How do the “newer” religions like Christianity account for the fact that there were many earlier religions?
They invent history, reverse the evolution of their religion, and ignore any historical knowledge that doesn’t support their world-view. You can see this on several of the answers to this question. No text referring to Yahweh (Old Testament, New Testament, etc) has been found that dates older than 900 BCE. Judaism wasn’t fully monotheistic until around 800-700 BCE. In fact, Yahweh originally had a wife. (Please see The New History of the World, J.M. Roberts, Oxford University Press, 2003) They insist that their book, especially Mosaic Law, was given to Moses directly from Yahweh, and ignore the fact that it derives from (and often times quotes word for word) the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi that predates it (approx 1700 BCE) and that the Ten Commandments are a subset of the Egyptian Negative Confession. The only additions not in the Negative Confession are sole worship of a deity and a prohibition against idols. Both are trademarks of Pharaoh Akhenaton’s (Amenhotep IV) monotheistic cul
Christianity is not a new religion. Christianity is a sect of Judaism. History and politics as well as the church’s intermitten apostasy has separated them, and put emnity between them. But Christianity is not possible, nor can it stand on its own without Judaism. The Torah (Law), the Prophets, and the historical writings of the Jewish Bible is the same as what is in the first part of the Christian Bible known as the Old Testament. In these writings are prophecies and descriptions of a coming savior (Messiah from Hebrew = Meshiach) who would be God condescended and giving up His glory to take on Flesh and to live and die as a man. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises to the Jews. Jesus is clearly described in the Jewish scriptures. Judaism is based on laws given by God. Many of these laws included animal sacrifice. The purpose of animal sacrifice was life for life. The animal dies in your place so that you don’t have to, but the seriousness of the act points you to the seriousnes
