El-Shal also summarizes, among other motifs, the adoption by the Christian Copts of the "afterlife" boat and ladder of the Book of the Dead and elsewhere, as previously discussed here. In addressing the ancient Egyptian tradition of the ladder, she says that "it could also symbolize the sacred mound emerging from the primordial waters where the solar boat arose each morning." She also remarks that the Christians may have brought together this sacred mound and solar boat as a reflection of the biblical story of the ark "stranded on the hill" after the flood had subsided. El-Shal further states, "We can therefore conclude that the [Christian] 'Mount of the Cross' derives from the solar tradition of ancient Egypt." As we can see, some significant comparisons between the Egyptian and Christian traditions appear in this scholarly essay in French.[2368]

We also discover that where matters were "too delicate" they were either never translated from the original language or were rendered in Latin so they would remain above the heads of the public. Furthermore, we have seen that pertinent material has either disappeared or become difficult to find, such as in the case of Dr. Birch's hieroglyphic dictionary and many other texts over the centuries, as well as censored or edited out of ancient works or left out of translations, preventing it from becoming widely known.

In this regard, we have noted that pertinent comments purportedly from ancient times, such as by Clement of Alexandria concerning the apostles replacing the 12 signs of the zodiac, are deemed "interpolations" and are omitted from analyses. To repeat, the dismissal of various writings as interpolations verifies two serious problems with ancient texts: 1. Ancient writers' works frequently have been altered; and 2. Mainstream scholarship is heavily censored. Hence, a scan of encyclopedias and textbooks will not necessarily reveal germane correlations between Christianity and other religions.

Moreover, one would think the fact that the passage in Epiphanius about the Egyptians worshipping a virgin-mother goddess and her babe in a manger would have been of immense interest to scholars of comparative religion, along with its history of having been edited out of at least one Greek edition. Yet, there remains not only blatant censorship with material being removed from ancient texts but also a sort of embarrassed or fearful silence to recount anything that in the slightest way might be deleterious to the Christian faith. This latter development is comprehensible considering the climate of the day, following on the heels of the Inquisition and with an atmosphere that encouraged the firing and blacklisting of anyone who dared challenge the status quo. In view of the volatility of the subject matter and the obvious investment of interest for a large segment of the population, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that a significant portion of the data found in this present work has been deliberately suppressed as well.

Blotting Out the Sun.

In addition to avoiding or ignoring the subject have emerged efforts to create as much wriggle room as possible to deny any relationship between the Egyptian and Christian religions, including obliterating the real meaning behind parallels between Christ and other gods. For example, while writing a book on Osiris-thus, professing himself to be an expert on that god-Sir Frazer was so intent on amputating the obvious astrotheological meaning behind numerous myths that, astoundingly, he created an entire chapter entitled "Osiris and the Sun" in order to debunk the notion that the Egyptian god had anything to do with solar mythology! As we have seen plentifully throughout this work, however, Osiris's-and Horus's-solar role in the ancient texts, myths and rituals is evident, although it must be kept in mind that Osiris also served as the "life force," so to speak, in many aspects of Egyptian life, including as the Nile, water in general, the light in the moon, fertility and so on. Yet, this salvational function too is traditionally that of the sun, and Osiris's solar role is made obvious by the mere fact that he was identified repeatedly with Ra, even given the epithet "Osiris-Re."[2369] Based on all the facts, it seems unquestionable that in the minds of many millions of worshippers, Osiris was identified with and as the sun.

