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World History

Ancient Mesopotamia: Religion and Government

Ancient Mesopotamia: Religion and Government - Crown

Temple Worship Begins

Deity Pantheon Invented

Kingship Initiated

Does the King List Prove the Genesis Seth Line?

Kingship Changes Hands

Did you see the note that brick temples were built in pre-flood Mesopotamia? The God of Adam never ordered temples, nor were they encouraged, because the Judeo-Christian God is everywhere at once. He does not need a house.

Temple Worship Begins

Yet brick temples popped up, complete with altars for sacrifice.

Strangely, I have not read of idols in these temples. Were they, then, first erected to the God of Genesis? But why?

It’s only speculation on my part, but perhaps it made Cain’s family more comfortable. Not daring to ditch God completely, they located the omnipresent, omnipotent God in a structure in which they could approach God and worship him, but he didn’t follow them around all week. They could do what they desired.

Deity Pantheon Invented

The next step would be to divide the immeasurable God into gods and goddesses of specific items. But these were not the same as God. These were humans with superhuman powers. They could be capricious in justice. They could be pranksters. Humans still needed to respect and worship them. But they could be bought. You could make a deal with them.

Yes, that’s a much more comfortable idea of deity.

It can be seen today in the behavior of many worshippers of the Judeo-Christian God who worship at church or temple then do as they please the rest of the week. Worshippers also attempt to make deals with God, forgetting that all they have originated from God.

This gives credence to my Mesopotamian scenario—but it’s not proof.

Kingship Initiated

And then came government. A scribe, who compiled a list of Mesopotamian kings from the most ancient sources available, says that “kingship descended from the heavens.” This means that one or more gods invented kingship and brought the idea to humans.

My guess is that it arrived via a convenient prophecy. I’ve seen similar things happen within my lifetime.

One example is that the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) originally held the position that members of the Negro race could not become elect (believers). During the Civil Rights era, other colleges refused to play Brigham Young University because of this. Then, a new prophecy declared that blacks were now acceptable believers, and college sports returned to normal.

How convenient!

Let’s look at the list of kings before the Great Deluge.

The list of kings dated by the scribe as 2125 B.C.

A compilation of ancient sources.

Alulim28,000Eridu

Alalgar36,000Eridu

Enmenluanna43,000Bad-Tibira (probably Badgurguru*)

Enmengalana28,000Bad-Tibira

Dumuzi the Shepherd36,000Bad-Tibira

Ensipadzidana28,000Larag

Enmendurana21,000Zimbir (Sippar/Akkad)

Ubara-Tutu18,600Shurrupuk

Ziusudra (Noah)36,000Shurrupuk

*means City of the Workers in Bronze

Does the King List Prove the Genesis Seth Line?

The first thing I notice is their extraordinarily long reigns! They are recorded as reining much longer than the patriarchs of Genesis lived—and we thought that was strange!

There is an answer, however. Numbers in Genesis were recorded in Egypt’s Base 10 system. Mesopotamian mathematics were calculated in Base 60.

In fact, there are still people today who count in Base 60. We still use the system in minutes and seconds, whether in time or geometry or navigation.

In Base 60, there is a unit of 60 times 60, or 3600. If that is the unit used in the above list, the years come down to being very close to what Genesis records for patriarch lifespans!

In fact, some Christians believe that this list actually relates to Seth and his descendants as recorded in Genesis. However, I see some problems.

The correlation must begin with Seth rather than Adam. Why would that be done?

Enoch’s counterpart, Ensipadzidana, was also said to ascend to heaven without dying. However, this resulted in Enoch’s lifetime being the shortest of the list. This is not true with his match.

Methuselah lived the longest life on record (in Base 10). Emmendurana did not.

Kingship Changes Hands

This is the order after “kingship descended from the heavens.” It remained in a city until it “fell” or was “defeated.” “Then the kingship was taken to” the next city on the list.

There are a variety of reasons why a city could fail. Some possibilities are war, bad location planning, natural disaster, crop failure, an inept king, a king so unpopular that the people moved out, or perhaps it seemed to the people that the god of that city failed them so they moved to the domain of another god.

