Why is Jerusalem and the Middle East the central place for religion?

Question

Why couldn't it have started somewhere else?

I ask again.....WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THERE?
Why did God choose there?

Just because is not an answer....let's get a little deeper than that people :)

I know that is where it all started...Adam and Eve...etc. But why?

Answer 1

That is one center of religion, for sure. But India is most certainly another one. From India, originated Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It has many great philosophies that have influenced the entire world. And it has many great pilgrimage spots for all faiths, even the ones that didn't originate there - for example, there are memorials to the Apostle Thomas.

Answer 2

The geographic area where Jerusalem is, was a major crossroads of civilization. You had to pass through that area to get into or out of Africa, or to pass from Europe to Asia. The Middle East is literally the birth place of civilization.

Answer 3

Fascinating question. Would you believe: Alexander the Great? I wouldn't but it's true. When he took Persia he named a friend to be General, one of three. When Alexander died they split the land amongst them and his friend took the land which, later, included Jerusalem. About, 80BC the Romans defeated the then-ruler, and inherited all his land, including Jerusalem. On 70AD the Romans razed the city and banned all Jews from Jerusalem. Roman rule lasted about 150 years.but allowed St. Paul to claim Roman citizenship and demand a trial in Rome. No Jerusalem, no Rome. Islam formed in Medina, 500 miles away, in the 7th Century, amidst great misery, maybe multi-year drought. Shortly afterwards, the Orthodox split from Rome and centered in Constantinople.

Answer 4

It's where the first human civilizations developed, and not surprisingly where major religions developed.

But you are also forgetting major eastern religious traditions as well as peoples all over the world had religions long before and long after the religions of the middle east sprawled out.

Answer 5

Because Jerusalem is the land that God pick out for himself and his people. Simple as that. It says so in the Bible. Also, creation starts in the Middle East. Iraq is where the garden of Eden is most likely located, though it has not yet been found. Descriptions in the Bible include areas in Iraq though. Who can doubt Bible prophecy! God's word is perfect and never wrong!

Answer 6

Because humanity started in Africa, and because of natural boundaries, NE was the only way for them to spread out, and the luck of timing determined that when human society reached a certain point, they began to organize into a civilization.

Answer 7

In God's eyes, Jerusalem is the center of the universe. His temple was and soon will be built on the temple mount in the old city. Jesus His son, taught in the same temple and was crucified at Calvary.

Listen to what God says He will do in regards to Jerusalem:

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about,


When they shall be in the siege both against Judah and aginst Jerusalem.

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people:

All that burden themselves with it shall be cut to pieces,

Though all the people of the earth be gathered against it.
Zechariah 12:2-3

"And it shall come to pass in that day,

That I will seek to destroy al the nations that come against Jerusalem."
Zechariah 12:9

"And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem;

Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,

And their eyes shall consume away in their holes,

And their tongue shall consume away in their mouth."
Zechariah 14:12

Jerusalem is the most contested piece of land on this planet.

Answer 8

It's only the center if you happen to be Christian, Jewish or Muslim. Buddha never came near the place. Ditto for most of the Chinese and Asian deities, prophets, etc. And in another sense, what we know as "Christianity" is really a Hellenization and Romanization of a part of Jewish tradition.

Answer 9

Because God, the God of the Bible chose the City of Jerusalem as the place where He would dwell among men. When Christ returns, this will be the place of the throne of His Kingdom.
The stage is being set.

Answer 10

Dear, religions started all over.

The middle East is only the "central place" for SOME religions.