Father Abraham /History of World Religions Map & Connections

[Gxg (G²)]

Came across this excellent map on the issue of world religions. It is in the form of a tree that shows the intersections of nearly every major religion in the world/their respective off-shoots. With the tree, the roots of the tree are automatically going to far back into time - the farthest we can go being based on how much we're aware of - many speculating that world religions really started to begin in the era of Noah after the Flood and the Tower of Babel (from which Nimrod arose to change the shape of the world after establishing Babylon alongside the worship of Ishtar and others - with his system of worship impacting the worship given before the Lord even into the time of Abraham).

Of course, we'll only be able to see once we're in heaven the full scope of history. Till then, we can know for certain that religions have always intersected - and for myself, being a believer in God/Christ, my view is that those following the Lord are impacted at every turn when it comes to the history of God's people....

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In addition to that, for anyone from a theistic perspective wanting to have a basis for knowing how and where things may have merged, it's interesting examining the Abrahamic faith (beginning in Genesis 12 and Genesis 11 - continued from Genesis 4 from the era where men around the world simply called on the name of the Lord universally - global consciousness of Theism and belief in One God as the way) t....that is the root of many of the world religions and what sprung from them in their own spheres.

 

[Agnikan]

Came across this excellent map on the issue of world religions....

It's kind of strange that the map has "Ancient Israelite Religion" existing at 2000 BCE, when Israel didn't even exist at 2000 BCE.

And Zoroastrianism probably developed around 1200 BCE, not post-1000 BCE.

 

[gord44]

Cool maps.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Cool maps.

Yep

 

[Gxg (G²)]

It's kind of strange that the map has "Ancient Israelite Religion" existing at 2000 BCE, when Israel didn't even exist at 2000 BCE.

And Zoroastrianism probably developed around 1200 BCE, not post-1000 BCE.

In regards to Israel, there were other things occurring prior to 2,000 B.C.

However, from what I've seen in the academic world/scholarship, 2000 B.C. is the common time frame that things began for Israel according to the Bible. For reference:

• A History of Israel - John Bright - Google Books

• Ancient Israel - Harry Meyer Orlinsky - Google Books

 

[Gxg (G²)]

we can know for certain that religions have always intersected - and for myself, being a believer in God/Christ, my view is that those following the Lord are impacted at every turn when it comes to the history of God's people....

Cool maps.

What's interesting about the maps, considering that they do a good job showing everything interconnected, is that much of this goes alongside the view of how God truly does work in the complexities of other religions.

As another noted best (for a brief excerpt) in Can God improvise outside the boundaries of Christian orthodoxy? - Patheos:

Some Christians would say that in order for Christianity to be uniquely right, we have to believe that Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Ba’hai, and everything else besides Judaism and Christianity are the entirely false products of demons who have deliberately misled billions of people in order to consign them to an eternity in hell. On the opposite end of the spectrum would be those who say that God has reached out to each culture using a different story and Christianity is just one way of framing the mystery of God among many other equally valid possibilities. ...I think Christianity is the most beautiful story about God, but I don’t think other stories about the mystery of existence, theistic or otherwise, lack important wisdom and truth that I can learn from.....One of my most fundamental presumptions about God is that God is a pragmatist who meets people where they are. That’s what God did with the Israelites for thousands of years. In the age of tribal deities, God allowed Israel to treat him like a tribal deity. God accommodated their needs as a people every step of the way, even acquiescing to give them a king when the plan had originally been for God to be their only king (1 Samuel 8). Just about every king that Israel had was corrupt in some way or another, but God went along with it and used his prophets to put a check on the kings’ power. God revealed himself more fully to Israel over time, ultimately showing them through the prophets that he didn’t just exist for the sake of Israel but that he cares about all the people int he world. Certainly there were a lot of wicked things that Israel did that God didn’t go along with, but he was infinitely patient with them and willing to communicate with them in a way that was coherent to their cultural context. If God was such a pragmatist with Israel, it doesn’t make any sense to me that he would be entirely aloof to the ancient people of India or Malaysia or anywhere else. The apostle Paul makes the claim in Romans 1:19 that all humanity has always had knowledge of God. This doesn’t mean that every culture has grasped God equally. But the Hindu Upanishads and the Koran are not entirely without truth. In fact, they do teach many of the same basic virtues that are found in Christianity, though their theological systems are completely different. So the fact that there are many truths to be found in other religions says to me that they must have received some kind of revelation from the mysterious entity we call God.

