Which Religion Came First?

Q

I have a question that a friend of mine is arguing with me about. Which religion came first? I say it’s Judaism, followed by Christianity, and he says it’s Hinduism, followed by Judaism. Can you explain to me which religion came first and subsequently followed, and how they came about? Thank you.

A

If you believe the Bible, then you know that the first humans were Adam and Eve. After they sinned and were expelled from the Garden, God gave them a way to protect themselves from the consequences of their sin. In Genesis 4:3-7 it says that He had them offer sacrifices for their sins, and as a form of worship. From this and several other hints in the Bible, we believe that God taught them elements of what would later be formalized into the Jewish religion. For instance, in Genesis 7:2 it says that Noah knew the difference between clean animals and unclean ones, a basic principle of Judaism.

For many years this was the only form of religion practiced on Earth, but as people scattered across the world after the Great Flood they developed other religions that didn’t have the Creator of the Universe as their head. One of these was Hinduism.

About 4000 years ago the principles of sacrifice and worship that had begun in the Garden were formalized into Biblical Judaism, and about 2000 years ago Christianity began with the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God who was sent to the Jews.