"Tim Daneliuk" wrote in message
...

Right, the commandment is noteworthy specifically because it is the
first recording of monotheism. But to your original comment, early
Judaism
(not Christianity) did *not* stipulate that there were other gods but more
specifically that the other gods were false. You get this from a reading
not just of the commandment you cited but the larger body of Hebrew
Biblical literature. By the time Christianity showed up, this monotheism
was assumed.

Well, it's a case of faith versus reference again. If you accept that
"pharaoh" is Rameses, 1500 is the proper time. Of course, the books
themselves were written down considerably later, in an attempt to
consolidate and codify legend and practice.

Monotheism, and monotheistic bias even among atheists like Larry is your
mental stumbling block in considering other "religions." Lay you two to
one that Taoism and Confucianism, which really have no gods, are a couple in
the 20 not cited, and Hinduism and Shinto have so many possibilities ....

Polytheistic religions propitiate many gods one at a time in an attempt to
gain a better harvest, freedom from disease, male offspring, or an erection.
These gods apparently do not exchange information, so as to gain a larger
share of the total service. Monotheistic religions feature a universal code
of behavior - laws - which, if followed, will release the soul to a paradise
which has everything, rather than just "consciousness", or in some of the
Christian sects, salvation by words or "grace", not deeds.

Why study them? Because each, though different, has either shaped a culture
or been shaped by a culture to serve the universal need of the creature. The
creature strives to do or be better, and collect a reward for it, rather
than live in a cold mathematically-governed universe in which there is no
beginning or end, and life, which means so much to the one living it, is in
reality meaningless, because nothing so/he says or does can influence the
end.