What are at least three religious beliefs the ancient Egyptians had?

Question

It is driving me crazy. I have afterlife and polytheism.

Let me add that I do have the book but i cant find it. Please?

Answer 1

http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.3.html
http://lexicorient.com/e.o/egypt_rl.htm
http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/religion.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/religion.htm
http://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/Egypt/egyptian_religion.htm
are some websites that may help i used theese when i did my progect

Answer 2

I have to clear up a misconception posted by Tapestry6... the ancient Egyptians did NOT worship cats as Gods.

From http://www.per-bast.org/ :

"Myth: cat worship and the domestic cat

The domestic cat is not Bast's only form, and was not Her official state form. The domestic cat statues found by the hundreds in the cat cemeteries were objects meant to stand in for the animal itself, not Bast (or Pakhet or Mafdet or Mut or any of the other gods to Who the cat was a sacred animal).

Additionally, while cats were important to the worship of Bast, cats themselves were not worshipped. There is a significant difference between seeing the nature of God in an animal, and worshipping an animal. While the ancient Egyptians doubtlessly cherished animals and saw within them echoes of their God, they no more deified them than Christians deify sheep as symbols of Christ."

Also, there's something to be said for the idea that the ancient Egyptians were not polytheists at all, but rather a kind of monotheist:

http://www.cedarseed.com/air/monoegypt.html

Answer 3

Egyptian Religious Belief?
* They believed in the sun god Ra, who was the symbol of life, originally obvious spiritual life, as his symbol (dott in the circle)tells (The (W)Hole Book on Mimbres Pots). The pharaoh was often identified with the sun god.

* They believed that the sun god would encircle the earth and pass through the underworld at night, where he had to fight certain enemies. Every morning he rose triumphant from the underworld, circling the sky till night. The soul was thought to rise triumphantly like the sun god, and prayers were made for the soul saying so. This symbolism suggests that the Egyptians knew that the earth was round!

* They believed that the soul would return to the Ka or Double, the soul statue we could say, which was placed in the tomb. I think that this was done to prevent to soul from haunting the houses. The Egyptians seemed to be afraid of the dead.

* They believed that the heart of the dead person was weighed in a scale, comparing its weight with a feather. A good heart was thought to be light. The soul had to appear before a group of judges.

* They believed that Osiris was a god and that he ruled the underworld. His son Horus inherited his throne. Osiris' wife was Isis, her sister was Nephtys and her husband was Seth.

* Seth was originally thought to be a good god, but later he was connected with evil. He was said to have tricked and killed his brother Osiris.

* The Egyptians believed that every hour was ruled by a god and/or a goddess, who all had names.

* They believed that after death they had to have pass words in order to advance to the fields of peace (heaven). E.g. the soul needed to know the names of the posts of a door to be able to pass through.

* It was considered bad fortune when the priest (male and female priests) made errors. The priests, before service, were not allowed to eat meat. As we know, meat makes the body smell bad, and the Egytians disliked bad smells. They wore cones of fragrent wax on their head to smell good. There are prayers to the gods asking not to make their body stink.

* They believed that as long as the name of the dead person was remembered, the soul was existent.

* The Egyptians thought that the statues of the gods needed to get dressed, bathed, fed and carried outside in processions.

It seems to me that the Egyptians knew all the ancient spiritual secrets about our energy fields (Aura, Chakra Kundalini etc.), nowadays called "new" age, and that we cannot really understand them when we do not know about these fields.

E.g., the cobra was the symbol of Kundalini, found as decoration in several places.

The Egyptians had a fascinating culture and showed an incredible sense of art. They may not have been perfect, yet, may be we can learn from their spiritual understanding of our energies, left for us in symbols. These energy fields are also mentioned in the Bible!

Cordially,
India.Magica

Answer 4

they worshipped cats as gods..
they believed in an afterlife but I don't know if it was for everyone;
they thought all their Pharaohs were immortal that is why they made the pyramids and provided so much stuff for them in the tomb.

Answer 5

They didn't, they were smarter than that. When everyone else was praying to the moon god, the Egyptians were busy building the Pyramids.

Answer 6

they believed the sun was the center of the universe, they believed in curses from their gods, and the people from the lower Egypt actually believed in only one God.

Answer 7

That the pharoahs were living Gods.

Answer 8

Books are the answer here.

Answer 9

they saw the pheroe as a God on earth.