The exact origins of Christianity in India are unclear, but it was an established religion by the third century AD. In India itself, the once sizable Buddhist population has diminished to a relatively small number of adherents. Buddhism arose in northeastern India as a “universal” alternative to hierarchical religion, offering nirvana, or enlightenment, to individuals regardless of culture or social station. It remains a unifying force of Indian culture and the social caste system-which Hindu tradition sees as a reflection of the relative spiritual purity of reincarnated souls. This is a reflection of the tradition of secular humanism which culminated in the 18th century Age of Enlightenment. Though traces of prehistoric settlement exist, Babylon’s development as a major city was late by Mesopotamian standards; no mention of it existed before the 23rd century bce. After Ashurbanipal’s death, a Chaldean leader, Nabopolassar, in 626 made Babylon the capital of a kingdom that under his son Nebuchadnezzar II (605-561 bce) became a major imperial power, the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Three of the major world religions are monotheistic – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Southwest Asia (the Middle East) is the cradle of three great monotheistic systems: Judaism and its offshoots Christianity and Islam.

Nabonidus failed to protect the property rights or religious traditions of the capital and attempted building operations elsewhere to rival Marduk’s great temple of Esagila. Traditional Christian theology’s assumption that it has a monopoly on divine grace and salvation was, in Smith’s view, morally wrong and must give way to thinking that allows for God to be active in other traditions. Some traditions say it’s Mount Ararat, others Mount Judi. Its extensive ruins, on the Euphrates River about 55 miles (88 km) south of Baghdad, lie near the modern town of Al-Ḥillah, Iraq. It is practiced by sizable minorities in many Asian countries (notably South Korea) and by Roman Catholic majorities in East Timor and the Philippines. Also known as a snakehead or snake mouth, the turtlehead is found near banks, rivers and other watery areas along the East Coast. Once the flower has wilted, the pitaya plant releases its sweet red fruit, which is filled with small black seeds like those found in a kiwi. After the fall of the 3rd dynasty of Ur, under which Babylon had been a provincial centre, it became the nucleus of a small kingdom established in 1894 bce by the Amorite king Sumuabum, whose successors consolidated its status.

Under the Persians, Babylon retained most of its institutions, became capital of the richest satrapy in the empire, and was, according to the 5th-century-bce Greek historian Herodotus, the world’s most splendid city. Christianity, which was derived from Judaism some two millennia ago, came to have the largest number of believers among the world’s religions. It often appears to consist of three fingers with two thumbs, one to either side of the palm and downward-cast digits. Although Judaism and Islam worship only one God neither of these faiths can lay claim to being true. A true sustainable fulfillment, meaning and purpose can only be attained, if we rediscover, and live by the Truth of what the universe so clearly, vividly and unceasingly declares within, and surround us. Can you name them? Whatever the reason, if you approach any government department or school to change your name or your child’s name, you will be asked to make a gazette and submit it to the concerned authorities. Many people get an angel tattoo as a way to honor and remember a loved one who has passed away, believing that the angel will watch over them. Belief must not only be in one God, belief must be in the right God!

Later in this period, Babylon became a literary and religious centre, the prestige of which was reflected in the elevation of Marduk, its chief god, to supremacy in Mesopotamia. Disorders accompanying increasing tribal occupation finally persuaded the Assyrian monarch Sennacherib (704-681 bce) that peaceful control of Babylon was impossible, and in 689 he ordered destruction of the city. From the 9th to the late 7th century Babylon was almost continuously under Assyrian suzerainty, usually wielded through native kings, though sometimes Assyrian kings ruled in person. Sikhism, a monotheistic Indian religion, was founded in the Punjab in the late 15th century ce and has fueled that region’s modern demands for independence. From this period to the fall of Assyria in the late 7th century bce, there was a continual struggle between Aramaean or associated Chaldean tribesmen and the Assyrians for political control of the city. His son Esarhaddon (680-669 bce) rescinded that policy, and, after expelling the tribesmen and returning the property of the Babylonians to them, undertook the rebuilding of the city; but the image of Marduk, removed by Sennacherib, was retained in Assyria throughout his reign, probably to prevent any potential usurper from using it to claim the kingship.