a much earlier civilization that did understand the true
meaning of creation and were able to encode this meaning in the writings we find
today in the Book of Genesis.

By borrowing beliefs from these ancient civilizations the Judeo-Christians

inadvertently passed on these beliefs to modern day westerners. The ancient
civilizations from where our modern Judeo-Christian beliefs appear to have had
their beginning are shown in Table 1. The approximate beginning dates for these
civilizations are speculations based upon currently known information and may
indeed be much older.

Table 1 - Ancient Civilizations

Civilization Approximate Beginning Date Relative Modern Day Location

Comment
Proto-Ubadians, Halafians c. 5500 BCE Tigris-Euphrates Rivers
Sumerian c. 5400-4200 BCE Southern Tigris-Euphrates Rivers
Egyptian c. 4200 BCE Egypt Non-Semitic
Indus Valley c. 3300 BCE India
Phoenicians c. 3000 BCE Eastern Mediterranean Tyre founded 2750 BCE, Semitic
Elamites (Persian) c. 3000 BCE Persia/Iran Non-Semitic
Akkadian c. 2350 BCE Northern Tigris-Euphrates Rivers Semitic
Babylonian c. 2254 BCE Mari-Central Tigris-Euphrates Rivers Semitic, Nimrod

While it has long been thought, by the western Judeo-Christians, that

civilizations had their beginnings in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, and China
more recent discoveries in Peru and Mesoamerica indicate the presence of
civilizations contemporary with these. Ancient civilizations, other than the
Judeo-Christian civilizations mentioned above, which have had an influence on our
modern day western world are listed in Table 2. The teachings of these
civilizations have essentially been ignored by Judeo-Christian westerners although
they offer many common beliefs.

Table 2 Ancient Civilizations (Non Judeo-Christian)

Civilization Approximate Beginning Dates Relative Modern Day Location

Comment
Olmec & Mayan c. 3000-1000 BCE Central America
Pre-Inca c. 2900 BCE Peru
Navaho (Dine) First reported in SW USA c. 1400 CE,
10000 BCE? Southwest North America-AZ, NM, UT Dine Legend says they entered North
America c. 10000 BCE
While the authorship of the Mesoamerican writings is unknown, a few codices have
survived the book burning episodes of the Spanish c. 1547 CE. The most notable
writings include:

1. Popol Vuh from the Maya of Guatemala

2. Dresden Codex from the Maya and possible the oldest Mayan writing
3. Codex Vaticanus from the Maya
4. Leyenda de los Soles from the Aztecs of Mexico

These writings contain descriptions of cycles of creation not unlike the Judeo-
Christian version as well as cycles of cataclysmic destructions and recreations.

The beliefs of the indigenous people of North America (Indians) were never
accepted by the invading Judeo-Christians. Until 1493 CE the Catholic Church
considered the American Indians as not being human and possessing no souls. It
took the Papal Bull of Pope Alexander VI to proclaim that the Indians were “people
well disposed to embrace the Christian faith.”

We also have received knowledge from more recent civilizations than those
previously listed, as shown in Table 3. The Judeo-Christian history, as well as
the history of all the other civilizations/religions, has undergone severe
changes. These changes have a profound impact on western beliefs. Also, like the
Judeo-Christians these changes are not understood or even recognized as changes by
the common person.

Table 3 – Other Ancient Civilizations and Religions

CIVILIZATION & RELIGIONS Approximate Beginning Date Relative Modern Day

Location Comment
Assyrian c.2059 BCE Syria, Iraq Semitic
Greeks-Minoan
-Mycenaean
-Classical c. 2600 BCE
c. 1600 BCE
c. 480 BCE Greece
Hebrews c. 2048 BCE,
c. 2042 BCE Israel, Egypt Semitic, Abraham,
Jacob (Israel)
Hindus c. 1800 BCE India
Buddhists c. 563 BCE India Buddha
Muslims c. 619 CE Saudi Arabia Muhammad

While the power of the Graeco-Roman rule along with their engineering and sciences
greatly influenced the Judeo-Christian community their system of religious beliefs
did not persist and did not carry over to the Americas other than as mythology.
This is likely due to the spread of Islam during what has been termed the Second
Great Jihad resulting in the downfall of the Christian stronghold of
Constantinople and the downfall of the Roman Empire at the hand of the Ottoman
Turks.

Today the beliefs held by individuals in the United States of America are not
limited to those of the Judeo-Christians. As mentioned above, they also include
the major religions of the Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus.
The beginning of Islam is generally defined as the time Muhammad moved to the area
of Yathrib which is now the city of Medina, meaning “The City of the Prophet”, c.
619 CE. Muhammad preached that all people were created equal and that there was
only one god who spoke through Muhammad. Muhammad preached that God was to be
worshipped, not Muhammad. The Islam religion was written down in the Quran c. 650
CE to ensure it would not be corrupted and to provide ethical and social guidance.
The Quran was to add scripture to support both the Old and New Testaments of the
Judeo-Christian community. It was Muhammad’s intent that his message was meant to
reform the existing religious beliefs and cultural practices of pre-Islamic Arabia
by bringing the God of the Jews and Christians to the Arab people.