One of the arguments used by Frazer in his assiduous attempts to downplay the solar aspects of Osiris is a contention by Renouf that the god was never depicted as "dead in the winter"-an odd assertion, considering what we have discovered in this present work regarding the Egyptian perception of the winter solstice! In this regard, Frazer remarks: Thus Renouf, who identified Osiris with the sun, admitted that the Egyptian sun could not with any show of reason be described as dead in winter. But if his daily death was the theme of the legend, why was it celebrated by an annual ceremony? This fact alone seems fatal to the interpretation of the myth as descriptive of sunset and sunrise. Again, though the sun may be said to die daily, in what sense can he be said to be torn in pieces?[2370]

Frazer evidently believed this question concerning Osiris's rent body to be a fatal flaw in the thesis that the god was largely a solar entity. However, even in ancient times Plutarch (42, 368A), provided the simple answer to this quandary: Osiris is the sun's light in the moon, which is rent into 14 pieces/days as it is waxing. Also, if Osiris is the sun dying on a daily basis, as Frazer discusses here, he would likewise die on the day of the winter solstice, just as the daily-born Horus must have been born on that day as well! Indeed, we have seen from Plutarch (39, 366D-E) that the Egyptians very much did celebrate an annual "Seeking of Osiris" that clearly had to do in part with the shortest day of the year.

Frazer followed these remarks by more astonishing and exasperating commentary regarding various authorities who "abandoned" the association of Osiris with the sun. The British scholar's intent in amputating astrotheology from ancient religion is made clear also in his opus The Golden Bough. Although Frazer's work was thus deficient in this particular important aspect, the severe criticism and wave-of-the-hand dismissal of his voluminous efforts as concerns the "dying-and-rising-god" theme overall has been demonstrated by Mettinger, et al., as largely unwarranted. Concerning the fervent and irrational anti-dying-and-rising stance held by various scholars and apologists, Dr. Bob Price remarks: But we lack any reason to give the benefit of the doubt to a reconstruction whose only merit would seem to be its function of overthrowing Frazer's hypothesis and allowing Christian apologetics to breathe a little easier. In other words, it is special pleading.

As we have seen abundantly here, despite the nitpicking and hairsplitting, the correspondences are not only real but also significant. Their dismissal and denial, in fact, can only occur if their roots are yanked out of their milieu not only around the Mediterranean but also on planet Earth! These contrived "differences" appear to presuppose that no ancient peoples in any part of the world could possibly have conceived religious and spiritual reality in the same general manner as that found within Christianity. Such a notion would, of course, represent a truly supernatural genesis for Christianity, out of the blue, untouched by human hands or minds. Indeed, the very suggestion makes of one a fundamentalist Christian; henceforth, per typical apologist tactics, no one proposing the "anti-dying-and-rising god" position could possibly be considered a "real scholar," because he is too biased.

In any event, with this one fell swoop, Frazer managed almost single-handedly to put an end to research into the fascinating and incredibly important field of solar mythology and astrotheology. So effective has been this eclipsing of the sun that many encyclopedias and textbooks still do not even include the solar roles of either Osiris or Horus.

In this endeavor, Frazer was merely reproducing the same actions of the creators of Christianity in blotting out the sun. As famed philosopher Thomas Paine (1737-1809) remarked: ...the christian religion is a parody on the worship of the Sun, in which they put a man whom they call Christ, in the place of the Sun, and pay him the same adoration which was originally paid to the Sun...[2371]

As we have seen throughout this work the severing and darkening of the sun in Egyptian mythology and religion are utterly unsustainable notions-indeed, completely contrary to the true meaning of Egyptian religion. Moreover, this type of sanitization has led to the virtual ignorance of the very matter that lies at the root of our major religions and a number of our minor ones dating back many thousands of years.

The solar foundations of the Egyptian religion have thus been eclipsed by the Abrahamic soli-lunar cults, which fallaciously deny any such astrotheological underpinnings. This eclipse, as well as the resultant silence and avoidance of the subject of astrotheology, is so thorough that it testifies to enduring trauma, created long ago with Christian censorship efforts, including a virulent dislike of astronomy/astrology, as well as the terrorization of farmers, sailors and anyone else who needed to look up at the sky in order to practice their livelihood. This enduring trauma is so complete, it is only recently that people have begun to learn that "December 25th" in reality represents the end of the three-day period of the winter solstice. Much other knowledge of the natural world has been omitted from our standard education for the same reasons and much to our detriment as a species.

