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Thoughts?
Topic Started: Oct 29 2012, 01:18 PM (512 Views)
AmarnaGirl
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I have often wondered what things Akhenaten could have done differently, in order to make Atenism more appealing to his people - possibly Atenism would have continued longer after his death,if the people had been more receptive. It is unfortunate that there are not very many Atenists today, only a small handful,it seems. I think it's a shame that it has not been given enough attention among spiritual communities today.

I would love to know other Atenists' thoughts on this.
Edited by AmarnaGirl, Oct 29 2012, 09:26 PM.
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Ankhesenamun
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I think I know why people don't like Atenism, they didn't like it in Ancient times and they don't like it now.

First, the vast majority of people lack spiritual strength.
In order to have proper faith - and I mean real faith, not lip service, not pretending in order to keep up appearences - one has to have a certain amount of spiritual strength.
Most people lack this strength - nowadays even more so then ever before in history.

Second, the majority of people lack understanding.
Looking at all the major religions, the one thing that is obvious in all of them is the fact that most of their followers don't really understand, but merely put an enormous amount of importance on observing the correct rituals, at the correct time - and threatening anyone who does not adhere to these rituals.
People belief that carrying out the correct rituals alone will bring them salvation, prevent them being punished, ward off bad luck, or whatever they might have been told.
What they lack however is genuine faith, faith that comes from tthe heart and has nothing to do with rituals.

Furthermore, most people are terrified of standing up for what they believe, or for the truth - it is much easier to hide in a majority, to be part of many, to follow instead of leading. People blindly follow - they don't want to see the truth because it would be too painful for them to start questioning what they have been told, and to stand alone against many.

Many people have also been threatened that they will suffer if they go against the religion they have been brought up with - eg the Christians who say anyone who doesn't believe in Christianity "ends up in hell" etc

Such people are not really the oppressed - they are the oppression. They will be abusive, in some cases even kill anyone who questions their religion and culture.

I have seen this in all major religions except Buddhism.

This would explain why not more people join Atenism.

As to the question as to why Atenism has not directly survived since the times of Akhenaten -
the explanation for that would be because the truth often gets hidden, usually on purpose - so many people are living a lie. They live a fake identity, they play a role, and construct a carefully built up card house of lies upon lies.

The reasons for this are usually insecurity, lack of self esteem, lack of belief in oneself.

Once one has started living a lie, one has to produce more and more lies in order to avoid getting caught out. In most cases people also lie for personal gain.

That is why the three major Western religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) were created - so that people could be controlled.

Real Atenism encourages personal growth, spiritual strength, individuality.

The "leaders" of these Western religions however want to control people, and so convince them that the only correct way is to follow one of these religions. This gives the "leaders" power.

In such a corrupt world Atenism doesn't stand a chance.
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AmarnaGirl
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*nods* I think this is so true. Christianity,Islam,and Judaism really do control their followers,so much to the point they are afraid to think theologically for themselves,but instead blindly follow whatever they're told, like lemmings. It's about fear,more than it is anything else. I can relate and agree with pretty much everything you've said in your post,it does sum up how people think,doesn't it?

I think even Akhenaten may have known this on some level (hence his efforts to strip the Amun priesthood of their authority - they had more power than the Pharaoh.) I think the Egyptian people were so ingrained to their beliefs (in theology anyway,they had the lemming philosophy),that they were unwilling to test new ideas/practices/beliefs. They didn't want to break out of their mold and confront their own selves, (so much like people today)so Atenism probably wouldn't have worked for them in the long run - it didn't even last as a minor cult after Akhenaten's death. The Aten simply faded from the Egyptian pantheon. I think on some level Akhenaten understood something different that his people didn't,but when he tried to show them,they didn't want to hear it,because it would have meant looking at themselves in a way they didn't want to acknowledge. (Granted,he probably should have chosen a different way to teach them,his methods didn't endear either him or his beliefs,to the people,and they ended up hating him enough to erase him,his city, and the Aten from Egyptian history. It's probably safe to say that most likely wasn't what Akhenaten envisioned!)

