Post: #1

http://dmiessler.com/writing/bible_fiction/

This link is to dmiessler's blog. It is a comparison of the Gilgamesh Epic and the book of Genesis. The similarities are astonishing.

Here are a number of elements that both Gilgamesh and the flood story in Genesis share:

God decided to send a worldwide flood. This would drown men, women, children, babies and infants, as well as eliminate all of the land animals and birds.

God knew of one righteous man, Ut-Napishtim or Noah.

God ordered the hero to build a multi-story wooden ark (called a chest or box in the original Hebrew), and the hero initially complained about the assignment to build the boat.

The arc would have many compartments, a single door, be sealed with pitch and would house one of every animal species.

A great rain covered the land with water.

The arc landed on a mountain in the Middle East.

The first two birds returned to the ark. The third bird apparently found dry land because it did not return.

The hero and his family left the ark, ritually killed an animal, offered it as a sacrifice.

The Babylonian gods seemed genuinely sorry for the genocide that they had created. The God of Noah appears to have regretted his actions as well, because he promised never to do it again.

This and more at the link...

"G"

This post was last modified: Jul 21, 2008 02:07 PM by ggeorge2814.

Post: #2

For someone who dosen't believe in God, George, you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to justify your unbelief to those who believe.
I don't care what others think about the faith I have. I just prefer to tell people of the good in God and leave them to choose.
You will never take away a man's faith with these posts. But you will continue to reinforce your own negativity in life.
Just my observation.

Post: #3

Then I guess you have a very negative view of what I'm trying to do. I care about the influence of religion on the masses and our society. I'm not trying to justify my non-belief, I'm trying to show how a commonly believed in system of religion is not as authentic and valid as it is presented by its believers. If you just prefer to tell people the good in your god, then you aren't telling them the whole story. Essentially, you are picking and choosing so that you can coerce. And yes, it is possible to take away a man's faith when he is presented with real information. Just my observation.

"G"

This post was last modified: Jul 21, 2008 03:30 PM by ggeorge2814.

Post: #4

Wow. I knew there had been Jusus-like characters before he came around, but I had no idea that so much of the bible appears to be based on older fictional writings.

"Dionysus was literally the "Son of God", was born of a virgin mother, and was commonly depicted riding a donkey. He healed the sick and turned water to wine. He was killed but was resurrected and became immortal. His greatest accomplishment was his own death, which delivers humanity itself."

"Asklepios healed the sick, raised the dead, and was known as the savior and redeemer."

"Osiris did the same things. He was born of a virgin, was considered the first true king of the people, and when he died he rose from the grave and went to heaven."

"Osiris's son, Horus, was known as the "light of the world", "The good shepherd", and "the lamb". He was also referred to as, "The way, the truth, and the life." His symbol was a cross."

The above were all written about hundreds, even thousands of years before Jesus' time. By the time Jesus arrived, the story was already old and worn out. Yet people still say that all the "redeemers" and "lambs" and "saviors" that also "walked on water", "raised the dead", "died for our salvation", etc were false but the Jesus version of this ficitonal story is the gospel truth.

Hercules' last words as he died were, "It is finished." Even Jesus last words were taken from mythology.

Post: #5

And all I keep thinking is these guys have no idea of what they’re doing to themselves.

Is the Biblical Flood Account a Modified Copy of the Epic of
Gilgamesh?

No.

---

Malcolm wrote:
"For someone who dosen't believe in God, George, you spend an inordinate amount of time trying to justify your unbelief to those who believe."

George wrote:
"I care about the influence of religion on the masses and our society."

If that's really your motive, I would think I would see more posts from you
of how Christianity has been a bad influence on America for example. Iwould also think that you would give examples of cultures that promote Atheism. Then show how atheism has made those society's prosper and do well.

This post was last modified: Jul 21, 2008 07:56 PM by EdTwo.

Post: #6

I didn't think it was a modified copy. I thought it was an old story about a man who was told by a god to build an ark and gather animals and his family to be saved while the earth flooded and that it was part of the inspiration of the story of Noah. It turns out that it IS an old story about a man who was told by a god to build an ark and gather animals and his family to be saved while the earth flooded and I'm still assuming it was part of the inspiration of the story of Noah.

I found the page you meant to link to and it says:

1. Flood occurs in the Mesopotamian plain.
2. Main character is warned to build a boat to escape the flood
3. Main character is told to save himself, his family, and a sampling of animals
4. The boats were sealed with tar
5. The boats came to rest on a mountain
6. Birds were released to determine if the waters receded
7. Main character sacrificed an offering

These are 7 major points about the story of Gilgamesh. Then the page goes on to say that there are major differences in the stories. Well, yeah, I didn't think Moses copied the story word for word. I thought it was one of the stories, the main story really, that inspired the story of Noah. The page you linked to just shows that even Christians admit the incredible similarities.