The Muslim religion, not unlike other major religions, has undergone a tumultuous
history. The term ‘Muslim’, meaning “those who submit” to God, was likely not
coined until after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE. Today there are
over 1 billion Muslims worldwide comprising of the mainstream Sunnis, an orthodox
movement; two major sectarian movements, called Shi’ism and Sufism; and several
sects. This is a major change from the time the Prophet and his followers
envisioned their movement in Medina.

Because Muhammad did not specify any heir, the Ummah/followers fell into disarray.
A schism in leadership between the Quraysh Tribe and the ahl al-bayt (People of
the House of the Prophet) and bickering between other tribes and their clans
ensued. The main point of contention was the Prophethood and the Caliphate should
not reside within the same clan. The title Caliph was settled upon to represent
the sectarian leadership. The Caliphate’s primary responsibility was to maintain
unity and stability of the Ummah/followers. It was to be a civil institution and
not a religious one. Some tribes openly rebelled and refused to pay allegiance or
taxes to the tribe of Muhammad. They were brought back in line through open
warfare. Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and brother-in-law became the fourth leader,
taking the title Amir rather than Caliph, after Muhammad’s death. This was an
attempt to restore leadership to the family of the Prophet. Ali’s followers who
would ultimately become the Shi’ites wanted the tribal system established by
Muhammad to remain in tact as a divinely inspired community. Ali was shortly
assassinated by members of the Khazraj Tribe who insisted on a literal following
of Muhammad and the words of the Quran. Anyone who did not subscribe to their
wishes was not to be considered a Muslim.

Ali was replaced by Mu’awiyah who had ambitions to expand the tribal Ummah into an
empire. He moved the Caliphate from Kufa to Damascus establishing the Umayyad
Dynasty. A series of dynasties followed. Persian converts to Islam greatly
outnumbered the Arabs. As a result they moved the seat of power to Baghdad
establishing the Abassid Dynasty and massacring all the Umayya they could find.
Other rivalries followed including the Buy ids of Iran, the Fatimids of Egypt, the
remaining Umayya of Spain, and the Ottomans of Turkey. The Caliphate came to an
end after WW I.

While Muslim dynasties, Kings, and Parliaments have fought and failed over the
1400 year history, the Ulama have managed to retrain their position of power in
controlling the religious, political, legal, and social foundations of the
religion. The Ulama, formed from the time of Caliph Abu Bakr in 632 CE, have been
responsible for some of the biggest problems leading to the misunderstanding of
Islam. In their self-appointed role as the guardians of Islam they stifled
independent thought and scientific progress throughout the Muslim world. The
Ulama exert direct legal and political control over the populations and schools
(Madrassas) in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. They are responsible for the
oppressive totalitarian regimes like the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Wahhabists in
Saudi Arabia, and the Faqih in Iran. Muhammad’s original concept of protecting
his followers, preservation of the family, unity, and acceptance of plural
religions has been perhaps fatally changed through the actions of the
Ulama/Clerics.

Islam grew spreading from the Saudi Arabian Peninsula in all directions. This
early growth is what the Muslims call the "First" great Jihad. The "Second great
Jihad" came with the Ottoman Turks. This empire succeeded in bringing about the
downfall of Constantinople as a Christian stronghold and an end to the Roman
Empire. By 1683 the Ottomans had suffered a series of defeats and Islam shrunk
into various sheikhdoms and roving tribes. This set the stage for a new revival
known as Wahhabism. The Wahhabi extremists, in the name of Allah, have carried
out to this day atrocities against anyone not belonging to their sect. Many
individuals of the illiterate Muslim populace are being fed false interpretations
of the Quran by their extremist religious leaders. These leaders undoubtedly
believe what they are preaching, however, if they are ignorant as I suspect, then
they are incapable of providing correct religious guidance to their followers.
The general populace may not have their own copies of the Quran to verify the
teachings for themselves or they are illiterate and can't read it if they had
copies. What is going on in the Muslim world is not unlike what went on in the
Christian world during the period that led to the Dark Ages and Reign of Terror.

The Vedic writings, which form the basis of Brahmanism and later Hinduism, are
perhaps the earliest writings on earth, c. 4000 BCE. Much like the Judeo-
Christian beliefs, over time, the old Vedic religion underwent several changes.
These chiefly concerned the deities that were worshipped, and the forms of their
rituals. The older Vedic gods which were considered universal were replaced by
the new Puranic gods which were considered personal and individual.

