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Who's atenism?
Topic Started: Apr 9 2014, 07:07 PM (508 Views)
Maaritaten
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Sorry for spamming, but I get these moments when all kinds of questions and thoughts just attack me...

Having read many forums about religious reconstructionism, one thing that strikes me is that there is more often than not a discrepancy between our knowledge of how the original religions were practiced, and how we want to practice them today - and it holds true for this forum as well.

For many of us I think the question at hand is if we would practice our religion exactly as Akhenaten, to the best of our knowledge, meant it - or if we would rather piece our belief and worship together from the various textual sources?

For example, the claimed exlusive right of worship of the Aten as belonging to Akhenaten himself: we would be hard pressed to find archeological evidence of anything else but indirect worship of the Aten by commoners, through the royal family. Even the texts speak of no one 'knowing' Aten but 'his son Akhenaten'. Yet the hymns speak time and time again of people worshipping the Aten direct - a quick overview of a few longer hymns and prayers gives at least 7 instances of lines like 'and they raise their hands in worship of you, Oh Living Aten'; the faithful is always described as thanking, praising, praying and Akhenaten comes of more as a teacher than a mediator.

My atenism is that of the hymns and prayers that have been preserved, applying those historical facts that are compatible with my understanding and interpretation of the hymns. What is yours? :)
'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
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For myself, I am much the same way. I like the Atenism of Akhenaten's earlier years (before Year 9) when things seemed more tolerant and open,not as radical as they became in later years. I prefer the hymns and texts that we know,paired with (possibly) more modern practices that may or may not have been done in Akhenaten's time. We have very scant information on how Aten may have been worshiped by those who did.

I don't think that today we could really practice Atenism exactly the way that Akhenaten had it, (no "reconstructionist" faith can really do this exactly as antiquity had it: I've been a member of a couple different "recon" groups,and am acquainted with several others, there are ALWAYS modern practices involved.) Simply because we don't really know how it worked. We do know that Akhenaten saw himself as the sole mediator for the Aten,and that the people were to pray to Akhenaten,not the Aten directly. Household shrines at Amarna depicted Akhenaten and/or his wife and children worshiping the Aten. I think one of the many reasons Atenism didn't last is because the Aten was more or less closed off to the common people,so to speak. The Aten was really only for Akhenaten and the royal family. Aten was an inaccessible god for the ordinary Egyptian - they had nothing to relate to.

It is different now - I think the Aten can be available to everyone without the need for a mediator. Though there were a few Atenists that I ran across in the past (mainly from the now defunct Orthodox Atenist Assembly) who believed still that the only way to the Aten was directly through Akhenaten himself.

I am uncomfortable with the idea of worshiping a human being (dead or alive); I got too much of that from Christianity. I can see Akhenaten having a place of honor or veneration,(Atenism was his,after all.) However,I've as yet been unable to "go through Akhenaten" to get to the Aten: I don't really take my prayers to Akhenaten at this time. (Again,for me,the idea of one man being the sole mediator to get to god rings too much of Christianity's going through Jesus (and saints,and others,etc,etc) to get to the Christian god. I could never really get the hang of,or the comfort zone,of praying to Jesus either.) The Aten just "is"; it should be available and accessible to everyone. :)
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aper_el
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Hi AmarnaGirl and others

The list below shows me the truth is there...in the list, this is the Christ; the original that was copied from the gnostics trying to hold on to an ancient past. If you can't see it that's troublesome and if you can see some similarites it's a mind blower.


...1...Akhenaten & Nefertiti had 6 daughters? which are shown in murals depicting him in family life.

...2...Akhenaten spoke from a terrace the same as Jesus (small amphitheatre) an out door area in Akhetaten. The Amun religion held their rites of religion in dark dungeon like rooms.

...3...Akhenaten and Jesus both elevated woman, Akhenaten made Nefertiti a pharaoh, known as Semenkhare.

...4...Akhenaten was a God-Man the same as Jesus. Akhenaten knew he was a man not a god, he showed his humanism by taking his chariot and driving it up and down the main street with Nefertiti in *Akhetaten
the city that *he built.

...5...Akhenaten said there is only one higher power and that is the Aten (Sun).

...6...Akhenaten was totally against war, the empire of Egypt shook and shivered while Akhenaten was in power.

...7...Akhenaten kicked the Amun money (gold) merchants out of the temples. The same as Jesus did.

...8...Akhenaten loved the arts...the making of glass and stone sculpture.

...9...It is said that Akhenaten wrote the 104th psalm, plus the hymns he wrote in the holy bible.

...10...Akhenaten did away with superstitions.


Aper_El


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AmarnaGirl
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*sighs* Aper_el, you've posted this exact same list before. I'm not sure what the point is you're trying to make,since this post doesn't really tie in to the topic being discussed.
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