In the end, the solar and astrotheological origins of much religious and spiritual thought represents one of the most overlooked studies, as revealed by a number of germane examples in this present work. Indeed, much information challenging the mainstream religions has been willfully suppressed-and this fact needs to be kept in mind at all times when investigating comparative religion and mythology.

Mysterious Omissions.

It is obvious from comments by ancient and modern writers alike that various of the correspondences between the Egyptian and Christian religions constituted what are known as "the mysteries," such as the perpetual virginity of the goddess and the birth of her son at the winter solstice, indicated in a number of places and brought to light here. Exploring the numerous other parallels between the Christian and Egyptian religions using the same "forensic" methodology, we find much of the same veracity behind them as well. Searching across the scope of books available today is quite eye opening, in fact, when it comes to various concepts that are considered mysteries. As mysteries, these characteristics and themes were not necessarily spelled out explicitly in texts or inscriptions-although, as we have seen, they are certainly strongly implied in a number of places, as well as overtly disclosed enough to prove themselves real ideas and motifs belonging to the ancient world. Other correlations, however, have been right before our eyes, covered over by delusion and mendacity, to be exposed here and now through great struggle and the passage of thousands of years. We are, in fact, privileged to exist at a time when these mysteries are at last revealed, and humanity can progress to a greater level of edification and enlightenment.

To reiterate, as evidence of the seriousness with which the mysteries were held, the ancient Greek writer Herodotus remarked that he was reluctant to speak about what was taught him concerning the Egyptian religion, indicating as well that he knew some of its mysteries. As illustrated by the case of the Greek statesman Alcibiades, capital punishment was often the result for divulging the mysteries-and the penalty was certainly carried out at various times. That there have existed mysteries is an undisputable fact, and the contention that they were real and important within Egyptian religion in specific is likewise doubtlessly true.

Summarizing the mysteries in Egypt, Massey remarks: The mystery of an ever-virgin mother; the mystery of a boy at twelve years of age transforming suddenly into an adult of thirty years, and then becoming one with the father, as it had been earlier in the mysteries of totemism; the mystery in which the dead body of Osiris is transubstantiated into the living Horus by descent of the bird-headed holy spirit; the mystery of a divine being in three persons, one of which takes flesh on earth as the human Horus, to become a mummy as Osiris in Amenta, and to rise up from the dead in spirit as Ra in heaven. These and other miracles of the Christian faith were already extant among the mysteries of Amenta.[2372]

Furthermore, because of the scarcity of writing materials and the widespread illiteracy, much knowledge was passed along verbally, many times with great emphasis taken in order to ensure accurate transmissions. In reality, it was-and still is in some places-a matter of pride at how well a person could be trained to memorize sacred scriptures. We can rest assured that there was much of the same oral tradition practice in the Egyptian religion. In our quest to know everything about Egypt, we cannot afford to ignore a major form of communication simply because today's standards do not live up to those set within the long history of oral tradition. In this regard, we can also be certain that much important information was transmitted orally, in likelihood a significant amount of it never being written down. In some instances, then, we must examine whether or not hidden knowledge has been transformed in order to continue to disguise it, such as happened with Gnosticism and, we maintain, Christianity, which was in fact an ideology that turned the mysteries inside out and broadcast them to the world. Indeed, it has been posited that it was because of this transgression of the mysteries oath-a capital offense-that early Christians were "martyred." This sort of clandestine priestcraft has been common throughout the past several millennia, if not long before, serving as a well-developed science designed to cloak powerful truths in allegory and mysticism, so that the average person will not recognize them. Here we are interested in peeling back the shrouds of long-hidden secrets and mysteries.

Mutable Mythology.