I think that God is a pragmatist with individuals just like he is with cultures. I don’t think God folds his arms and shuts off people who have unorthodox beliefs, but he tries to put the people and circumstances in their lives that will help them overcome the stumbling blocks in the unique spiritual journey that they’re on. The problem with heresy is not that God punishes or rewards people in a mechanistic fashion for their incorrect beliefs. Heresy is bad because it creates obstacles to the fullness of our encounter with God; our diminished image of God is the “punishment” for our incorrect belief.........If I’ve got an inadequate understanding of Jesus’ cross or the nature of scripture or the moral frailty of humanity, it keeps me from going as deep as I could with God. .....at the same time, I don’t think God is passively waiting for us to believe the right things about him in order to grow close to him. I believe that God is constantly improvising and revealing insights that help us get closer to him from where we are, even if we’ve hit our theological golf ball way off the fairway into a sand-trap somewhere. And I’ve also seen people with unorthodox beliefs being used powerfully by God. One of the most spiritually attuned people I’ve ever known could not believe in the physical resurrection of Christ and didn’t go into ordained ministry as a result, but that did not keep this person from experiencing amazing intimacy with God and mentoring dozens of others.
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I thought it was very relevant what he noted - as it concerns the Global Work of the Holy Spirit in all religions. Some of this goes back to what was noted elsewhere before on the work of the Holy Spirit, as seen here for reference:

....as it concerns following the Work of the Holy SPirit (who was present throughout the Scriptures at many points - even at times when he was asking people to do something different than what had occurred before and he later clarified it in their own times on the basis of God's Express Word) and why we should keep that memory in line, you really cannot address what it is that you've said without really seeing the Holy Spirit's presence as the center. As said before, One thing to consider - if believing that there are other deities in existence other than God or Jesus Christ - is the reality that even religions built around them still can have it where the Holy Spirit is present working in that religion and using it as a bridge to bring others to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. - WITH THIS being no different than the Lord calling Himself "El Shaddai" or using other terms with "El" in them, even though there were other deities already in Cannanite culture/religion with the same name usage.....God came into a context where he could be easily understood. Even with the concept of CHrist, there was an idea of Christ already found in Cannanite culture - and it can be said that God took things further in later times... and likewise the Holy Spirit works with others in the same way:

• The Christs Before Christ: Baal & The Canaanites | atheologica

• THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE WORLD: IN NON-CHRISTIANS, CREATION AND OTHER RELIGIONS

I'm reminded of Dr. Amos Young - who noted that the Lord works in all religions on some level. And where most Pentecostals see the devil's work, Yong sees the Spirit's. ..meaning that Christians should be open to learning from and being enriched by the Spirit's work in world religions - with this also meaning that dialogue must take place alongside evangelism so that all the religions—including Christianity—can learn from each other what the Spirit is doing.

On where he has specifically spoken on the subject more in-depth:

• The Holy Spirit and the World Religions: On the Christian Discernment of Spirit(s) "after" Buddhism

Again, the work of Dr. Amos Yong is perhaps the most scholarly within the Pentecostal world when it comes to noting the extensive range of how the Holy Spirit moves and operates...as seen in The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh and Who is the Holy Spirit: A Walk with the Apostles (more shared here). He has also been very instrumental in showing the ways that the Holy Spirit's work has been crucial - a work that neither the Father nor the Son were designated to do - when it comes to preparing the hearts of others around the world and already working within their cultures in bringing them to Christ....more shared here in Amos Yong’s Review of “Holy Spirit, Chi, and the Other” | Grace Ji-Sun Kim ...or "Beyond the Impasse" by Amos Yong - Society of Vineyard Scholars : Society of Vineyard Scholars and Beyond the Impasse by Amos Yong - A Book Review - JR Woodward. More can be seen here as well - or here in the following:

• Ponderings on a Faith Journey: Spirit of Love (Amos Yong) -- Review

• AmosYong Whither Theological Inclusivism? The
  Development and Critique of an Evangelical Theology of Religions

The Holy Spirit and the Middle Way: A Pentecostal Inquiry in a Pluralistic World - YouTube

The thoughts of Yong have been a blessing to see when it comes to the ways he has challenged the Church in reconsidering the role of the Holy Spirit (and being Orthodox myself, it is cool to realize where his thoughts do line up much on the subject.. - especially in regards to the Word and the Spirit being the "Two Hands" of the Father.....and seeing how extensive the concept is with seeing the Holy Spirit as Wisdom).

To see the work of the Holy SPIRIT as being present in the development of other religions on some level does show a level of stewardship when it comes to the Global work of the Lord in ensuring that religions promoting other gods/deities still allow for pointers to be developed that would bring people back to the Lord and acknowledge him at some point.

• Spiritual Adventures: Sophia, Holy Spirit, Wisdom of God

[URL="https://servantofprayer.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/looking-to-pascha/"]

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[Rebecca Sue]

Following this thread, it looks very interesting.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

....it's interesting examining the Abrahamic faith (beginning in Genesis 12 and Genesis 11 - continued from Genesis 4 from the era where men around the world simply called on the name of the Lord universally - global consciousness of Theism and belief in One God as the way) t....that is the root of many of the world religions and what sprung from them in their own spheres.

On the issue, I forgot to add earlier the ways that Abrahamic religions have been noted to have some common links between Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist beliefs which makes sense as they all arose in the East. Some of this is said in light of how I read long ago an interesting article that had me thinking - as its entitled "Is There A Connection Between Ancient Indian And Hebrew Language?". Some have made clear that in the eras where the Jews were scattered throughout various empires (i.e. the Persians, Greeks, Alexander the Great's Empire), that other cultures got clearly involved. Some say that the contact between Jews and Ancient India was mostly via Dilmun..and for more info, Bahrain has been inhabited since prehistoric times and several thousand burial mounds in the northern part of the main island probably date from the Sumerian Period of the 3rd millennium BC. It was the seat of ancient Dilmun -- a prosperous trading centre linking Sumer with the Indus Valley about 2000 BC. The archipelago was mentioned by Persian -- Greek -- Roman geographers and historians.

Something to consider...seeing how Jews in India have lived among the predominant Hindu and Muslim population for millennia (more shared here in Asian Jews and I like your Christ, I just don't like your Christians. But even outside of that, to see the way that there are common links and connections between groups is rather fascinating and it's something that should be kept in mind when studying the evolution of religions....some even noting that Christianity has had significant change in other places due to what Jesus may have learned in other times - like the speculation of his possibly travelling to the Eastern during His teen years and that being a dynamic that is a part of his similarities to things within Eastern Culture (#101 or here in #68 or here in #355 or #25 - and more discussed in #17 as well as elsewhere in The Jesus Sutras (Part 1): Introduction | The Jesus Question and Sutras | Search Results | The Jesus Question ).

• The Cross and the Lotus

• Description and Significance of the Nestorian Stele, “A Monument Commemorating the Propagation of the Da Qin Luminous Religion in the Middle Kingdom” (大秦景教流行中國&#30865

And this all goes back to understanding the realities of how religions can be shaped and changed by the Diasporas of larger groups or single individuals, as was the case for many Jewish groups living within Indian culture (as others like Sonja Benjamin note well among others when seeing how intersections can impact everything from art to expression)

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And even outside of that, there have been examples of such throughout history of what seemed to be Crypto-Christianity...though at some points, it seems to have been in reverse. And one of them that came to mind can be best described in an article I was able to find entitled Laputan Logic--St. Buddha of India . As said there (for an excerpt):

• Barlaam and Ioasaph who knew BUDDHA – jamesgray2
  

St. Buddha of India
Posted 1698 days ago #

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Seeing that we're on the subject of Christians masquerading as Buddhists, I thought I should mention that Siddhartha Gautama (563 - 483 BC), the founder of the Buddhist religion, is also a canonised saint of the Catholic church!