One of the most notable changes to Hinduism was instigated by Siddhartha Gautama
(563-483 BCE) who later took on the name Buddha. Brought up as a Hindu prince he
became disillusioned with the religious practices and formed a following to
practice his form of beliefs. After Buddha died his followers essentially
disappeared for the next several hundred years. A king named Ashoka (291-232 BCE)
revived Buddha’s beliefs and is considered to be the real founder of modern-day
Buddhism. The only written history of Buddhism is from 3 CE. Today there are
over 600 different sects where some followers believe Buddha is a god while others
believe he was only a prophet.

A common belief held by modern day Judeo-Christians is that the world will end in
what has been termed an Apocalypse. This is a belief not exclusive to Judeo-
Christians. Stories of catastrophic destruction as well as predictions of a
future destruction can be found in the mythology of virtually all ancient
civilizations, including: Hindu, Sumerian, Egyptian, Chinese, Hebrew, Greek, Maya,
Inca, Aztec, Indians of North American, Aborigines of Australia, and Eskimos of
Greenland. The more recent myths of the Hebrews, as found in the Old Testament
Book of Genesis, describe a relatively short historical duration of a previous age
compared to the durations expressed by the other earlier civilizations. Like one
of the Ages in the Mesoamerican version, the Hebrew version ends as a result of a
great flood. It has been established that the Hebrew version of the creation and
deluge myths have been borrowed from their Mesopotamian neighbors and possibly
from the Ugaritic culture, most likely to create a history for the Hebrew nation.
In order to fit within their overall philosophy, I suggest they selected one of
the ages described in the Mesopotamian/Assyrian myths which they had access to
which ended as the result of a flood. By ignoring the other ages they did not
have to explain the historical discrepancies. This belief in an ultimate end is
seen by some as unavoidable. With this conclusion it is nigh on to impossible to
achieve a reasonable and timely solution to our national and world problems.

It can be seen through this review of ancient teachings that there is a common
source for the basic religious beliefs in practice today. While this may be true,
what we observe in practice today does not bear out the fact that we have learned
anything from the past nor do we recognize or support this commonality. While
there are individuals in the United States of America today that are understanding
and tolerant of the beliefs of others, there are many who are not. While freedom
of speech allows diverse opinions to be expressed, the stability of the country is
severely diminished when ‘Fundamentalist’ expression is not addressed and
challenged. The expression of Fundamentalist beliefs whether from the Christian
Evangelicals, Mormon Fundamentalists, Muslim Fundamentalists, or others is equally
damaging to the Country. Somehow these sects have ignored the histories of their
beliefs and determined that only their value system is correct and all other
belief systems are wrong. If this is to change we need to focus on the
commonalities of the different religions and educate, educate, educate those who
are in actuality ignorant of reality.

The original reason for establishing a religious belief system may have been the
need for man to establish a philosophical image of himself because he felt he
could not survive without it. This is important to consider if we are to try and
change the belief systems of these radical sects. I have discussed in Genesis –
2012 AD the concept of God as a Universal Consciousness. If this concept could
ever be accepted by Fundamentalists then we might have the opportunity to solve
our problems.

Today there are dozens of different religions in the world and many times that
number of sects. Having studied many of these religious writings I have concluded
that a common basis applies to all religions and that is; Man’s desire for oneness
with Creation. Even though there appears to be a common basis to all religions,
Man, down through the ages has secularized his religious beliefs and has come to
accept the fact that his personal sect and beliefs are the only true means to
happiness and salvation. This secularism and the persistence of Fundamentalism
are indicative of a society with low synergy. That is, they do not work well
together with the rest of the world. Can we make what seems virtually impossible,
possible? Yes we can! But, it won’t be easy. Our society currently lacks the
synergy necessary to facilitate the changes required to fix the underlying
problems. Today we can only make a temporary fix to our local/national problems.

Viewed as a system, human society is an assembly of individual states of

consciousness, which today appears to be in a state of comparatively low synergy.
The amount of synergy in society is a reflection of the way in which we perceive
ourselves in relation to creation and the world around us. In order to increase
synergy, then, we will need to change some fundamental assumptions that lie at the
core of our thinking and behavior. This includes understanding an honest,
objective approach to our basic beliefs.

To change the global situation, far more than a series of social, scientific, and
technological shifts in these models would seem to be called for. To shift from a
low- to a high-synergy society will require a profound shift in our basic self-
model. Such a change in consciousness has now become an evolutionary imperative.

The existence of a universal consciousness is a concept which is difficult for Man

to envision. For the purposes of providing an identity to this concept, mankind
has referred to it as God in Man’s physical image without truly understanding the
role of spirituality. This needs to be corrected. If one assumes there is a
universal consciousness then it is possible to overcome the inevitability of a
world disaster and the achievement of a high synergy society is possible.