Did all major religions originate from a common source?

[AgnosticBoy]

We all know that there are many world religions and they all differ at some point. However, there are some common themes, like when it comes to the origins of man, evil, salvation, the nature of God, etc. Some would probably say that the the obvious contradictions between the different faiths would point to only one or none being true. But I'm thinking perhaps the differences can be explained as a matter of one religion evolving from the other. I want to know if there is any evidence for this. One forum member pointed me to a popular author, Karen Armstrong who touches on this subject. I want to know about the logic and evidence behind her views or that of any other member on this topic. So let's debate.

For debate:
Do all major religions have a common source (or a common ancestor, to borrow from evolutionary theory)?

 

[notsuretobehonest]

On the run here. So will state obvious.
Islam and Christianity evolved from Judaism? Using OT as their platform.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

On the run here. So will state obvious.
Islam and Christianity evolved from Judaism? Using OT as their platform.

I agree. I think there are many types of commonalities we can point to. Your point brings up relations between written sources. I can add how some of the stories in the Torah, like the creation story and the laws of Moses, are similar to Mesopotamian myths, like the Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian), the story about Adapa, and the Hammurabi code. In the East, we can also say that Buddhism was derived from Hinduism. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was known to interact with Hindu ascetics before coming up with Buddhism. Both religions share many common teachings.

But I wonder if we can establish any connections beyond that which would point to a common source between Eastern and Western religions.