I can kind of see the parallel with Christianity here - Jesus tried showing the Jewish people a different idea but they didn't want to have to look inwards at themselves either. (Though in many ways, you might say Atenism is the more pure form of this idea,in part because it never got to the point where it became as corrupted and poisoned as many other faiths have become.) Given time,this most likely would have happened,but that wasn't the case.
Edited by AmarnaGirl, Jan 1 2013, 11:10 PM.
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Lamaku
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Allow me to present my view on the question why Atenism did not survive beyond Akhenaten. Many of you may not like to hear this, though. So close your eyes while you read this!

Do we all agree that Akhenaten was a human being and not a god? Ok. In that case - great as he was - he had his flaws and weaknesses. Agreed? In my view, in his passion for his religious ideas, he was too impatient and, to put it bluntly, too intolerant. He tried to make the Egyptians run before they could walk. Don't blame it all on the people.

You cannot, in a few brief years, undo the conditioning of a life time. You absolutely cannot force-feed the people with new ideas.

You also cannot dispossess an entire privileged class - the priests of the old religion and old gods - destroy their temples, their livelihood, erase their monuments and hope to get away with this without repercussions.

No matter how much we may disdain the superstitions of the old religion, no matter how unpleasant the behaviour of a privileged class (they are the same selfish bastards always and everywhere) - that's NOT a realistic political approach.

I feel sure that if he had given his subjects more time to absorb the new concepts, if he had introduced reforms more slowly, if he had allowed the old religion to exist alongside the new he would not have generated the hatred of the priestly class, a hatred which was the undoing of his project. It is almost certain that his religion would have survived and triumphed in the end.

Yes, he might not have lived to see his new religion flourish but his successors would have carried the torch of enlightenment and there may well have been no Judaism, no Christianity and no Islam. Who knows? We might all be Atenists now, instead of just a few of us.

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Ankhemmaat
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AmarnaGirl
Oct 29 2012, 01:18 PM
I have often wondered what things Akhenaten could have done differently, in order to make Atenism more appealing to his people - possibly Atenism would have continued longer after his death,if the people had been more receptive. It is unfortunate that there are not very many Atenists today, only a small handful,it seems. I think it's a shame that it has not been given enough attention among spiritual communities today.

I would love to know other Atenists' thoughts on this.
Unfortunately, I think Ankenaton, in all of his well-meaning attempts, set himself up for failure.
He tried replacing the most prolific religion in Egypt with monotheism, and thought in a few short years he could have changed thousands of years of tradition. The Amun priesthood had too much of a hold on the people, and I have no doubt they opposed and undermined Ankenaton at every turn. Spreading lies and superstition to keep their power. And two, Ankenaton based Atenism too much around the Kingship and the royal family, and there just wan't much of a plan for it after he died, he was a little short-sighted here. True, we don't know how and if Smenkhare and Neferneferuaten kept up Atenism, but by the time of Tutankamun, Atenism had become a thing of the past. And with Horemheb, Ankenaton's revolution was swept under the rug and reviled for many generations afterwards, his beautiful city destroyed and his body desecrated.
Ankenaton was a man ahead of his time, people just weren't ready for his revelation and the world continued to be too hostile for his gentle religion to thrive.

And I agree with you AmarnaGirl, Atenism has been spared from the corruption of other major religions because it was frozen in time.

Ankhesenamun, Buddhism has some history of oppressing others, especially in the modern day, there are radicals in every religion. Even then, Buddhism is not the only major religion that preaches non-violence, Jainism does too, to an extent that it is mandatory to be a vegan to practice said religion. But a lot of its followers are business men who hoard money and exploit others, so there is no major religion that has a completely clean record. But we're human we all make mistakes.
Edited by Ankhemmaat, Mar 30 2016, 08:12 PM.
The concept of "self" as a singular and coherent entity is a fictional construct, and an individual rather comprises conflicting tensions and knowledge claims (e.g. gender, class, profession, etc). The interpretation of meaning of a text is therefore dependent on a reader's own personal concept of self.
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