While the beatification and sanctification of the Lord Buddha didn't actually happen until the 16th century, the story of his early life was quite popular in Europe during the Middle Ages where he was Christianized under the name of Josaphat, the Indian prince.

The story goes a bit like this:

Once upon a time, in the land of India there lived a brave and powerful king by the name of Abenner. After many years of fretting about having no heir to the throne, he eventually had a son named Josaphat. At the time his son's birth the king was told by a Chaldean astrologer that the infant prince would one day grow up and become a Christian holy man and give up his throne. This news greatly upset the king who was obviously most reluctant to lose his crown prince to this new religion (one which had been making steady gains ever since the pioneering work of the apostle St. Thomas). He therefore ordered that the Christian faith be banned entirely from his kingdom and he locked the prince away in the palace, providing for him every luxury imaginable so he would grow up never having any desire to come into contact with the outside world.

When Josaphat reached adulthood he found the cosseted nature of his existence unbearable and so pleaded with his father to release him from his captivity and let him go outside the palace walls. The king, who could see that his son had grown into a handsome and intelligent young man, did not wish to see him suffer needlessly and so he eventually agreed to his request. The prince quickly learnt that while the world outside was indeed a very beautiful place it was also marred by much sorrow and suffering. Josaphat came into contact with a monk by the name of Barlaam, a hermit from Senaar, who explained to him the causes of this suffering and in very little time converted him to the Christian faith.

King Abenner was, of course, most upset about this turn of events and could see that the prophesy was so very close to being fulfilled. Nevertheless he continued to try to obstruct his son's path. In one instance he attempted to have his son seduced by one of his concubines. The temptress, who was the enslaved daughter of another king, came to Josaphat and appealed to his desire to save souls from eternal damnation. In fact she was receiving her coaching directly from Satan himself so she was well versed in scripture. She promised Josaphat that she would certainly convert to Christianity if only he would just sleep with her that night

"Let this also be thy pleasure, as thou wilt. But fulfil me one other small and trivial desire of mine, if thou art in very truth minded for to save my soul. Keep company with me this one night only, and grant me to revel in thy beauty, and do thou in turn take thy fill of my comeliness. And I give thee my word, that, with daybreak, I will become a Christian, and forsake all the worship of my gods. Not only shalt thou be pardoned for this dealing, but thou shalt receive recompense from thy God because of my salvation..."

— Part XXX of Barlaam and Ioasaph by "John the Monk", translated into Greek possibly from a Georgian version sometime in the 11th century
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At first this greatly inflamed the young prince's passions but eventually he managed to bring them under control (probably after a cold shower) and he was then able to resolutely reject the beautiful lady's advances. Josaphat had defeated all temptation and remained pure and committed to his new faith. The story was eventually resolved by the King who then chose to become a Christian. After his death, Josaphat ruled the kingdom for a time though having no interest in earthly matters he abdicated the throne and spent the remainder of his days with the old monk Barlaam, living as a religious recluse.

Saint Josaphat preaching Christianity. 12th century Greek manuscript.​

While many of the particulars of the story have changed to suit its new role as Christian hagiography, the story's Buddhist origins remain highly recognisable. Siddhartha Gautama was also a prince whose birth was accompanied with a prophecy that he would become a great holy man but not a king. He was also protected from the outside world by his father but on leaving the palace he also recognised that the world was full of suffering. He sought to pursue an ascetic life and to reach enlightenment but during this process he was subjected to many attempts to deflect him from this path. He was tempted by the demon Mara who sent his three beautiful daughters, Tanha (desire), Raga (lust), and Arati (aversion) to try to seduce him while he sat meditating under a banyan tree. After resisting these temptations, the prince attained Buddhahood at the age of thirty five.

While the exact process by which this story became adopted into Christian folklore is far from clear, it is thought that it travelled via a chain of adaptations, possibly via Manichaeism, where the Bodhisattva in Sanskrit became rendered as Bodhisav in Persian, then as Budhasaf in Arabic, Iodasaph in Georgian, Ioasaph in Greek and then finally Josaphat in Western Europe.

