Britannica provides interesting information on which
religion is the oldest:

http://britannica.com/story/which-religion-is-the-oldest

The older I get I'm beginning to realize how little I know.

Hi Foxy,

You said; "t's important of have something to believe in. It can be
a source of strength and courage during difficult times
and it can help us stay focused and motivated.
It can also create meaning in our lives as it provides
us with a sense of purpose and connection to something greater than ourselves."

Buddha had an interest in that, saying one should believe in oneself, and had no need for external deities. Mans quest for "meaning" has resulted in all kinds of beliefs, none more valid than any other. Why should the Judeo-Christian god have any more reality than the countless other gods, Hinduism for example has hundreds if not thousands of greater and lesser deities/gods. Over the ages man has been inventing gods on an industrial scale. In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of doorways, passages and bridges, is Janus any less valid than Jehovah, or the Ancient Greeks paramount god Zeus? From ancient religions we get the word "mythology" and from mythology we derive the word myth; meaning... "a widely held but false belief or idea." Humm.

Dear Paul,

«Hinduism for example has hundreds if not thousands of greater and lesser deities/gods.»

They are called "Devattas", literally "The shiny ones", and better translated into English and its culture as 'Angels'.

While Zoroastrianism may be the first monotheistic religion. Christianity seems to have a more sophisticated structure. There is the comparison between Spinoza's conception of god and other types. In a sense you can read many moralities from Christian literature. In a sense Christian literature could be compared to the Taoist I Ching.

Hi Yuyutsu,

Interesting that you should mention "Angles" as I once had a discussion with a priest about these "Angles". He tried to explain them as messages (not messengers) from god, I did bring up the subject of the 7 Archangels as named, therefore being incarnate and materially existing, so should one believe. Also the subject of guardian angels arose, and the notion that every living human had a protector in the form of a watch angle. I did point out that there are more human beings alive today, that ever lived or died in the past. I wanted to know where were all these guardian angles coming from, was their a room in heaven full of spare angles waiting for the birth of the next human. I also wanted to know where they went when one dies, were they out of a job or re-assigned. I did have to ask; "Are you making this up?" and of course he fell back on the ever trusted; "Its a matter of faith". Well I said, so is Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy a matter of faith. When the reality becomes too much, just invoke FAITH as your way of explaining such nonsense.

Dear Paul,

Just a bit on the lighter side:

I recently read a bumper sticker - "Not all angels
have wings. Some have stethoscopes".

Which I have found to be true from experience.
(smile).