The many correlations presented here between the Egyptian and Christian religions are also not widely known because since ancient times they have not been neatly laid out in sanctioned encyclopedias and textbooks. In actuality, such sources often include only one version of a myth, when there may well be more than one, as is often the case with myths, which are not static but change to suit the time and location. As stated by Dr. Assman regarding the Egyptian religion, "...it is only natural that far-reaching changes occurred during a span of more than three millennia."[2373] Illustrating effectively how religion is tailored and changed to suit cultural fancies, Dr. abkar includes a significant discussion of the "Isiac aretalogies," from the Greek , meaning "goodness," "excellence" or "merit," etc. Aretalogies are essentially recitations of virtues and characteristics, such as "I am Isis, ruler of every land."[2374] Concerning the creator of one basic Isis aretalogy, abkar says: Its author-either an Egyptian educated in Greek culture and language or a Greek well informed about Egyptian religion-wishing to propagate the cult of Isis among the Greeks, borrowed from the Egyptian Isiac and other texts the ideas and phrases acceptable to the Greeks, eliminated those that may have appeared alien or incomprehensible to them, and added to his text a considerable number of typically Greek features. The result of all this was a strongly hellenized composition: Isis appeared to her Greek devotees as a Greek, not an Egyptian, goddess.[2375]

abkar also remarks: Intent on composing a truly Greek aretalogy and writing for the Greek devotees of Isis far away from her homeland, he, too, suppressed all that might have appeared alien to his contemporaries and presented to the worshipers of the goddess a thoroughly hellenized Isis.[2376]

Revisiting this subject of the Greek scribe reworking the Egyptian hymns in order to appeal to Greek followers, abkar again comments: Inspired by these, he translated some of the Egyptian phrases into Greek and paraphrased and grecized others; for the benefit of the Greek devotees of the goddess, he added to his composition a substantial number of typically Greek statements; all these he blended into a harmonious unit-his work appeared as something new.[2377]

This process precisely describes how myths are changed and altered to suit the audience, and we maintain that the same development occurred with Christianity, which was an attempt to blend harmoniously Judaism with the many Pagan religious concepts of the Roman Empire and beyond.

In this regard, the history of religion shows a continual wave of ideas that mutate as they pass from region to region, as well as when they are subjected to domination based on invasion, warfare and other cultural usurpation. In polytheistic societies, deities of various cultures may co-exist, but in monotheistic cultures, the gods of the dominated cultures must be demoted, demonized or destroyed. Hence, in terms of peaceful coexistence, monotheism is an inferior and intolerant method of governance. The domination of one deity or religious concept over another often is based on physical strength and brutality-"might being right"-rather than philosophical and theological correctness. Instead of representing truth, a religious ideology may be mainly propaganda. In extrapolating the true meaning of myths and why they have been changed over the eras, therefore, we must factor into our analyses the principle of cui bono-who benefits?

Well Known in Egypt?

In the final analysis, the questions come down to these: Were the various important mythical motifs explored here part of Egyptian religion, and, despite their apparent status as mysteries, were they known to those who created Christianity? We have already seen abundantly throughout this work that numerous of these concepts were found in one form or another in the Egyptian writings and other artifacts, predating the common era by centuries to millennia. Regarding the Egyptian sacred texts, for example, which contain many of these concepts, Budge remarks: The Scriptures must have been well known, as copies of chapters are found by the thousands on the persons of mummies themselves, and on the walls of the thousands of tombs, which would not have been the case were the living majority unable to read.[2378]

We have also seen that there were evidently possibly a half a billion followers of the Egyptian religion over the thousands of years. In The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, after discussing the "whole libraries of ancient writings" that were "collected on tomb walls and sarcophagi," Hornung remarks, "All the conditions were thus at hand for an influence that continued beyond the pharaonic period and into the new spiritual currents of Hellenism and early Christianity."[2379] As we can see, this erudite Egyptologist is certain that the Egyptian religion was available to and influential upon early Christianity, a fact thoroughly demonstrated herein. By their presence also in the Coffin Texts, by which "every deceased person was an Osiris NN," these myriad concepts must have been well known to the average people as well.