There is nothing said about the scope of kingship. Mesopotamia is thought of as an area of city-states, each city ruled by one king.

But this sounds as if one person had the rank of king. It does not rule out leaders of each city, probably a priest.

Overall, it seems that there was a time before kingship. After the first king claimed his crown, civilization quickly degenerated into a state similar to the War of the Roses!

Photo credit: Nathan Mcgregor on Unsplash

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World History

The Dawn of Mesopotamia

Dawn of Mesopotamia

The First Cities of Mesopotamia

Surprising Relics!

The Invention of Writing

The Dawn of Mesopotamia

Ancient cities exist that show a distinctive flood level. Debate rages between whether this was a local flood or a world-wide flood.

If one believes that the legend of Noah’s ark is true, these cities existed before a worldwide flood occurred and were rebuilt later. It was probably Cain’s family that originally populated the region.

The First Cities of Mesopotamia

The cities discovered to pre-date the flood are: Eridu (Abu Shahrein, Iraq), where tradition says Adam and Eve lived after ejection from the Garden of Eden, Obeid, Erech, Susa, Tepe Gawra, Fara (Shurppah/Shurrupuk), which tradition says was the home of Noah, Ur, Kish, Sippar (Akkad), Larsa, and Jemdet Nasar.

The legends of Adam and Eve and of Noah’s Ark in Genesis have surprisingly similar counterparts in Mesopotamian cultures. Other cultures also support these legends as facts.

Surprising Relics!

A variety of surprising relics have been discovered in the pre-flood layer:

  1. Pottery painted in geometric patterns and figures of birds. Some pottery is vitrified; that is, some of the clay has turned to glass at high heat, making it waterproof. Wow!
  2. Tools of copper and stone, including flint and quartz. These include hoes, sickles, and fish hooks.
    1. In fact, primitive inscriptions brag that Babylonia (Mesopotamia, near the mouth of the rivers) was never inhabited by a people who were unacquainted with the use of metal!
  3. Models of boats hint at life on the water, perhaps fishing and/or trade.
  4. A chariot that proves the domestication of the horse, including breeding of small, stocky wild horses into a breed with enough bone and muscle to pull a chariot.
  5. A rich community is indicated by vanity items: turquoise vases, copper mirrors, and cosmetics to darken eyebrows and eyelids.
  6. Structures include an underground kiln and ruins of brick temples that were painted red or covered with plaster.
  7. Seals to assert ownership and/or authority have been found, but also inscriptions on clay tablets.
    1. In fact, an ancient Babylonian king recorded that he “loved to read the writings of the age before the Flood.”
    1. Assurbanipal, founder of the great library of Ninevah, referred to “inscriptions of the time before the Flood.”
    1. How did they come to survive the Great Deluge, as the Babylonians called it? Berosus was a priest who wrote a three-volume book of Babylonian history in Greek and dedicated it to Antiochus I around 300 B.C. In it, he relates the tradition that Ziusudra (the Babylonian name for Noah) buried the sacred writings at Sippur before the Flood and afterward dug them up. (Why do that at Sippur?)

The Invention of Writing

Jewish and Arab tradition says that the Enoch who was descended from Seth invented writing. There is no proof.

He did, however, write three Books of Enoch. They are considered non-biblical texts by many Christians but contain spiritual events and prophecies. Therefore, it is safe to say that he adhered to the God of his ancestors.

But being an author does not mean one has invented writing. I should know!

What is the argument that it was Cain’s son Enoch who invented writing? According to Genesis, all of the inventors were from Cain’s family. And, being much older than the Sethite Enoch, the latter benefitted from a writing system that by his time had advanced in practicality.

Unless significant, specific proof is unearthed, we will never know who invented writing.

Well, this artsy, luxurious lifestyle is far from the Caveman Culture envisioned in most history texts, isn’t it?

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Categories
World History

Problem Child: Murderer

Problem Child Murderer

Murder Motive

Crime Scene

Courtroom Drama

The Wanderer

Problem Child: Murderer

Cain was every parent’s worst nightmare.

When he was sixty-eight years old and should have known better, he murdered his younger brother, according to Genesis.