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The Buddha being tempted by the daughters of Mara, detail from The Life of the Buddha, Maitreya's dhoti, Alchi Sumtseg in Ladakh.​

It wasn't until the 19th century, when the Buddhist scriptures finally began to be translated into European languages, that the connection between the two stories was noticed. Without any historical evidence to prove the independent existence of St. Josaphat, the Buddhist origin of the story is now generally accepted by Catholics. ​

However, despite rumours to the contrary, St. Josaphat remains to this day a recognised saint in the Catholic Church and he retains his place in the Roman Martyrology, a catalogue of martyrs and saints arranged as a calendar. Each day in the Martyrology provides the reader with edifying stories of various saints who may be optionally commemorated on that particular day. ​

The story of St. Josaphat — aka the Lord Buddha — is still commemorated on the 27th of November.​

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Indeed, the story is accepted by Catholics -as seen in Barlaam and Josaphat/Catholic Encylopedia - and thus, it is rather fascinating to consider the parallels.

 

[O mountains]

This is scary

 

[Gxg (G²)]

This is scary

I'm sorry - what exactly was it that is somehow scary? The map?

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Following this thread, it looks very interesting.

If you have any thoughts, would love to hear...

 

[LoAmmi]

I remember following this map before and being very confused by it because the understanding they have of the Jewish branches seems to come from Outer Space.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

I remember following this map before and being very confused by it because the understanding they have of the Jewish branches seems to come from Outer Space.

Which specific aspect of the Jewish branches was it that you felt was off? Any examples?

 

[LoAmmi]

Which specific aspect of the Jewish branches was it that you felt was off? Any examples?

It makes everything seem a lot more separated than it is in reality. All modern Jewish branches should come from the Pharisees. None of the other groups survived from that time period. Then breaking off Kabbalah and putting the Hasidic there makes no sense because they're a group within Orthodox Judaism and Keballah is simply the mystic thought of Judaism, not it's own thing. I know I don't have much to do with it, but it isn't this outside thing that doesn't exist within Orthodox Judaism.

I have a feeling this was made with zero Jews involved. LOL

 

[Supreme]

Great map, interesting to see just how dominant a circle the Abrahamic religions have- we're clearly more convincing (not that its a contest!).

Anyways, I've always loved the sheer diversity of human culture, and religion is just part of that diversity. Heck, even within a single religion, diversity from different cultures is so apparent. Just compare American to Egyptian Christianity, for example.

 

[Rajni]

I appreciate the chart in your first post which, along with other
sources, shows that Islam is, indeed, part of the Abrahamic
network. It was claimed, in another discussion, that Islam is not an
Abrahamic religion, which I hadn't heard before (personally, I'm
persuaded that it is).

I also appreciate the overlap with Indian spirituality, being that
I personally have lately been getting as much inspiration from
reading the Bhagavad Gita as I have the Bible.

-

 

[Gxg (G²)]

It makes everything seem a lot more separated than it is in reality. All modern Jewish branches should come from the Pharisees. None of the other groups survived from that time period. Then breaking off Kabbalah and putting the Hasidic there makes no sense because they're a group within Orthodox Judaism and Keballah is simply the mystic thought of Judaism, not it's own thing. I know I don't have much to do with it, but it isn't this outside thing that doesn't exist within Orthodox Judaism.

I have a feeling this was made with zero Jews involved. LOL

Karaite Judaism, as much as I disagree with it, did come from the Sadducee branch - and it is still going on today. And the Iraqi Babyloninan Jews/Mizrahi Jews did have some very interesting developments that were not connected with Pharisee culture and yet evolved into differing camps today. Some of the battles between differing groups aren't all rooted in them being based on Pharisee culture and then going from there and the differing customs of other groups are always astounding.