In these well-known scriptures appeared basics of the myths of the Egyptian gods, such as Osiris, Isis and Horus, that must have been of interest to tens if not hundreds of millions of people throughout the ages. These concepts included elements of Osiris's story that may be encapsulated as follows: Osiris was called "Father." He once walked the earth. He was the savior and deliverer of mankind. He was killed, buried in a tomb and resurrected, before ascending to heaven.[2380] Adding to this familiar story-which so closely parallels the Christ myth-are the numerous aspects and characteristics of other Egyptian gods and goddesses explored here, such as: * The divine son of God battling the Evil One * The son being born on December 25th of a virgin named "Mery"

* Three "wise men" following a star in the east * The divine son at the ages of 12 and 30 * The holy baptizer of souls * The god having 12 followers * The deity performing miracles such as healing the sick, walking on water, raising the dead * The god being called "Anointed," "Lord of Truth," "Lord of Light," "Lord of Resurrections" and so on * The god associated with the cross, which symbolizes eternal life * The god being buried for three days, resurrecting and ascending into heaven, etc.

In the end, the correspondences between these religions are real, so we must ask again why they are being censored out of the historical record, as well as merely overlooked. Rather than simply denying these many correlations between the Egyptian and Christian religions, the truthseeker may be struck that they did in fact exist, that they were revered in the ancient world, particularly by the priesthoods who created such myths, and that anyone wishing to enter the profitable religion business would need to incorporate them into their myths, as we contend was done with the gospel story. The bulk of the correspondences between the Egyptian and Christian religions do not rank as inconsequential details but constitute prominent motifs within Egyptian religious life. The point is that these very important spiritual and religious concepts-a number of which represented mysteries but which were nonetheless known to the educated elite-were themselves evidently taken one by one by the creators of Christianity and rolled into a fictional story. In light of these facts, carefully hidden from the masses, it is objectionable to insist that the Egyptian and Christian religions are entirely unrelated, especially when ancient Egyptian Christians themselves readily and often made the "Horus-Jesus connection," so to speak.

Which Came First?

In analyzing this situation of influence, Christian apologists may grudgingly agree that there are instances where borrowing may or must have occurred, but they frequently claim there is no solid evidence that such borrowing was by Christianity from Paganism. Of the pre-Christian primary sources presented here and available elsewhere, there is no doubt, obviously, which came first and likely influenced the other. Sources that do not clearly predate the purported time of Christ, in other words, beginning around the first quarter of the first century AD/CE and continuing, are automatically suspected of being influenced by Christianity. Yet, in such cases as the writings of Philo and Plutarch, for example, who most assuredly described concepts that found their way into Christianity, there is absolutely no evidence of either writer having the slightest awareness of the existence of Christ, Christianity or Christians. The same can be said for a number of other writers during the so-called first century of the "Christian era," as there exists in reality no credible, scientific evidence for a significant "Christian" presence involving a "historical" Jesus Christ during that time. In addition, major contentions of Plutarch, for instance, can be backed up in the ancient pre-Christian Egyptian writings and other artifacts, as established here. Indeed, in the world of Egyptology we possess a massive amount of pre-Christian data previously unavailable that appears to verify the assertion that virtually nothing within Christianity is new or original and that a significant portion of it emanated out of Egypt. Hence, in many instances the argument of precedence is settled.

Regarding this matter of precedence for parallels, Witt advocated proceeding with caution, but was also certain that the Egyptian religion influenced Christianity, remarking: Historians, generally, and specifically those who trace the development of religious ideas, need to avoid the trap of confusing the chronological order with cause and effect: post hoc ergo propter hoc. On the other hand, the veneration (hyperdulia) of the Blessed Virgin Mary was certainly introduced at about the same time as Theodosius ordered the destruction of the pagan temples, including the Sarapeum and other shrines of the Egyptian gods. Here, we may think, lies a reason for the absorption of elements, ideas and usages from the old religion into the new.[2381]

As can be seen, the evident borrowing by Christianity continued well into the common era, during Theodosius's time in the fourth century. Thus, simply because borrowing occurred during the "Christian era" does not mean it was by Paganism from Christianity. Again, what is designated as the "Christian era" did not descend suddenly upon the entire world after the year 1 AD/CE but is relative, and to this day there remain places that are still pre-Christian, showing no knowledge of or influence by Christianity.

