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| Revelation and mediatorship | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 6 2014, 06:41 AM (282 Views) | |
| Maaritaten | Apr 6 2014, 06:41 AM Post #1 |
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For any neo-atenist there is one important decision to make: what are our views on revelation? And as a follow up question, is there any need or use of a mediator? Personally I don't believe that atenism leaves any room for revelations as they might be understood in a christian context. Rather I think the word inspiration would be more useful. The texts speak of how Aten 'placed' the teachings of this beautiful religion in the heart of the royal couple. That brings me to my second point: mediatorship. While all scholarly litterature is in agreement that all worship of the Aten was through Akhenaten (since "no one knows him but his beloved son"), I think they are missing an important point: Akhenaten is always referred to as the Lord of the Two Lands (ie. Egypt), but Aten is Lord of Heaven and Earth, and all the countries on it. Is it possible that Akhenaten was Aten's chosen prophet for that particular time and place in history? Is it possible that part of what Atenism was in those days were particular only to the local expression of it? Is it possible that the royal family's exclusive right to worship depended on local circumstances, on trying to keep it unadultered while trying to propagate it among the general public? I think so. I believe we need to look at the core teachings of the great hymn, and respect personal revelation/inspiration. I believe Akhenaten should be respected (and in a sense revered) for having a special relationship with the Aten, but I also believe that others can fill that role in other times and places. I believe each and everyone of us has access to the Aten directly, but not all of us are chosen to recieve divine inspiration. Sorry for rambling... |
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'Let me be satisfied seeing You, Oh Living Aten!' - adapted from the Hymn of Tutu, Chamberlain of the Two Lands | |
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| AmarnaGirl | Apr 8 2014, 06:28 PM Post #2 |
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I'm not sure how I feel about the whole prophet idea (though many religions have had their own); in that sense,certainly,Akhenaten could be seen as the chosen persona for that place and time. I do think Atenism was VERY localized in the sense that it was seemingly only practiced in Amarna (and mainly by the royal family) and not in the rest of Egypt,per se. I don't see that there was much effort on Akhenaten's part to propagate Atenism among the general public - from historical accounts,it seems to be almost exclusively a royal family affair. We'll never know how many other Egyptians embraced the faith,or seemed to,for the sake of appearances. I can agree that each of us has access to the Aten directly (this would not have been the case in Amarna,but we are not there now,and times/circumstances are certainly different now.) and I'm not sure that we all can't receive divine inspiration either. Possibly we can,I don't know. However,I don't see any other prophets of Aten stepping forward anytime soon. |
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| Maaritaten | Apr 9 2014, 06:55 PM Post #3 |
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The word prophet is often understood as implying having had some great revelation of sorts, but I do not think that Akhenaten was ever subject to anything like that. I would suggest many prophets have been inspired (in the religious sense) rather than having received actual revelations. I think it is important to mention that inspiration doesn't in any way imply infallacy. Any inspiration received is always subject to highly personal ammendations and interpretations. From this comes my belief that an 'historically informed' Atenism can make adjustments for the modern era. That is also why I believe that the exclusivity of worship of the Aten often claimed for the royal family can be understood in light of the historical framework of 'pharaoh-ship'. This is just my personal views, but when the historical sources point to a certain ambiguity regarding the Aten and it's relationship to mankind I am more inclined to regard the more accessible aspects as being more divinely inspired, while the exclusive aspects being the fruits of Akhenaten's own time and situation. As for receiven inspiration, it is just my personal belief that some people are more fit for certain tasks than others, not only in religious matters - I don't mean to imply that one thing is better than another
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'Let me be satisfied seeing You, Oh Living Aten!' - adapted from the Hymn of Tutu, Chamberlain of the Two Lands | |
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8:33 PM Jul 10