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Let me introduce a new word to your vocabulary: Cosmology.
Egyptian cosmology and understanding of God's Universe and all that is in it is based on coherent scientific and philosophical principles, of the universe as a whole. Another way to say this is the the totality of the Universe and all of Creation is based upon Laws and Divine Principles. The totality of the Egyptian civilization was built upon a complete and precise understanding of universal laws that express the Divine Intent and Order of the Divine. This profound understanding manifested itself in a consistent, coherent and inter-related system, where art, science, philosophy and religion were intertwined, and were employed simultaneously in a single organic Unity.
For the people of Egypt, there were no perceived differences between sacred and mundane actions, as we moderns believe there to be. Every action, no matter how mundane: plowing, sowing, reaping, brewing, building ships, waging wars, playing games, the system of weights and measures - was viewed as an earthly symbol for a specific divine activity. No aspect of their knowledge was divorced from any other aspect.
The Egyptians regarded the universe as a conscious act of creation by the One Great God. The fundamental doctrine was the unity of the Deity. This One God was never represented. It is the functions and attributes of his domain that were represented and this idea finds expression in the multiple examples of Egyptian gods and goddesses which are not separate gods but only representations of various aspects and attributes of the one true God of all. Once a reference was made to his functions/attributes, he became a distinguishable agent; reflecting this particular function/attribute, and its influence on the world. His various functions and attributes as the Creator, Healer, and the like, were called the neteroo (singular: "neter" in the masculine form and "netert" in the feminine form).
The ancient Egyptian word "neter," and its feminine form "netert," have been wrongly, and possible intentionally, translated as "god" and "goddess," by almost all scholars. There is no equivalent word in meaning, to the word "neter," in the English language. Honest translation should use the native word, if they cannot find its equivalent in their language. "Neteroo" (plural of "neter/netert") are the Divine Principles and Functions that operate the Universe. They are all aspects and functions of the One Supreme God. The words "god" and "goddess" leave the impression that ancient Egyptians had a multitude of gods, which is absolutely untrue.
As such, an Egyptian neter/netert was not a god/goddess but the personification of a function/attribute of the One God. With this understanding comes likewise the understanding that the labeling of Egyptian religion as "pagan" or "idolatrous" betrays the complete lack of understanding of the Egyptian religion by the writer or would be scholar.
Central to their complete understanding of the universe, was the knowledge that man was made in the image of God, and as such, man represented the created image of all creation. Accordingly, Egyptian symbolism and all measures were therefore simultaneously scaled to man, to the earth, to the solar system, and ultimately to the universe.
The Egyptian thinking that the One God can be represented through his functions/attributes has its equivalence in mankind. Each one of us has various functions and attributes. A person can be a teacher in the classroom, a father to his children, a husband to his wife, a player on his team, ... etc. This person does not have multiple personalities, but multiple functions/attributes.
Egyptians recognized the universal validity of this kind of thinking, and applied it to all the levels of the hierarchically organized world. Even though it may appear complex at first sight, it is both coherent and consistent with experience. This was the essence of the Egyptian philosophy. It is a real philosophy based on organized, systematic, self-consistent and coherent principles.
Modern science uses terminology which is comparable to the Egyptian thinking of neteroo (gods). We speak of the four force fields of the universe - the weak force, the strong force, gravity, and electromagnetism (and perhaps a fifth, if there is a fifth). These forces have to be subordinate, since they all came from somewhere. This "somewhere" was understood as the "First Cause".....God. The ultimate thing is God, the One. As such, it might be said that the Egyptian neteroo (gods) represent what we today would consider scientific theories that are continually refined, the way Newtonian physics moves toward quantum physics.
The cosmological ideas of ancient Egypt were expressed by myth and symbolism, which are a superior means for expressing metaphysical concepts. I will drive home the point over and over in this website that myth, symbolism, allegory, and metaphor as used by the Ancient Egyptians was NEVER understood to be "literal" but only a method of expressing such Divine Truths on a level easier to understand by mankind. Philosophy, mathematics and science are dry subjects with many abstracts. Mythology incorporates philosophical and scientific ideas into a story form, like a sacred drama or mystery play, which can be easily digested. Pure philosophical and scientific abstracts and terms do not guarantee understanding. Information alone is useless, unless it is transformed into understanding. Well-crafted mythology can achieve that understanding.
Myth is an intentionally chosen means for communicating knowledge. Myth dramatizes cosmic laws, principles, processes, relationships and functions, and expresses them in an easy to understand way. Meaning and the mystic experience are not tied to a literal interpretation of events. A myth has no historical value. Once the inner meanings of the myths have been revealed, they become marvels of simultaneous scientific and philosophical completeness and conciseness. The more they are studied, the richer they become. And, rooted in the myth as it is, the part can never be mistaken for the whole, nor can its functional significance be forgotten or distorted.
We live in a world of symbols, logos, icons, and emblems, which are a powerful and concise means of representing a company, product, idea, etc. Words convey information; symbols evoke understanding. Egyptian symbolism could be compared in some sense to modern day caricature. The use of symbols, (such as Uncle Sam, Russian bear, British bulldog, etc.) in caricature, are arbitrary and reveal nothing functional of the nation they symbolize. For the informed, the cartoon can reveal, in legitimate symbolic form, the totality of a given situation, in the eyes of the individual cartoonist. As such, a symbol, by definition, is not what it represents, but what it stands for, what it suggests. A symbol reveals to the mind a reality other than itself.
Egyptian symbols were carefully chosen from the natural world, to best express or embody a specific function or principle. A chosen symbol represents that function or principle, on all levels simultaneously - from the simplest, most obvious physical manifestation of that function to the most abstract and metaphysical.
It is important to realize that for Egyptians, every physical fact of life had a symbolic meaning. At the same time, every symbolic act of expression had a material background. (Moustafa Gadalla, Egyptian Cosmology: The Divine Harmony, Bastet Publishing, Erie, Pa., USA., 1997, p. 1-22).