Individual Assignment Week 2
Mind-Body and the Meaning of Life Paper
Quandra Johnson
Philosophy\ 443
October 28, 2013
Dr. Shaun Herness

The religions of ancient Egypt have their history rooted in creation myths. These myths were derived from deification of mortals who were great rulers. The ruler, who would become the Egyptian Christ like figure, was known as King Horus. King Horus came from the Southern part of Africa with a small army of invaders in his follow; these men that accompanied King Horus were known as the Blacksmiths because of their iron crafting skills. Horus became the chief deity due to his many accomplishments, which in effect through his rule had a temple erected in his name and image. This Temple was known as the Temple of Horus, Egyptians were a polytheistic people, who did not question or defy traditions handed down to them from their ancestors. The morale of the masses was the burden of the Pharaoh, who was considered to be the highest exalted ruler of the land. If the people were doing well, then the Pharaoh was praised if the people and land were doing bad then the blame was placed at the base of the ruler of the land. This form of praise and blame did not stop at a political level, the ruler of the land was more revered as a God, because it all came down to the leader of the land being looked upon as a God. Egypt was host to well over 700 hundred Gods who were said to watch over the land and its people, these Gods were once human beings who left such a profound effect on the people that, in passing they were believed to have gained the status of immortal with more power than they possessed on a mortal plane ( (Sertima, 1976) . The afterlife began with the total shutdown of the physical body, in proceeding manner the body was mummified or wrapped in a cloth made of the tobacco plant, to maintain a place for the spirit to dwell in during the stage of death. The body being the connection between the spirit and the next world beyond the living was a cause for the offering to be placed in the tomb of the deceased of the old kingdom (James, 1954). Everything from food and liquid hydration, to riches in the form of gold and other fine jewelry were placed in the same chamber of the body, as a form of financial endurance for one to pay their way through the economy of the next life. This process was not limited to just royalty, it held traditions amongst the common as well as the kings and queens. The chief difference lied in, royals were given extravagant pyramids, which some believed were aligned with the stars as a form of dimensional grid networking to take one beyond the terrain of Terra, and into the heavens. The poor were not as fortunate as they were often buried in the hot tempered desert, to have a process of more natural mummification take place (Sertima, 1976) . Egyptian faiths among the people were divided into cults where each set of people had their own Gods that they praised and worshipped along with the existing soul on the throne. Shrines and altars were constructed, on the basis of making sacrificial offerings to appease the Gods that they revered. There were three categories of Gods, local, state, and national Gods (Fage, 1988). Each divided respectively to neighborhoods, city states and the whole of the land. Many Gods were believed to have originated from the soul of other living entities throughout the land, better known as household Gods who were held in high regards yet their recognition didn’t extend past ones living quarters. A term that many of moderns have come to know as animism, that all things had spirit and were to be respected for their power that they drew from the Earth, with a living spirit dwelling inside of them (James, 1954). Fast forward into the 21st century, and one will see a drastic difference in the ways of the old world worship and that of the current. People in today’s times throughout the world, no matter the standings of the political climate, mainly work for the greater good of themselves and their nation. Though many people across the world in present time are oppressed, by governments they by choice and common sense place their strivings and their straits of consequences in the hands of themselves. Wars have been fought battles won and lost, for the supreme rule of one mans or another’s God to take precedence and hold power. Those of which that have come to triumph with their Gods religion are the Christians, Jewish, and Muslims. Society the world over and mainly America has become a monotheistic populous. The belief in one God stems from the idea, that God is a jealous God, and the God of these three different world religions, has some kind of connection and very similar telling to the story of creation all the way up to present times with the regards to omnipotent rule. We in today’s age believe that once the spirit has left the body then it is taken to a heavenly plane of total harmony and peace with the source from which it came. The ancients believed that the point of living was to bring into fruition the existence the ideal way of life of the ruler at that time, and to keep those that ruled prior and inhabit the land compensated in the form of praise, for their being existing for the usage of those that toiled the land in the present time. Today’s world believes that there was once a great person, messiah, messenger, or son of God whom, gave up their life more so dedicated it through eventual sacrifice for the people to see that they were meant to live in the pursuit of bliss, as long as they never forgot the source of their existence. There are many forms of Christianity such as Catholicism, which has a most high ruler known as the Pope. The Pope is said to be one whom has the purest intentions to lead the people towards the ways and kingdom of God. All people the big three religions today, share the common idea that religion is the gratitude and guide to life for fulfilling Gods duty with their own plans vested in such a path. The best way to sum of the complex of Christianity is the B.I.B.L.E which is said to be an acronym meaning Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. People of Egypt believed their job was to make the land of the ruler look good, while more modern people in this century believe that it is their job to just be thankful and peaceful, while doing the Holy service of their Lord and savior that keeps them from the wayward ways and woes of the wicked. I can attest to the ideology that, the meaning of life in today’s world is much like our country’s mantra which our consciousness reflects, being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The ancients didn’t feel as if there would come a time when all that was being done in the world would be judged by a single almighty source. That is the general consensus of today’s people, there has come about a feeling that all that is being done is not the way God wants it done and he will come back to purge the world of the wicked. The ancients worshipped man, while in today’s world that is unheard of, and not encouraged even by the most egotistical ruler.