With Kabbalah going on and doing its own thing (even though there are extensive camps within Kabbalah that are very much a part of normative Judaism), Hasidism has had interesctions with Orthodox Judaism but has often been viewed with suspicion due to its own development. I've seen it where Hasidism has been considered within the bounds of Orthodox Judaism and see where other Jews noted it to be more so on the mystical/Charismatic side of things - with there being a lot of turf battles on the matter. As another noted best, "Hasidic Judaism was initially seen by ultra-Orthodox Litvish mitnagdim Jews as a charismatic, heretical and panentheistic movement designed to take Jews away from Torah study, and make them worship nature and creation instead. Just as Judaism morphed from Temple-centred to study-centred religion, so then Hasidism took its followers away from study and towards the charismatic person of the rebbe, who functions as the earthly link between man and God, with a divine connection to Heaven." On the history:

Hasidism is a movement of religious revival with a distinctive social profile. Originating in the second quarter of the eighteenth century, it has continued to exist without interruption up to the present day. Its ideological and historical origins are generally associated with the figure and unique teachings of Yisra’el ben Eli‘ezer (1698/1700–1760), known as the Ba‘al Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name; abbreviated Besht), his self-awareness as a leader of his people, and his activities as the purveyor of a new religious message. The emergence and rapid expansion of Hasidism, coupled with the feelings of identification it continues to arouse, have helped it to withstand persistent opposition and become a central phenomenon of Jewish history in the modern era—one of the most prominent features in the religious, social, and experiential world of East European Jewry.

The beginnings of Hasidism may be traced to spontaneously formed, elitist groups of Torah scholars and kabbalists in the southeastern region of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, particularly in the province of Podolia. In the generation following the death of the Besht, his admirers called themselves Hasidim (Heb., more properly Ḥasidim)—a highly charged term applied previously to individuals recognized in the community as exceptionally pious or as kabbalists, who were as such allowed to adopt certain distinctive ritual practices. Members of the Besht’s circle of Hasidim and their disciples became charismatic leaders in numerous communities in the regions of Ukraine, Subcarpathian Rus’, and Belorussia, attracting admirers and curious individuals, particularly young Torah scholars unable to satisfy their spiritual needs by traditional methods of scholarship.​

Of course the map itself is far from perfect and it's something I've wondered about - but as other Jews have used it, I'm not certain other Jews would be against it entirely even with some minor adjustments. Some things were not made to show exact splits or definitions entirely since the reasons a line developed from another or why they felt something grew from another branch are things they did not spell out.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

I appreciate the chart in your first post which, along with other
sources, shows that Islam is, indeed, part of the Abrahamic
network. It was claimed, in another discussion, that Islam is not an
Abrahamic religion, which I hadn't heard before (personally, I'm
persuaded that it is).

I'm surprised someone actually tried to claim that Islam itself was NOT an Abrahamic religion. Others have often noted where it actually derived in many respects from Eastern Christianity (more shared here) - but it being Abrahamic is something which scholars have never really questioned to my knowledge. One God and One Lord - that's Abrahamic at one of the main essentials.

I also appreciate the overlap with Indian spirituality, being that
I personally have lately been getting as much inspiration from
reading the Bhagavad Gita as I have the Bible.

Cool to know - as I have had the same with regards to appreciating the dynamics of culture/history that have been made available in Indian Spirituality. All truth is God's Truth

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Great map, interesting to see just how dominant a circle the Abrahamic religions have- we're clearly more convincing (not that its a contest!).

It's hard to avoid the impact of Abrahamic religions on the culture of the entire world...and glad you pointed out what you did

Anyways, I've always loved the sheer diversity of human culture, and religion is just part of that diversity. Heck, even within a single religion, diversity from different cultures is so apparent. Just compare American to Egyptian Christianity, for example.

Coptic Christianity and American Christianity are truly two differing things in many respects - although I've actually seen others note that they feel American Christianity, when it comes to Triumphalism, is actually another religion in/of itself with the ways patriotism has been brought in to deify American founders....and praise American Exceptionalism. I was surprised that there were no branches of the tree that seemed to take this into consideration...

]

 

[LoAmmi]

Karaite Judaism could be a throwback to Sadducees, but they have no direct lineage to them. A movement that started in the 18th century also would have to grow out of the Pharisees because, again, the Pharisees are the ones that survived for what we know of Judaism today.

I'm pretty familiar with Mizrahi Jews being Sephardic. I'd be very willing for someone to point out the theological differences since we all attend the same synagogues.