What took God so long to start up Monotheism?

Question

So I just asked this question, but I didn't get my question across right. For those who have answered the other one, sorry about that.
So my second attempt:

If Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden around 4000 BC (an approximation, not an exact date), they would have told their children about the One God. As with religions, after being raised on the God of the Garden of Eden, a religion would have started nearly immediately.
However, Yahweh was not mentioned again until around 1800 BC (again, not an exact date, but pretty close). IF the stories in the OT were passed down from the children of Adam and Eve, why did it take so long for the religion (or even the idea of monotheism) to start?
If written tradition started around 3000 BC, why did the stories (that had to have been prevalent for the idea of Oral Tradition to actually work) wait until 1300 BC to be written down?
My question is, if these stories started from the beginning of time, why did they take so long to be heard?

Answer 1

Wow, what a good question! Hmmm...i am going to attempt an answer...but will no doubt fall short...the way i see it is A) after the fall of man (adam in the garden totally biffing it) we as a race had this big ol chasm between God and ourselves, put there by us..not God...by sin. So essentially, God could have said "way to go jerks" and left us because, he really doesn't owe us anything, he's God and all...but he is by definition good, loving and just...so...at some aforementioned time (in your post) he comes to good ol Abraham and says your descendents (what we call jews) are going to be my peeps...i've got their back...he had their back b/c his boy Jesus was going to come through the lineage (see matthew and luke for his mom's geneolgy and his earthly pops) so that it would be possible for the whole race of humans to be reconciled to him (through the redeeming work of Jesus death and resurrection). God's silence for X number of years does not equate a lack of proof, merely a time when he was silent...he didn't speak to his people for a real long time (as recorded in the OT) because they were really off track, then he got his prophet (Ezekiel, maybe) to break that silence and go off on Israel about their Idolatry and ditching him when things evened out and they thought that they didn't need the Dude anymore.
In the end, there are times when me and God aren't really on speaking terms...it's never because he ceased to be or care... it's because i cause a rift between us with my heart or actions...it's like any other relationship...when there is a issue between two people...communication can stop...unless it's made right.

Answer 2

Hi,

No snarky sarcasm here, just an honest attempt to respond as best I can. If one accepts the story of Adam and Eve as being true, then it is reasonable to believe that the faith of those in the generations immediately following their expulsion from the Garden would be pretty strong as well. However, as time went on, it's likely that the description of the Garden became muddled, the deception with the apple/pomegranate/tomato became foggy, and the person who actually put Adam and Eve there in the first place less distinct. (Consider the kids' game "telephone") So eight generations, and several linguistic translations later the story has taken on a whole new form.

Then God, angry about this new form, reboots humanity with the Great Flood, and starts from scratch. Unfortunately, humans being what they are, screw it up again.

This time God just sighed and let them carry on.

He sent helpers every now and again to try to straighten things out, but few made any impact. Until the New Testament, but that's a totally different story.

Answer 3

Right after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, their children Cain and Abel each offered sacrifices to God (Genesis 4). Also in that chapter we read that people started to call on the holy name of the Lord in worship.

The year 1800 BC (an approximate) was the year Moses proclaimed salvation to the Israelites that were in bondage in Egypt. He didn't start anything because Moses declared that the God he was proclaiming was the God of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob. These people knew about God even in bondage. That's why God sent Moses to save His people because God heard their cry for salvation.

Why did it take so long to write it down? That's cultural history: oral tradition came first. But writing did not change any of the theology and stories, other than diminishing the capacityto memorize long stories and songs.

Answer 4

See "When did Christianity really start?" question. It goes all the way back to Genesis with Adam and Eve, and WAS monotheistic. They were heard from the beginning of time. they may have been recorded later. Since Adam and Eve conversed and used language, they may have had written language, but it may not have survived, especially after the flood. The idea of monotheism was always there from Adam and Eve until now, and will (per Scripture) prevail until history is no more.

Answer 5

Assuming that the Bible is at least semi-accurate there has been a monotheistic religion on the earth almost continuously since Adam and Eve. Also many cultures have stories similar to the ones in the old testament, such as the American Indians and their version of Noah's Flood. One would assume that these stories have a common origin (even if it is remembering a common event.) My point is, that according to Abrahamic Tradition (Judaism , Islam, and Christianity) there has been a monotheistic religion on earth nearly continuiosly.

Answer 6

Actually this isn't really hard to understand if you do a little bible searching. Adam lived 930 years in all that time everyone from that point on knew "grandpa" Adam all the way up to Noah's father Lamech. Obviously, Lamech and everyone else "knew" the story because they could hear it first hand. Lamech told Noah. Noah lived 950 years. That is long enough for Noah to know Abraham. So Abraham knew "grandpa" Noah and it was known all of what was known to him prior to the flood. This was all common knowledge for them. Also the flood destroyed absolutely everything. All those things from the beginning to the flood were lost. All civilization, tools, and anything written were all lost. So after the flood waters receded all of humanity was back to square one on the technology tree.

Answer 7

Actually, the oldest Pagan idol that archaeologists ever found was a goddess. The "Great Mother" is said to be as old as 12,000 years. If Adam and Eve's offspring were Monotheists they may have been worshiping "Goddess" instead of "God." We should also see some Jewish conceptualization popping up along with the early Pagan artifacts if the Biblical account holds water. It doesn't appear until some 5000 - 6000 years later. Of course this lack of evidence doesn't stop the faithful from being utterly convinced that the Bible tells the truth. I think that is a sad state of affairs.

Answer 8

because when they got kicked out of the so called paradise their memories of "paradise" where lost

that is also why they never told their children where the garden of eden was located

since their memories of "paradise" where taken the only remaining memory they'd have of existing would be of satan

after generations of passing down the stories of the apple some people would've pieced it together that the "snake" was actually god and created adam n eve as well since the snake was the only other presence that was mentioned excluding god, adam, and eve

Answer 9

That is an excellent question, and I can't wait to see what the bible thumpers have to say.

As for me, taking it philosophically, I'd say they probably did, but got confused because of the newly acquired knowledge they had and the serpent tempting them with stories of other, kinder gods.

I'd also like to add that I'm NOT religious.

Answer 10

Some call him Yahweh, some Mohamed, others call him Buddha and some just god.

As he is a personal god, I prefer to call him space fairy, and I think it took a long for space fairy to write stuff down because he doesn't exist, which is quite a handicap I'm sure you will agree.

.