From the Stone Age to Christianity: Monotheism and the Historical Process

vii, 432 pp. This book brings to life the turbulent history of man in the Fertile Crescent, from his first appearance in the Old Stone Age until the Christian era. Dr. Albright centers on the question of historical process, and argues that monotheism is the key to the history of human civilization in the West. He traces the beginnings of monotheism to the cosmic mythology and high gods of Babylonia and Egypt, and its emergence in history to the solar theism of Akhenaten. He finds its classic expression in the ministry of Moses and the utterances of the great prophets of the Old Testament, and its culmination in the career of Jesus Christ.