Murder Motive

Why? Because his brother followed the rule for sacrificing to God: give the first of your harvest. Abel went further: he sacrificed the fatty potions from the best of his flock. His sacrifice was accepted.

Cain offered some of his produce, which implies that he kept the best for himself. This man was selfish, greedy, and he had a bad attitude! There’s no way I would do business with him.

Of course, Cain’s sacrifice was rejected. He was furious, and he pouted.

God wanted to re-establish a relationship with Cain and fix his attitude. He said, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it.” (NIV)

Crime Scene

Here’s problem solving for you: Cain said to Abel, “Let’s go to the field.” (That’s where Cain feels most comfortable.) There Cain killed his brother. That’ll show the little twerp to upstage him!

Courtroom Drama

God is back. “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” What a lying, snotty response!

“What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out from the ground.” God tells Cain that as a result of his sin, the ground will no longer respond to his farming and he will become a restless wanderer.

Stubborn Cain tries emotional sabotage. “Today you are driving me from the land. (Not true: he just isn’t able to farm it.) I will be hidden from your presence. (Not true: the Judeo-Christian God is omnipresent. We’ll see that Cain doesn’t care about this anyway.) I will be a restless wanderer on the earth. (True.) And whoever finds me will kill me. (God never said this. Even so, doesn’t he deserve it?)

God puts a mark or seal on Cain to prevent his murder. This is the beginning of what will later become writing. It is probably the source of the early practice of a personal seal with which to “sign” documents.

The Wanderer

So Cain and his wife “went out of the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” East of Eden covers a large area. However, if Eden is, as I proposed, the eastern section of the Turkish plateau, then Cain traveled beyond the mountains.

The Bible does not tell us where “Nod” was, but the important thing may be that it means “away from the presence of God.” As pointed out earlier, this is impossible with the Judeo-Christian God. Therefore, this must refer to where Cain connected with God: his parents, the angel with the flaming sword blocking the way to the Garden of Eden, and his own judgement.

In other words Cain not only “went out from the Lord’s presence” but he also lived there. He never repented, never returned.

Genesis says Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch. We have no idea where that city was. There are educated guesses, but no proof.

My guess is that traveling east instead of south indicates that he followed the Tigris River instead of the Euphrates River into what is today called Mesopotamia. There, he built the city. In my opinion, it no longer exists, but I could be proven wrong!

Since he was “a wanderer,” he probably did not remain there, but continued to travel along the Tigris.

Suggested reading: Genesis 4:1-17

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Categories
World History

Results of Noah’s Flood

Noah's Ark

The Search for Noah’s Ark

Geological Changes

Humans After the Flood

Results of Noah’s Flood

The Search for Noah’s Ark

Mount Ararat has been the site of searches for Noah’s Ark especially during the last two hundred years.

The weather is hazardous there, making even scientific expeditions difficult, with snow and ice shifting over the suspected remains, and possibly shifting the remains downhill as well.

Dating wood proved unpredictable, with several different dates emerging, none of which tallied with Genesis.

All photographs of the remains show a ship, like the one pictured above. We have seen that the blueprints sketch an enclosed barge.

Some expedition results were later found to be hoaxes.

And, of course, the Bible never says the ark landed on Mount Ararat. It says the ark landed on the Mountains of Ararat.

In 2020, the Institute for Creation Research acknowledged that the ark had not been found, joining secular scientists who had reached that conclusion earlier.

Geological Changes

The story of the cataclysm fits with the shuffled and flipped and missing strata observed in many places. If there was only one continent, Pangea, which may be indicated in Genesis, a cataclysm of this enormity could explain the breaking off of smaller continents, in opposition to the theory of continental drift.

The highest of all peaks in nuclear decay (by a large margin), as well as other observations of RATE demand a recalibration of the geological table. It may even change to biblical proportions.

This, in turn, changes the dating of arts and cultures. After realizing what the cataclysm actually was, we are not surprised to find nothing of the actual first human civilization built by Cain’s descendants. It would have been near-miraculous to find identifiable remains!

When dating arts and cultures before the biblical time of the flood, one must consider if the specimen could have survived. It is so unlikely (especially cave paintings) that correct dating must be postdiluvian.

