Did man switch from polytheism to monotheism simply because its easier?

Question

Easier to worship, sacrifice, etc.

Because how are the mulitple gods of greek and roman mythology any more silly than the single god of religions today?

props to bc_munkee, didn't mean to scoop you.

Answer 1

yes, it is easier, but it's also more powerful - one almighty guy who knows it all and can see everything you do - that scares the **** out of people.
other than that, it's the same kind of fairy tales.

Answer 2

Man probably went from Monothesim to Polytheism and then back to Monothesim. The ancients probably worshipped the mother goddess due to the stone carvings that have been found that date over 30,000 years ago. I would think that they also looked at the world as full of spirits, but gods? Probably not until the development of agriculture and the beginning of permanent villages.

On that note, with the development of ancient civilization in Egypt, it's development of multiple gods; it eventually had one Pharoah, Akenaten; whom tried to establish the creation of a sole god that he called Aten to replace all the other multiple of gods. At this time, the ancient Israelites may have not yet been enslaved by the Egyptians, but lived under the graces of the Pharoahs due to their ancestor Joseph and his interpretations of the Pharoahs dreams. Did the ancient Hebrews learn Monotheism from Akenaten? The time of Ramses II and the exodus from Egypt was a couple of centuries later; perhaps during the aftermath of the volcanic explosion on the island Thera (current Santorini); which lead to the parting of the Reed sea, as the ancient hebrews may have been traversing the northern marshland to get out of Egypt; seen the Tsunami effect of the water in the marsh areas withdrawing, getting to higher ground and them see the Pharoah's army enveloped by the returning sea?

Answer 3

Monotheism was the established form. Polytheism originated with those who have rejected the Lord God Almighty, they realized one god in comparison didn't cut it so they had to formulate multiple entities to try and balance the comparison.

Answer 4

your description of the practice of religion as silly is quite interesting...practically all religions share basic tenets dictating how man should behave....the problem is that they also have to claim exclusive validity in order for them to survive and be relevant...monotheism and polytheism become irrelevant in this context...monotheism just happened to win out in most struggles for domination fueled by notions of exclusive validity..i think it is safe to say convenience was the farthest thing on their minds..this self righteous attitude is the major cause of all of mankinds major conflicts..until we realize and accept this perspective we will never have true peace in the world

Answer 5

its easier actually to put a THIS HOUSE PROTECTED BY ANGELS stickker on your door... the angels dont require anything
its like relig light

It was the other way around

Noah survived the flood and it didnt take too long before man increased in number and went their own ways, turning from the living God to fictional idols

Answer 6

Governments noticed religions being good business so they decided to get in the game by eliminating the competition.

Answer 7

Simple. They aren't all-powerful. A non-all powerful god is the silliest thing I've ever heard of. Also, Abraham was monotheistic (which precedes both of your examples)

Answer 8

Man switched because they were forced to by Christians.

I believe it was King James who made Paganism, in his time, illegal. If you didn't go to church every Sunday, or were caught doing something considered "heathen", you were accused of Witchcraft and executed.

Simple as that.

Answer 9

You make religion sound like a dance club. I didn't like the square dance so I switched to the two-step.

Answer 10

Catholicism still practices the same hierarchy system as the ancients.

Answer 11

It was so the gods wouldn't have to split the collection plate money so many different ways.