When and where did the belief of one God begin?

Answer 1

It never began. God is eternal as so is this belief.

Answer 2

Let's establish 2 timelines quickly, for ease of answering.

1. BIBLICAL TIMELINE - I WILL ANSWER THIS IN ALL CAPITALS.

2. Secular historical timeline - I will answer in lowercase.

Just remember, these timelines do intersect in many areas, so keep that in mind.

ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, THE BELIEF IN ONE GOD, AKA MONOTHEISM, BEGAN IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN WITH THE CREATION OF MAN. GOD CREATED MAN AND WOMAN, AND WAS EVENTUALLY FORGOTTEN BY THE EVIL PEOPLE WHO ENDED UP POPULATING THE EARTH. GOD DESTROYED THE EARTH BY FLOOD, LEAVING ONLY NOAH AND HIS FAMILY TO SURVIVE. MAN ONCE AGAIN LOST TOUCH WITH GOD UNTIL ABRAHAM, FATHER OF THE JEWISH, CHRISTIAN, AND MUSLIM FAITHS WAS CONTACTED BY GOD. ABRAHAM BECAME THE FIRST MONOTHEIST IN HISTORY.

Now the secular historical version:

The first monotheistic religion was Zoroastrianism, a religion of the Persians. It has many similarities to Judaism and Christianity. Look it up on google. There are still some Zoroastrians around today, especially up in NYC. The first great monotheistic founder / father was Abraham. (see the connection to the Biblical tradition? Though the Bible speaks of Noah, and I believe that he existed, there is no evidence of him in secular history. However, there is plenty of Great Flood evidence, most likely the release of water at the end of the Ice Age and the terrible flooding, earthquakes, and vulcanism that followed. Read Graham Hancock's book, Fingerprints of the Gods for an interesting theory on the Great Flood. Oh, there are over 180 different Great Flood / Noah stories from around the world.) Back to Abraham. Abraham led his small band of people around the desert, (he was originally from Ur, in Iraq) and while traveling was converted to believe in One God. Abraham's teachings became the basis for the Jewish Faith. Later, the Muslims split after the tradition of Muhommed, and the Christians after Christ. However, Abraham is respected as a patriarch (father figure) in all 3 religions, and as the original founder.

I hope I didn't confuse you too much. Remember, just because there is no physical evidence of Noah or Adam and Eve doesn't mean they didn't exist! That's the fun of faith.

Jay

Answer 3

I heard Akenatun had the belief forced on the Egyptians but as soon as he died, they returned to their pantheon and tried to erase and/or demolish any mention of him or that religion.
Abraham supposedly started the Islamic, Jewish and Christian religions based on one god, Yahweh. He was from Sumeria where they had a creation story similar to the Bible creation story but the deity was a snake goddess. Also, the story of Gilgamesh (flood story, very similaar to the Genesis flood story) came from there.

Answer 4

We all have God within us and we are designed to search for him. From the very beginning, mankind has search for God. We are mislead by the untruths and that is why there are so many religions.

Answer 5

The exact details are lost to time.

The first recorded monotheisic system was in Egypt, the worship of Aten (also spelld Atum), during 14th century BC.

It lasted all of 20 years.

Answer 6

Monotheism started springing up in the late Bronze age. Zorasterism, and parts of Hinduism may have been the first.

Answer 7

It all began when man believed he could elevate himself to the point of worshipping his own creative imagination (i.e. the concept of an all-powerful god).

Answer 8

It comes spontaneously to those to who know how to look. It begins in many places across many times.

Answer 9

Akhenaten (King Tut's father) was monotheistic, but that was short lived. That would have been in the 1350's BCE

Answer 10

in the beginning, in Eden, with Adam

Answer 11

New Jersey