From CGI's Mike:

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I would like to present an alternative viewpoint.

The essence of gods and devils is bacon and eggs.

Before Judaism, Christianity and Islam there were men and Jinn. Literature and lore older than these three settles the question.

Man and Jinn interacted. Man is presented as good and evil and the Jinn are presented as good and evil. Just like different cultures today. See the section on comparative mythology at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn#Judaism .

Objective observation yields that religions are control mechanisms based on threat and salvation from threat. There must be a bad guy. The big three mentioned above have settled on "Satan" as the bad guy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaitan and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iblis .

It is a bit suspicious that the big three "fishers of men" have all cast the same bad guy net. One might suppose that fish are a valuable commodity.

Up until about a hundred years ago bacon and eggs was -not- a standard American breakfast. Edward Bernays established that "standard" with a psychological operation. http://www.americantable.org/2012/07/how-bacon-and-eggs-became-the-american-breakfast/ It worked perfectly. Still does.

The point is that in a few short years Bernays created and established a mind set that endures even today. Those who manage gods and devils have had thousands of years to establish whatever mind sets they need to facilitate their commerce.

It is commerce. When you pledge loyalty to any god or devil you agree, tacitly or actively, to be grafted into the organization. You become incorporated into the corporation and subject to performance of terms and conditions of contract. And that is corporate/maritime law. The corporation has been around for a very long time.

So, gods and devils is just bacon and eggs. The corporation needs consumers who have had a hardy spiritual breakfast and can be worked hard.

Prophets and profits.

MIke