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“The Aten was actually not the sun disk, but rather the light that is in the sun and which, radiating from it, calls the world to life and keeps it alive.” (page 54)
There have been so many scholars that have said “Aten is the sun” worshipped by Akhnaten’s people, as if we worship the sun itself!
The quote is from the book Akhenaten and the Religion of Light by Eric Hornung.
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There is no longer any doubt the Hebrew word “Adon” (Lord) is from the ancient Egyptian “Aten” or “Aton” as it is spelled by some scholars. The name “Aten” also closely resmbles the Hebrew word “Adonai” which means “my Lord” - the root being “Adon.”
Many have pointed out the numerous similarities between the Hebrew or Aramaic hymn Psalm 104 and the Great Hymn to Aten composed by Akhenaten. Psalm 104 is attributed to the great Prophet Moses, who has also been identified as none other than Akhenaten (Akhnaten) himself.
While the sun is used as a symbol to represent God in many cultures, Aten is neither the sun nor is He the “sun god” as some have erroneously suggested.
The Scriptures use the symbol of the sun as representing God. Notice how the Psalmist describes the attributes of God:
“Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters. Who maketh the clouds his chariot; Who walketh on the wings of the wind; Who maketh winds his messengers; flames of fire his ministers (Psalm 104:2,3)
It should be noted that the sun itself was not worshipped by the faithful monotheistic Egyptians or Hebrews, but it was served as a ruling deity by the polytheists among other ancient Egyptians.
Illustration from the Encyclopaedia Biblica
A Hymn of Praise to Aten* when he rises like a great falcon in the heights of the Two Horizons. Homage to you, Aten, Beautiful One of every day! You shoot up at sunrise without fail - how many are your works, O Great Creator. Your radiance is in your face, and as far as bright copper metal it does not resemble your splendours.
Self-existent One, you moulded your members into physical forms; giving birth, but he was not born; One by himself by reason of his power or abilities, Traverser of Eternity, He who is over the ways of millions of years, maintaining his Divine Form.
As are the beauties of the celestial regions even so are your beauties. More brilliant is your complexion than that of heaven. You sail across the heavens, all faces look at you as you go, though you yourself are hidden from their eyes.
You manifest the symbol of your power at break of day in beams of light, strong is your Divine Boat under your majesty. In a little day you journey over a road of millions and hundreds of thousands of minutes. When your day passes, you set.
The hours of the night likewise you make to fulfil themselves. No interruption takes place in your toil. All eyes direct their gaze upon you, they cease not to do so. You quickly rise up early in the morning, your sparkling rays flash in the eyes.
Praise be to you, O Aten of the day, Creator of mortals and Creator of their life. Praise be to you!
You are like a Great Hawk whose feathers are many-coloured, you, O Creator, who raise yourself up from non-existence! He exists by his own power, he was not born, he who dwells in the heights. Humankind cries out joyfully at his rising and at his setting likewise. He is the fashioner of what the ground produces, conqueror of the Two Lands, from the great one to the little one.
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In Christianity: An Ancient Egyptian Religion author Ahmed Osman contends that the roots of Christian belief spring not from Judaea but from Egypt.
He compares the chronology of the Old Testament and its factual content with ancient Egyptian records to show that the major characters of the Hebrew scriptures-including Solomon, David, Moses, and Joshua-are based on Egyptian historical figures.
He further suggests that not only were these personalities and the stories associated with them cultivated on the banks of the Nile, but the major tenets of Christian belief-the One God, the Trinity, the hierarchy of heaven, life after death, and the virgin birth-are all Egyptian in origin. He likewise provides a convincing argument that Jesus himself came out of Egypt.
With the help of modern archaeological findings, Osman shows that Christianity survived as an Egyptian mystery cult until the fourth century A.D., when the Romans embarked on a mission of suppression and persecution. In A.D. 391 the Roman-appointed Bishop Theophilus led a mob into the Serapeum quarter of Alexandria and burned the Alexandrian library, destroying all records of the true Egyptian roots of Christianity. The Romans’ version of Christianity, manufactured to maintain political power, claimed that Christianity originated in Judaea. In Christianity: An Ancient Egyptian Religion Osman restores Egypt to its rightful place in the history of Christianity.
The book is available from Amazon. The above description is from the back cover. Published by Bear & Company and contains more than 300 pages.