Why won't Christians admit the Flood Story is a Sumerian Myth?

Question

The Epic of Gilgamesh gives an account of a man who was told by the gods to build a boat to save his family from a great flood. Don't you think the Biblical flood originated from Sumer, just like Abraham?

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Answer 1

Of course it did. Many of the Hebrew legends are quite patently derived from older Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptian myths. Which makes sense, given the amount of time the Hebrews spent in captivity under these cultures. In just the same way, "Christianity" represents a skein of Judaic tradition tricked out with pagan bells and whistles derived from Greco-Roman culture.

But "Christians" will only argue that the older tradition somehow stole from the newer, rather than the other way around.

But all of this is beside the point. An "universal flood" could never have happened. Not enough H2O on the planet, by a LONG shot. Against this, "Christians" can only argue that "With God all things are possible." Lazy parishioners!

Answer 2

There are a lot of ancient flood stories besides the story of Noah or Gilgamesh. Check out this link to see what I mean.

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html

So you have to ask yourself "Why do all of these cultures have different stories of a great flood with so many similarities to the story in Genesis?".

I've read the account in Gilgamesh and it reads like a myth with gods cowering like dogs and the person on the ark packing away lots of gold and silver for the journey.

But when you read the Biblical account, while it sounds fantastic because God is involved and because you wonder how all of the animals might have fit on the ark and got enough food and stuff like that, it doesn't have the trappings of ancient mythology that all of the other stories have.

Just because the Epic of Gilgamesh might have been written before the first 5 books of the Bible doesn't mean that the flood story was copied. Instead what it means is that the story God told to Moses was the original story and all of the other cultures that have different stories are adaptations of the original account as they were handed down from generation to generation by story tellers over the camp fires.

Exodus 33:11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Answer 3

I'll admit the flood story is a Sumerian Myth when the Sumerians acknowledge that they stole the story from the Atrahasis Epic.

Answer 4

The story of the biblical "Noah's Flood" is actually written right into traditional Chinese characters--which are still in use today. Would you like to explain for me how that happened? In fact, there are other interesting things from history that have become a part of the Chinese written language as well, such as the story of the beginnings of sin. If you want to study ancient history, the study of Chinese would be a good start. It is the oldest language of the world still in use today, and its characters, called ideograms, tell stories from the past.

In the special case of the flood story, the Chinese character for the word "boat" comes from a combination of the characters for "eight", "mouth", and "vessel."

However, if the fact that the flood story is supported in scores of languages and cultures does not convince you, study the Grand Canyon and compare its walls to those formed by the rapid runoff of Spirit Lake following the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980--one of the most well documented natural disasters of modern times. Scientists have much to learn from it.

Answer 5

There is currently a book out entitled "Noah's Flood." It is written by Bill Ryan and Walter Pitman, world class scientists. I'm going to get the book for my library but will probably never read it because I believe the story of the flood. You can get used copies for about $4 at Amazon.com. It tells about how they found out by investigating the dead sea that their was evidence of a hugh flood. They also have a video on BBC Learning. the link is tv-links.co.uk/listings. I don't think you need the www., just paste the other info in your address bar. Look for Noah's flood.

Answer 6

The Genesis account never claimed to be the FIRST account. The fact that there were earlier versions proves that the story of a great flood was well know to ancient peoples. Moses wrote about the flood also.

Answer 7

well, I don't know that that is true, but if it is , it won't make any material difference to me.

Why? Because I don't have to know how the universe began, or believe in the flood or any of the other meataphorical stories in the OT to follow Jesus.



Matthew 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.


I can spend hours every day for the rest of my life trying to master those two tings.

Answer 8

Are you behind the spiritually progressing times? Probably 1/4 to 1/2 of all sincere Christians in the USA today do NOT believe in the flood story ! Our real, loving Father God never said that "he was sorry that he made man and would have to wipe him out with a worldwide flood."

Many Christians also do NOT believe in any literal hell and other ungodly foolishness. We are Spirit of Truth-led eclectic exegetes. (Very picky "Cafeteria Christians" ha ha)

Peace and progress,
Brother Dave, a Jesusonian Christian Truthist
http://www.PureChristians.org/ Gospel enlarging website,
proclaiming worldwide the True Religion
OF JESUS and ABOUT JESUS and IN JESUS
Come and share !

Answer 9

Because, unfortunately many Christians don't bother reading any literature that predates Christian/Jewish theology. It's easier to remain ignorant when you don't bother to investigate other earlier civilizations' ideas. Luckily there are some Christians who are well-read and open-minded..I just wish they were the majority.

And just as a side note here..there is evidence of many floods happening in pre-history all over the world at different times and affecting various cultures. In small communities around the world even a small flood would seem catastrophic..and would be recorded in their oral myth telling. Just because it was recorded as a great flood doesn't mean its the same flood as was recorded in the Hebrew Bible!!!!

Answer 10

I've always wondered how the Mayans knew about the flood, they were isolated on the other side of the world from everyone else. Or where the sea salt come from that covered the inside walls of the great pyramid when it was first opened.