Humans After the Flood

Humans would not have dispersed as rapidly as before the flood if, as some cultural legends say, the earth’s geography was flat before the flood.

Whichever mountain the ark landed on, Noah and his family descended into the Turkey with which we are familiar. Eventually even all of Turkey would not be enough for them.

Genesis tells us that the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth wander away into different places. Japheth’s family is listed first. His descendants were mariners and therefore would have lived along the Mediterranean Sea.

Nimrod of Ham’s family was a great hunter. The sea held no interest for him. His kingdom centers were Babylonia, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in Shinar. That wasn’t enough, so he went to Assyria where he built Ninevah and three lesser cities. His prodigy would become the many tribes of Canaanites.

Shem loved the hills. Meshech’s family stayed in the hills and plateau of Turkey. Assur settled in the upper Tigris-Euphrates basin. Elam, more adventurous, travelled east of the Persian Gulf. Joktan settled in the hills of the southern Saudi Arabian peninsula near Yemen.

Not surprisingly, these are the areas where the most ancient civilization remains have been discovered.

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World History

Noah’s Ark: a Story

hand rising from water

“How long is that crazy old coot going to stay shut up in that boat?” said Kenan.

“At least we don’t have to listen to his fanatical speeches anymore.” Javar laughed.

The friends drifted away, looking for new entertainment.

The three-story enclosed barge stood alone on the flat landscape, the only door shut.

The days passed uneventfully.

This day began with the perfect weather experienced every day. Crops grew in the field, watered by underground springs. People went about their business or pleasure.

“Kenan, look at that!” Javar pointed to the sky. “What do you reckon it is?”

A fluffy, translucent cloud stretched from horizon to horizon.

“Huh. Somethin’ new.” Jevar stared up, his hands on his hips. “Looks like it’s comin’ down from the sky.” He poked his friend in the ribs. “Gonna be interestin’ to be inside that, if it comes down this far.”

Curious. Unique. But silent, and soon forgotten.

Boom!

“What the–” Kenan jumped up from his dinner, knocking his plate to the ground. He had felt that sound vibrate wildly against his feet.

Boom!

Javar, also on his feet searched the sky, the origin of the second sound. All he saw was the gentle, fluffy cloud drifting lower, but still a long distance away.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sounding loudly from below the ground and above it, the sky and earth seemed to be answering each other.

Everything broke at once.

Earthquakes shook the ground and created great cracks. People screamed as they fell into the gaps.

Eruptions burst forth from underground.

A geyser’s spout spewed from the left of Javar. The people it caught unaware screamed as they were boiled alive.

Javar and Kenan ran in the opposite direction.

Boom! The cone of a volcano rose before them, spilling lava, scorching and roasting the humans in its way.

“Come on!” Coughing from the noxious fumes, Javar pulled Kenan at a right angle to the lava streaming toward them.

Young and fit, the men raced past most of the other people scrambling away from the volcano.

“Everything’s on fire!” shouted Kenan. His voice was lost in the booming and hissing and human screams.

The men didn’t stop at the river’s edge. Plunging into the water, they swam with strong but desperate strokes to the other side. A tall hill thrust up before them, newly made by the chaos. After a moment of shocked surprise, the men climbed to the top. From here they could watch the sea.

People racing to the river or sea did not find safety. The lava boiled the sea and evaporated much of the river. But the lava could not climb the hill. However, it set fire to the vegetation. The fire worked its way toward Kenan and Javar.

Some humans hid in their houses or caves, too crazy with fear to consider what wild animals had chosen that refuge as well. They found an unusually high tide lapping at their toes.

Suddenly a tidal wave sea reared then crashed over the land near the sea, sucking many people into the depths.

Jevan and Kenan were safe on the cliff. It was too high to be touched by the wave, but the sea sprayed over the cliff, extinguishing the fire that was reaching toward them.

But that was not the worst of the terrors.

The fluffy cloud turned dark and curled.

With the loudest sky boom yet, the cloud broke into enormous drops, deluging these people who had never experienced rain. It pelted them mercilessly. It beat them to the ground.

“The sky is falling!” They called to one another in horror.

Lightning flashed everywhere, and thunder answered like a bass drum.