In capitulating to the fact that there are indeed very serious correspondences between the Egyptian and Christian religions, apologists insist that these motifs can only be found dating to the middle of the second century at the earliest, when Justin Martyr discussed them in detail, thereby supposedly showing that Paganism must have borrowed them from Christianity. In the first place, this present work reveals otherwise, as practically everything significant within Christianity existed in one form or another in the Egyptian religion long before the common era, much of it revolving around the characters of Osiris, Isis and Horus.

Moreover, in his First Apology (54) Justin specifically claims these parallels, including the Greek god Bacchus/Dionysus's ascension into heaven, as well as the virgin birth and ascension of Perseus, were the result of "the devil" anticipating Christ's story: For having heard it proclaimed through the prophets that Christ was to come...[the wicked demons] put forward many to be called sons of Jupiter, under the impression that they would be able to produce in men the idea that the things which were said with regard to Christ were mere marvelous tales, like the things which were said by the poets.[2382]

In chapter 56 of his Apology, Justin pointedly states that the "evil spirits" were making their mischief "before Christ's appearance."[2383] In other words, Justin-and others using the same "devil did it" excuse, such as Tertullian and Lactantius-did not dishonestly deny the parallels, as have many modern apologists. Indeed, these early Church fathers happily used these correspondences in their polemics and apologies to make Christianity appear less ridiculous-and ridiculous it evidently was perceived to be by the educated Greeks and Romans of the time. To these latter groups, the gospel story could not have been any more "real" or "historical" than that of Apollo or Neptune, and they surely doubted Christ's existence as a "historical" figure in ancient times. Moreover, nowhere does Justin Martyr claim that the Pagans copied Christianity after Christ's alleged advent, which he certainly would have done, had the copying occurred in that direction.

It is obvious from Justin's "devil got there first" excuse that these mythical motifs existed before Christ's purported manifestation on Earth and that there were those in his time who sensibly questioned the historical veracity of the gospel story, essentially calling it "mere marvellous tales"-in other words, a myth. In Dialogue with Trypho (69), in fact, Justin again invokes the "devil got there first" argument, specifically stating that these Pagan "counterfeits" were likewise "wrought by the Magi in Egypt."[2384] Now, which "counterfeits" and "Magi" would these be? The "Magi" must be the Egyptian priests, apparently called as such by people of Justin's era, while the "counterfeits" must refer to at least some of the Egyptian gods. Justin also specifically names the Greek gods Dionysus, Hercules and Asclepius as those whose "fables" were emulated by the devil in anticipating Christ. As we have seen, these gods have their counterparts in Egyptian mythology as well, in Osiris and Horus, as prime examples.

The idea that the Pagan world just suddenly switched to themes stolen from Christianity merely a few decades after the latter had been conceived ranks as a false scenario, as demonstrated copiously throughout this present work, in which it has been shown that these numerous motifs in one form or another had been in the minds of enough people-especially those who actually create religions, i.e., priests-by the time Christianity was formulated. When we read what Justin said about the Pagan myths in existence prior Jesus's purported time-and there is no evidence of the existence of the gospel story until the end of the first century at the earliest, nor does Justin himself ever mention the canonical gospels themselves by name, as if he never heard of them[2385]-we know him to be speaking truthfully in significant part, as we possess sufficient evidence to demonstrate his accuracy, albeit a vast amount has been destroyed, hidden and covered up.

