ABSTRACT
The quest for understanding ourselves and the world is universal among all human beings. In this chapter, the author is concerned with the developments that occurred in the East Mediterranean region, especially in the Arabian Peninsula and its fertile peripheries. The general development and evolution of the concept of god in the Mesopotamia outside the Scriptural area has been analysed by Jacobsen, who presented the data in terms of the metaphors people used for the gods. The metaphors included rulers, parents, creators and keepers of the world order as well as the personal. Christianity was born to remedy the exclusiveness of Judaism by inviting all other peoples of the world into the fold. In the upper realm there is a pre-existing primary entity called ‘the Great Life’, or ‘Lightworld’, who resides with his consort ‘Treasure of Life’, together with many Lightbeings.