In flashes of light, Kenan and Javar saw the ark begin to lift gently on the water. People near the ark slogged their way toward it, their desperate pleas for help snatched away by the wind.

The weak fell and could not get up, drowning in water or asphyxiating when those who were stronger trampled their faces into the mud.

Funnel clouds whirled over land and sea, ripping trees and houses, tossing them on the people frantic to escape.

Javar and Kenan crawled under bushes and clung to them in desperation.

The clouds of dirt and fumes from volcanos spread across the ground and were tossed upward by violent winds. The darkness grew from earth to sky, meeting the storms blocking out the friendly stars.

In the darkness, all sight of the ark was lost.

The people were lost.

Lost.

Photo credit: Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash

Categories
World History

Surviving Noah’s Flood

Noah's Ark illustration

Who Survived the Cataclysm?

How Did They Survive?

Description of an Ark

The Disappearance of Dinosaurs

Description of Noah’s Ark

What Noah’s Ark Was Not

What Happened During the Voyage?

Post-Cataclysm Changes

The Rainbow

Surviving Noah’s Flood

In almost all cultures, there were survivors of the cataclysm. When humans did not survive, a god would throw stones that turned into people or use other means to restart the human race.

Following the rule of the majority, we must ask who survived and how.

Who Survived the Cataclysm?

The most and oldest reports describe a Noah-like character who survives with his family. Some cultures even specify three sons.

The next most popular legend is that a brother and sister survive. After the flood they must get a special dispensation from the gods to marry. Otherwise, there will be no more humans.

The odd stories include the survival of two men (how does that work out?) or a group of people larger than one family.

How Did They Survive?

Legends describe a variety of survival strategies.

In legends that say one mountain peak remained above water, the survivors fled there.

There are a variety of escape crafts.

One legend says people escaped in wooden houses that floated on the flood. It sounds to me like they would not remain upright in a storm.

In two tales, people escaped sealed in a gourd. That sounds like asphyxiation to me.

Three times the survivors are described as escaping sealed in a tree or log. There’s little air there either.

Four times, people are described as escaping by raft. Can you imagine surviving many days in the storm we talked about last time? Maybe the raft would, but people would surely be washed overboard.

Now, let’s look at the more sensible ideas.

Two sources state the survivors escaped in a chest or box. As long as they have air holes and the box is made of wood, it’s possible. The size and shape of the box would be big factors in success.

Eleven tales say people escaped in a boat, ship, or canoe. Sorry, but a canoe is not going to make it through a cataclysm. A boat is a general term. A ship is large and made for traveling seas and oceans.

Surprisingly, four legends use the same word: ark.

Description of an Ark

I was sixty-nine years old and had heard the story of Noah’s Ark all of my life when I thought to ask myself, “Does the word ‘ark’ mean anything specific?”

To my surprise, it does!

An ark is a strongbox or sturdy chest in which one’s most precious treasures are protected.

Noah’s ark was a ship-sized treasure chest whose purpose was to protect God’s greatest treasures from the cataclysm. Those treasures were the righteous Noah and his family!

For the family’s survival after the flood, animals were invited onto the ship also.

I must admit that tales trying to be both “biblical” and “scientific” slip into ridiculousness, as is often the case. In one, the mammoth was too big to enter the ark so it sat on top. That’s not going to work.

In another story, the dinosaur swam behind. That was a very long swim.

The Disappearance of Dinosaurs

Let’s digress a moment and answer a question that has been nagging at us: What happened to dinosaurs?

Here’s a theory. Remember that Noah could only bring two of each kind of unclean animal into the ark. Whatever “kind” meant in Moses’ Egyptian classification of living things, it seems to be between species and family in ours. Therefore, not all species of dinosaurs would be included in the ark.

Reptiles are “unclean” animals, so one male and one female of each kind would be chosen.

Also, consider that most dinosaurs were smaller than today’s horse, even as small as a chicken. Wouldn’t it be logical to choose, say, the crocodile and Komodo dragon instead of Tyrannosaurus Rex?

The rest drowned with other animals we have never seen.

Description of Noah’s Ark

As an Egyptian prince, Moses surely was interested in building, architecture, and engineering. He probably studied those arts. His description of Noah’s Ark is specific.

