How on earth did "other" religions "steal" stories from the Bible when the Bible hadn't been written yet?

Question

The Sumerian Creation story is VERY similar to the OT. I am not stating that either is right or wrong, that isn't the point to this question. I will even hypothetically say God always existed and so did his word just for the sake of arguement here. BUT the fact is that God didn't "give" those words to man until much later then the Babylonians were around. So how on earth did they "steal" stories from a book that hadn't been written yet?

I agree that all religion borrow from others. Mine is no different, I see that and accept that most religion have a common bond which I think is great! But this is in response to some answers I read earlier. I am just always astounded at some people's ignorance to any faith but thier own.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtUIidS5408xeNNwLbmksofd7BR.?qid=20070720081433AAJ4uo4
If anyone wants a laugh

omg someone actually used the History Chanel as a reference...
Islam didn't come into existance until 600AD. It is also a mesh of Paganism and Jewish traditions. As is Christianity.

Answer 1

I would be more inclined to say that the Bible "borrowed" the stories that had already been written. It happens all the time. Most Christian stories, symbols, and holidays are based, at least loosely, on other religions.

Answer 2

In my understanding,
The Genesis creation predates Sumerian (Genesis story of creation is older than Sumerian/Babylonians). Although Moses probably penned the account--he relied on accurate sources about a time before he was around...(sources that we do not have now).

No, there is simply no way that Moses would have borrowed from existing sources like the Sumerian to write Genesis. The idea would have repulsed him greatly based on the Genesis story itself and the five books of Moses are vastly different than Sumerian and Babylonian religions.

I'd also say Sumerian Creation story is 'just somewhat' similiar to OT, not "very simliar" as you've suggested. The creation myths from the Middle east and north Africa tend to have similiar stories simliar to the OT account, many much closer than the Sumerian. Other creation stories do often mention a 'first man' and 'first woman' but beyond that are not that common at all to the Bible. But the Flood concept can be found in many creation stories, some of them quite a long ways from the Middle East.

The Creation / Flood stories are a very "damning" nail in the 'coffin' of Darwin and evolutionary theories, because they contain many of the same elements world-wide
For more info, check out sites like these:
http://nwcreation.net/noahlegends.html

As a long time Bible scholar, I can tell you I take Genesis creation story quite literally.

The Bible acknowledges many of these people had the same fathers (from Noah) and lived close, something that can be seen in the way the peoples of that area are today as well.

A lot of what 'Adam's Rib' posted after me I can surprisingly agree with - however, claiming that Nimrod (a mighty hunter) started the Trinity I think is an idea that is pretty wacko...

Answer 3

I agree, Isis. The problem is determining actually when the Biblical accounts (the books of Moses) were actually conceived. The writings definitely post-date the Sumerian texts, but it is commonly believed that a lot of the Mosaic texts existed in oral form (VERY common in Jewish tradition) for a long time. The creation story would be a perfect example of that kind of oral story.

But in the end, it's not a huge deal. Even if Biblical accounts generally follow some strain of the narrative, the real focus is on the God of the Isarelite people and the monotheistic nature of His relationship with that "chosen" people. That makes it quite unique regardless of its similarities to other stories in the ancient world about how it all began.

Answer 4

Yeah, I hear that a lot from "Christians" with regard to the pagan legends from which the Christian legend was pilfered - that it was the other way around, even though it's hard to reconcile that with the fact that the pagans were obviously earlier. What can you say? Apparently some religious people have gone so far down the road of unreason that they don't even understand the nature of time anymore.

There's the theory that Satan, with miraculous foresight, had induced the pagans to invent mythologies that closely resembled the later Christian story, simply to deceive the faithless in later centuries. But most "Christians" don't even go that far anymore. They just argue that Christianity is the original truth, so anything else must be a counterfeit, even if it came earlier.

Answer 5

what religions are you talking about? I have never heard of someone saying the sumerian creation story was taken from the bible. That's ridiculous. Care to share with us where you got this misinformation from? I do know that there are things in the bible that were taking from other religions though. There are many books on the subject. And to say that hypotheically God always existed but then say that it is a fact that god didn't give the words to man until much later. How would you know that? You don't, that is why someone has to have faith to believe in it.

Answer 6

While it's true "the bible" didn't exist, scrolls did. You see, the Jews felt God's word (the scrolls) were his living presence on earth. They showed profound reverence to them. Beginning first with the tablets containing the 10 Commandments and then on down to writing of the scrolls.

You see a red lamp in Jewish Temples the same way you see a red lamp in Catholic Churches. Essentially meaning God is in the house...

Theories abound. You know the Jews lived in Babylon for some time. There are theologians who say all the information about angels was taken from Babylon.

Some of the oldest known Hebrew scrolls predate their exile to Babylon. So how can this be true?

Answer 7

If you're already familiar ith the bible
You might find D J Conway's books "Maiden, Mother, Crone" and "Lord of Light and Shadow" fascinating reading, showing just how similar all myths from all over the world are. She also never mentions the bible or christianity in it, so you have to rely on your own familiarity with that book to see it as the same type of myth structure.
There are myths that are universally human and almost every culure that has existed has hadsome form of them, each claiming their's as the truth. It's kinda a religions perogative (in the competitive world of many faiths) to declare itself the one and only way.

Answer 8

It's sad to say but people feel that if they say their belief is older than it's the right one. We all know when the bible was written and we know that there are many borrowed stories contained in the bible. All they did was put a new spin on the stories.

Answer 9

Mankind of old wrote as God spoke back in the days. In later years mankind compose a book with all the saying given by God for us to live by. God word is flesh and life to us. Yes, religious people steals and transform God's word but the Christians do not have to steal his words cause the word of God is shed abroad in our hearts.

Answer 10

The truth is that many of the stories in the bible exist in other cultures and that they existed BEFORE the biblical authors wrote them. I don't know if there was stealing or not, but the truth is the Jewish/Christian authors were probably the ones who stole them. When the councils assembled various writings that we now call "the Bible" they tried to make it look like God was speaking only to certain "chosen" ones.

In Truth, God speaks to all equally and does not choose one over another.