Coptic Culture
Christian Teachings and Thought, Part I
by Ed Rizkalla
The Christian faith has been and continues to be the corner stone of the identity of the Christian population of Egypt, the Copts. The Copts form the largest non-Muslim indigenous population in the Middle East, which predates the 7th century Arabs conquest with thousands of years. The Egyptian Government has been published census data for the Copts in Egypt for several decades; however the Coptic population is estimated to be about 15% of the total population of 83 million, or approximately 12.5 million and possibly more.
The vast majority of the Copts are law-abiding citizens, who for the most part, concentrate their efforts on making a living and taking care of their families. Over the past 50 years or so however, the Copts have suffered from discrimination, repeated episodes of violence and pogroms at the hands of militant Muslim groups and their sympathizers within the ranks of the Egyptian government, because of their Christian faith.
As the Christian faith constitutes a major component of the Coptic identity, it is imperative to understand the influence of Christian teachings and thought on the Coptic culture, norms and values. This however is a tall order, which the writer- tends to think- poses a formidable challenge to both the intellect and the spirit, let alone poses a difficult task to attempt to address adequately in the short space of an article or even a series of articles. However, the writer, first and foremost with the grace of Christ the Lord, will attempt to address albeit briefly some of the most important influences of Christian teachings and thought on the Coptic culture, norms and values. To accomplish this end, one needs to start, with outlining some of the main ancient Egyptian beliefs and the differences between them and Christian beliefs.
The ancient Egyptians were keen observers of their environs. Through their observations, study and reflections they reached a conclusion that our universe must have come into existence, through a creative supreme power (or a great god) and possibly powers (or gods), whose power and knowledge far exceed that of man. The ancient Egyptians might have wished to connect with this great god or gods; however their beliefs were simply based on observations, study, reflection, suppositions and speculations. The ancient Egyptian beliefs were not based on a revelation made known to man by that supreme god or gods. The ancient Egyptians initially worshipped their local gods and goddesses.
As the Egyptian state came into existence, the rise of a local polity to a national power helped boost their local god to prominence. The local god then subsumed other local deities to appeal to a wider and national population. For example, the sun god Ra was prominent during the time of early dynasties which ruled Egypt from the capital Memphis. However as the capital moved to Thebes in the New Kingdom time, its local god Amun took a more prominent role, and later on subsumed Ra and became known as Amun-Ra. Different schools of theology evolved and came up with different legends for the creation of mankind, e.g. the Memphite theology taught that its supreme god Ptah created all things by pronouncing their names. For most of the dynastic history, the ancient Egyptians worshipped several gods and goddesses, however for a short period or periods of time a monotheistic religion was proclaimed, e.g. king Akhnaten proclaimed Atun as the one supreme god.
Perhaps inspired by their sunny disposition and optimism the ancient Egyptians came to believe in the afterlife. This belief led them to expend much effort and treasure on the preservation of the bodies of the dead, which was believed necessary for returning back to life. They believed in a final judgment by a celestial court for the dead, at which the heart of the deceased would be weighed on a scale against the feather of “justice” or “Maat” by the god and the celestial courts scribe Thoth. Those judged to have led a virtuous life, would pass into the bliss of afterlife, but those who fail in judgment would be devoured by a beast.
The mummies were equipped with magic spells, known by different names such as the pyramid texts or the coffin texts, to fight off any adversaries or even the gods to attain immortality. The ancient Egyptians were among the first civilizations to establish a society where “Maat” would reign supreme; however virtues evolved over time, and were primarily utilitarian in nature. In an essay titled “Didactic Literature”, Lichtheim (1) notes “in contrast with (ancient) Israel, Egypt’s gods were not viewed as issuing moral commands. The gods approved or disapproved, but they did not tell man how to act.
To say “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not” was up to the human teachers and to the taught.” Lichtheim further notes “There was no term (in the Egyptian language) that equals our notion of “sin”; and the Egyptian certainly did not think himself as a sinful being…The leading virtues were: honesty and truthfulness; justice, kindness, and generosity; temperance and patience; thoughtfulness, diligence, and competence; loyalty and reliability.”
As “sin” was not recognized, ancient Egyptian theology did not seek salvation. They relied on magic spells to overcome adversaries they might encounter into their journey into the afterlife, and if needs be, to manipulate the gods to gain access to eternity. Perhaps, it would seem odd from our perspective that man would manipulate the gods with magic spells, Assman (2) however notes “the priest or magician…assumes the identity of a god…The magician speaks to the gods as a god.”
The outline indicated above helps establish fundamental differences between ancient Egyptian and Christian beliefs. The genesis of Judeo-Christian beliefs is divine revelation, as compared with the reflections and suppositions of ancient Egyptian beliefs. Furthermore the Judeo-Christianity is a monotheistic religion, as compared with a pantheistic ancient Egyptian religion. The recognition of the sinful nature of man and his need for God’s salvation are core tenets of the Christian beliefs, whereas the notion of sin is essentially absent in the ancient Egyptian religion.
Christian beliefs are grounded in the love of God for his creation, and his promise to redeem man from sin. In the fullness of time God has sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ our Lord to save all mankind from sin and the power of death. Last but not least, the preservation the body after death is a moot point from a Christian perspective, as the believers saved by Christ will be given new imperishable bodies in the kingdom of heaven.
As indicated earlier, it is a tall order to attempt addressing a vast topic such as the influence of Christian teachings and thought on Coptic culture, norms, and values. This article attempted to briefly outline some of the major ancient Egyptian beliefs and differences with Christian beliefs.
By way of conclusion, the writer submits the following few verses from the Coptic hymn “Shashef Ensop” or “Seven Times” as a succinct summary of Christian hope and beliefs: “Aier`vmeui `mpekran@ ouoh aijemnom]@ `pouro `nni`ewn@ `Vnou] `nte ninou].I remembered your name: and I was comforted: O King of the ages: God of all gods.I=y=c P=,=c Pennou]@ pi`ady;inoc@ vy`etaf`i e;be pencw]@ afercwmatikoc.Jesus Christ our God: the truth: came for our salvation; and took flesh.Af[icarx `ebol@ qen Pi`peuma e;ouab@ nem `ebol qen Maria@ ]selet e;ouab.He was incarnate: of the Holy Spirit: and of Mary: the holy bride.Afvwnh `mpenhybi@ nem penhojhej tyrf@ `eourawi `nhyt@ nem ou;elyl `e`ptyrf.And changed our sorrow: and all our troubles: to joy of heart: and complete rejoicing” The peace of the Lord be with you all. Irene Passe.
References: (1) Ancient Egyptian Literature: History and Forms, edited by Antonio Loprieno, E.J. Brill Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, 1996.(2) Religion and Cultural Memory, by Jan Assman, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2006.
Acknowledgement: The writer would like to acknowledge and thank the staff of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, for their assistance with research for background material for this article.
Ed Rizkalla is a management consultant and freelance writer. He is the founder of Pharos on the Potomac Group (POPG), a non-profit organization at Annandale, VA.