  1. Make it of wood. (Wood floats easily.)
  2. Put rooms in it.
  3. Waterproof it with pitch inside and outside.
  4. The dimensions are to be 450 feet by 75 feet by 45 feet. (That’s half as long as the Titanic!)
  5. Three stories.
  6. One door in the side.
  7. One window at the top.

What Noah’s Ark Was Not

Noah’s Ark was not designed for navigation. It was designed only for floating.

It lacks these parts: a pointed bow, a pointed stern, an anchor, a propeller and rudder or oars, slanted sides, and one or more masts.

Those were invented for navigation and cruise efficiency. It’s not as stable as a flat bottomed craft. Also, any structure under the water line could be damaged by hidden aquatic dangers.

The picture above does not represent Noah’s ark.

The blueprint describes a three story enclosed barge. Because of the straight sides, the enclosed volume of Noah’s Ark was roughly the same as the Titanic! Who says there isn’t room for every “kind” (not species) of animal?

What Happened During the Voyage?

We don’t know.

That’s right. No legend tells us what happened on board during the flood. Neither does Genesis. Apparently, Moses didn’t think it important.

The next thing we know is that the cataclysm was over, the waters receded considerably, and Noah was at the window.

Is it just Moses’s minimalistic style, or is it fact that there was nothing on board but the humans and the animals? Noah was not commanded to bring food or any other supplies on board.

Could it be that in God’s mercy He put the passengers of the ark into suspended animation, saving them the trauma of the cataclysm?

That would be my choice!

The fact is, we don’t know. Period.

Post-Cataclysm Changes

The earth Noah saw when he left the ark was as bizarre and astonishing as if he had landed on the moon.

God told Noah there would be changes between humans and animals. The Dream Time was finished. First, animals would be afraid of people. Second, “every living thing that moves will be meat for you.”

Humans are no longer to be vegetarians. That’s a good reason for animals to be afraid!

But why the change? God doesn’t say. It’s logical, however, to suggest that the change is related to the vastly altered earth.

The Rainbow

I was surprised how many legends included a rainbow at the end of the story as a sign of hope and peace. One story had four rainbows: one in each direction!

Of course, there are always outliers, such as the story with the Rainbow Serpent.

In Genesis, God says, “I will set my bow in the clouds” as a sign (think seal or signature) of the covenant between myself and the earth that I will never do this again.

This ceremony of the bow survives today in some places. When two tribes or clans have been warring but meet to create a peace treaty, each leader hangs his (war) bow on the wall, signifying he comes in peace and trusts not to be attacked.

The bows are always hung curved side up…just like the one in the sky.

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Categories
World History

Welcome to Noah’s Real Worldwide Flood!

Noah's real worldwide flood

In Generalities, Unity

In Specifics, Diversity

Causes of the Flood

Four Recurring Ideas

How Enough Rain Fell to Cover the Earth

Forming Diamonds

And That’s Not All!

Geographical Changes Resulting From the Flood

Welcome to the Real Flood!

Welcome to Noah’s Real Worldwide Flood!

In Generalities, Unity

Nearly all of the worldwide flood stories agree on these things: the flood covered the planet to at least the tip of the highest mountain, there was an escape vehicle, and very few humans survived.

The fact that these agreements come from all times and cultures around the world establishes these as facts. No history book should ignore them.

In Specifics, Diversity

Often differing by geographical area, the legends generally become more fantastic the farther their origins are from Turkey and the near east in time and geography.

We would expect both of these effects for spoken legends. It verifies the location of the first human settlement.

Causes of the Flood of Water

Ancient Greece: The fountains of the deep opened and rain fell in torrents.

Celtic: The Giant named Earth was murdered and his blood caused the flood.

Assyria: The waters of the abyss rose up.

Chaldea: There was violent rain, and the rivers, lakes, and ocean burst forth from

beneath.

Hebrew (not Genesis): The male waters of sky met the female waters of the ground.

A hole in the sky was caused by the removal of two stars from the Pleiades.

Persia: The Angel Star (Sirius) descended three times.

Masai: There was a great long rain.