Despite all of the destruction and censorship, enough telltale signs remain for us to piece together the puzzle that reveals an image of religious and mythological motifs stretching back into the hoary mists of time and paralleling concepts found in the much later Christianity. As yet another example, the idea of a divine savior and son of God whose birth was "good news for the world" and who was a god himself existed already in the minds of many within the Roman Empire years before the purported advent of Jesus Christ. This fact can be easily proved by the testimony concerning Caesar Augustus (63 BCE-14 AD/CE), including the so-called Priene calendar inscription and "many other inscriptions and papyri" in which Augustus is deemed "son of God."[2386] In fact, this one inscription, the Priene, possesses several words used in later Christian doctrine, such as god (theos), savior (soter), appearance (epiphanein) and good news (evangelion). Scholars such as Drs. Porter and Helmut Koester believe the evangelist Mark, in using the term evangelion, was copying this imperial decree and other such usages. Speaking of evangelion, when Vespasian arrived at Alexandria, he too was "greeted with this good news ()."[2387] This Greek word, of course, serves as the root for "evangelism." As we can see from this one example, there was nothing new under the sun when the solar mythos of Christianity was created.

Part of the difficulty in understanding what transpired in the creation of Christianity lies in the erroneous impression regarding the milieu of the Mediterranean at that time. Contrary to popular belief, much of the area was highly populated, with sophisticated culture dating back hundreds to thousands of years, including bustling trade routes that extended to India and beyond. Millions of people passed through the major cities of the Roman Empire, and it is evident that the Christian effort was not confined to the tiny outback of Judea. Indeed, as revealed here, much of Christianity was undoubtedly created in the large and important city of Alexandria with its substantial and wealthy Jewish population, and with its massive library filled with hundreds of thousands of manuscripts from around the known world, which undoubtedly contained treatises on every major religion of the time and many minor ones as well.

Reading the scholarly analyses of Egyptian religion today often gives the impression that principal concepts found therein reside beyond the grasp of the average mind, as if only the most erudite among us can fathom their profundity. While it is possible that some of the priests who fabricated these religious notions over the millennia did intend a mysticism that remains above the average person's head, it is necessary to recognize that in reality it is the common people who determine a religion. The average taste dictates the marketplace, and this case is proved handily within religion. If our finest theologians and scholars of religion were given free rein in creating faith anew, it is possible that they would never fill a single pew!

Perhaps the greatest value of the Egyptian religion-which may have led to it being one of the longest lasting spiritual traditions in human history-is that it focused on solving the problems associated with death, for both the deceased and the bereaved, thus appealing to all people. As Egyptologist Assman says, "A comprehensive treatment of the theme of death can thus constitute an introduction to the essence of all of ancient Egyptian culture."[2388] The understanding and explanation of the daily death-and-rebirth myth associated with the sun, as well as the spiritual relationship with other natural phenomena, serving as a transition for people dying every day, provided a real and meaningful role for the religion and its priesthood. In this regard, instead of the constant violence and intolerance of the megalomaniacal and culturally bigoted monotheistic religions, we are currently in a position to recognize fully our natural surroundings, based not on blind belief but, rather, on scientific observation as well as aesthetic appreciation. Regardless of religious beliefs or nonbeliefs, as human beings we can all relish the splendor of the natural world, with most people able to cherish an exquisite sunset or full moon, for example.

To defend an intangible concept such as God by killing a living, breathing human being constitutes one of the greatest evils in the world, and it simply must stop, or humankind has no right to call itself "civilized." Nor do we need to perceive the material world as something "inherently evil," as the Abrahamic religions would lead us to believe. The comprehension of the astrotheological and nature-worshipping perception behind the world's religious ideologies greatly benefits humanity in a number of ways, revealing not only the imaginative and creative capacity of the human mind but also the beauty and awe of creation that inspire and unite mankind beyond its divisive and destructive beliefs. In the end, we are free to develop true human community based not on neurotic and psychotic "religious" pathologies that see "other" and "infidel" but on shared, common experiences and reference points, such as the mysterious and marvelous planet upon which we all live.

Bibliography.

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