I've just begun reading a book Discovering God by Rodney Stark. It's about the origins of the great religions and the evolution of belief. Already, I can see the author is most-likely a theistic Christian, which is sad, but not surprising. That said, it's good to read things from other perspectives, but I can't help thinking I'd love to read a book about comparative religions with a biblical creation perspective. Just once. Anyway, here's a truly fascinating bit of information I'd love to share with you all.
'...although they were scattered from Southern Italy to China, many of the great religious "founders" were contemporaries. Buddha, Confucius, Lao-Tzu (Taoism), Zoroaster, Mahavira (Jainism), the principal authors of most of the Hindu Upanishads, Grecian innovators such as Pythagoras and the unknown founder of Orphism, even the Israelite prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah - all lived in the sixth century BC!'
From Discovering God by Rodney Stark
(Stark actually mentioned Second Isaiah, not Isaiah, but as there was no such person (just Isaiah) I removed the mention. The theory is just as silly as the Documentary Hypothesis!)