Tuvinian: The earth’s supporting frog (or turtle) moved.

Hindu: There was constant rain and ocean overflow

Lisu (China): There were torrents of rain and a huge wave.

China: A chief was defeated by a goddess. Angry that he had been defeated by a female,

the chief beat his head against the Heavenly Bamboo, knocking it down and

tearing a hole in the sky.

Victoria, Austrailia: The god Bunjul urinated into the ocean.

Lake Tyres, Austrailia: Frog swallowed all of earth’s water but Eel made him laugh and

spit it out.

Maori, New Zealand: A man worshipped as a god became angry. He stomped on the

floor of heaven, breaking it and releasing the Celestial Waters.

Innuit, Alaska: There was an unusually high tide.

Tinneh, Alaska: An unusually heavy snowfall one September melted.

Tinneh, Alaska: The Mariner rocked his canoe.

Bella Coola, Br. Columbia: The Creator stretched the rope connecting earth and sky.

The earth sank, allowing the waters to run over it.

Kato, California: The sky fell.

Cree, Canada: A monster lashed the sea with its tail.

Chippewa, Wisconsin: There was a great snowfall one September. Mouse nibbled a hole

in the leather bag containing the sun’s heat. The snow melted.

Mandan, N. Dakota: The earth is a large tortoise. A tribe digging for badgers cut a hole

in the shell. Tortoise began to sink and water rose through the knife wound.

Nahua, central Mexico: The heavens came crashing down in one day.

Jivaro, eastern Equador: A great cloud fell from heaven and turned to rain.

Canelos Quechua, Equador: The stars were crying.

Yamani, Tierra del Fuego: It snowed so much that ice covered the earth. A

rapid thaw caused the flooding.

Four Recurring Ideas

Although these explanations sound very different, there are four repeated ideas:

  1. Snow and ice
  2. Underground water thrusting upward
  3. Torrential rain falling downward
  4. Enormous wave(s)

The last idea includes The Mariner rocking his canoe and a monster thrashing its tail. Since neither of these could have been observed by anyone but Noah, we can omit the monster and Noah’s canoe as literary hyperbole.

That leaves us with this: repeated waves crashing over the land flooding it. Perhaps the waters were rising, but these waves, so striking that they have been remembered for millennia, were the first cause of flooding the land.

The Innuit report an unusually high tide. The Canelos Quechua specify that people were swept out to sea.

If we put all of this together, are the ancients talking about tidal waves?

Okay, this is more than we bargained for!

The idea of snow and ice is only reported by cultures from Alaska, Wisconsin, and Tierra del Fuego: all places that still see heavy snow. The Sek’hem of the southern tip of Argentina report ice floes seen during the flood. Remember, the Wisconsin story includes a sudden increase in heat from the sun.

I’m not sure what to make of this. There are hints of glaciers and icebergs. And what would cause the increased intensity of solar heat? Yet, it’s so precise and sounds so reasonable (except for Mouse) that it feels authentic.

I know. That’s not scientific. But sometimes a feeling or an intellectual nudge leads to a scientific discovery.

Reports of water thrusting upward from “the deep” into existing rivers, lakes, and the ocean are intriguing. Are we talking about geysers? If so, what is the sudden cause of sufficient force to result in these eruptions? Where was this water before the eruptions? In aquafers?

And what about the rain?

It is described as a deluge most frequently. Cultures also describe the rain as torrential, constant, and violent. Through various stories, the Cosmic Waters are described as dumping or gushing from heaven. Persians stated that “each rain drop was as big as a bowl.”

One gets the idea that the ancients are struggling to describe a unique event.

How Enough Rain Fell to Cover the Earth

Critics of the flood accounts ask, “How could enough rain fall to cover the mountains in the time allotted? What was the source of the rain?”

Three legends are of particular interest to me: the Jivaro description that “a great cloud fell from heaven and turned into rain.” The Nahua of Central Mexico state that “the heavens came down in one day.” The Kato report simply, “The sky fell.”

Some scientists who believe the Genesis account point to Genesis 1:6.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters

to separate water from water.” So God made expanse and

separated the water under the expanse from the water above

it. God called the expanse “sky.”

