Aten and the God of Joseph Due to religious closed-mindedness, many different religions share similar ideas and practices that go unnoticed. Two religions that share similar ideology, but do not commonly recognize it are Atenism and Christianity. Both religions have similar stories and literature, specifically “The Great Hymn to the Aten”, of Atenism, and the Joseph story found in the Christian Bible. After reviewing the previously mentioned religious literature, one can begin noticing their shared ideals and drawing comparisons between them.
Aten is a god or a spirit of the sun and, although no one really knows where he originated, it is commonly known that he is worshipped in a small village near Heliopolis. Aten has many names, some…show more content… “O living Aten, creator of life! When you have dawned in eastern lightland, you fill every land with your beauty” (Hymn 27). This paragraph shows that Aten’s worshipers really adore him. When it reads, “when you have dawned in eastern lightland, you fill every land with your beauty” it means when the day begins, his worshipers can see his beauty everywhere. The mood of the hymn completely changes in the second paragraph as it reads, “Earth is in darkness as if in death; one sleeps in chambers, head covered, one eye does not see another” (Hymn 27). This has a different tone from the first paragraph. When the hymn says, “one sleeps in chambers, head covered, one eye does not see another” it means that the worshipers would like to be alone instead of being social, and they are scared which causes them to cover their head in fear and they never see one another. Through out the rest of the hymn it is stressed that Aten is the one god and no one stands by him. “O sole God beside whom there is none! You made the earth as you wish, you alone…” (Hymn…show more content… Aten is the creator of life and so is the God of Joseph as it says in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (The Bible). In The Great Hymn To The Aten it reads, “O living Aten, creator of life” (Hymn 27). The God of Joseph also says that He is the only God in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (The Bible). Aten worshipers also believe that he is the only god by stating “O sole God beside whom there is none! You made the earth as you wished, you alone” (Hymn 28). The Great Hymn to the Aten has also some similarities to the story of Joseph. The brothers of Joseph can be related to the darkness in The Great Hymn to the Aten. The reason being is they wanted to kill their own brother out of jealousy and evilness is not a trait of God, but of the devil, and the devil is the king of darkness. The darkness can also be compared to a life without Jesus Christ. Without accepting Christ one will be living a life in darkness in complete separation from