In the view of these scientists, this verse describes a layer of water above the sky which no longer exists. It came crashing down during the flood.

The legends now sound reasonable, don’t they?

Other scientists object, saying such a layer would create a greenhouse effect so intense that it would destroy life.

Meanwhile, it created the perfect worldwide climate described in Genesis. And while it may have had a negative effect (which we don’t know as fact), the canopy was only in place until the tenth human generation.

Forming Diamonds

An objection to the “short earth theory” is the formation of diamonds and other geological findings that are said to require billions of years under the pressure of the earth: today’s earth pressure is what the scientists mean.

But if the pressure is tremendously increased by the weight of a mountain-covering flood, then the equation demands an equal decrease in required time.

A mathematician calculated the time-pressure result of the biblical flood and found it to be more than sufficient to create diamonds.

And That’s Not All!

There’s more to the “flood” than rainfall and flooding. These are in the legends:

Mountains parted

Islands arose

Mountains rose

Earthquakes

It all began with a great booming above the earth and another below ground.

Storm

The day turned dark.

Violent winds

Mountains tumbled down

Hot subterranean waters gushed out

Black rain of resin (???)

Darkness ascending from earth to sky

Thunder

The sun and moon turned red, blue, and yellow

Volcanoes erupted.

(Now you understand why I insist on calling it the Great Cataclysm!)

Geographical Changes Resulting From the Flood

Three cultures (Lushai, Bunun, and Kiangan Ifugaro) state that the earth’s surface was flat before the flood. Interesting. No other culture describes the overall geography of the earth before this event, nor does Genesis.

The intense pressure from the water formed diamonds and other geographical findings.

The same disruptions by water from below, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions that altered mountains and islands easily explain the missing, inverted, and shuffled geologic layers as well as seashells atop mountains.

Welcome to the Real Flood!

Photo credit: Elen11 on Unsplash.com

Categories
World History

Cataclysm Journalism

writing in spiral bound journal

Why?

Who?

When?

Where?

Cataclysm Journalism

Just like we looked at the origin of humans, we will explore the journalistic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Usually we would end with “why” because it wraps up everything we learn. This time we will begin with that question.

Why? Because Moses begins there so that what he tells us will make sense.

Why?

Unlike the comfortable comet theory which posits a huge asteroid crossing earth’s path and being sucked in by gravity, the event commonly called Noah’s Ark is always initiated by one or more gods who deign to punish humans.

The corrupt acts vary from a woman who drank from a stream during her menses to disrespect of the gods to complete wickedness. A few cultures say it wasn’t evil that triggered the event, but overpopulation.

How did humans disrespect the gods? Here are some examples: the gods were miffed by the King of Alba setting himself up as a god equal to Jupiter, general rudeness and lack of hospitality when a god came in the guise of a poor person, or outright disregard of required sacrifices and worship.

Here are some specific wicked behaviors listed by different cultures:

They didn’t know how to act as humans. (Lakota: indigenous American)

Imperious and depraved (Chaldean: ancient Mesopotamian)

Idleness, wantonness, rapacity (Hebrew legend, not from Genesis)

Wicked, lazy, and didn’t wash (Munda: India)

Wasted fish, polluted the pond until all of the fish were poisoned (Sui: China)

Genesis 6: 5 says that “every inclination of the thoughts of (man’s) heart was only evil all the time.”

Well! That covers it!

And since we know that according to Moses, God had already ejected Adam and Eve from the garden and prevented humans from returning, had allowed the DNA decay and defect processes to begin, and had cut human life time to 120years, we see that God is progressively angrier.

God wasn’t going to take it anymore! He was going to destroy everything on earth!

But then, he remembered Noah….

Who?

It is amazing how many cultures use “Noah” or a derivative for the protagonist of the story!

These cultures use Noah: Genesis (Hebrew Bible), Islam, Russian, the Hershel Island Eskimos (Canadian Yukon). The Zapotecs of ancient Mexico called him Noéh. 

Here are related names: Nama (Altaic: central Asia), Noj (Sagaive: eastern Siberia), Nol (Lifou: New Caledonia), Nu’u (Hawaii), Nanaboujou (Ottawa: indigenous American), and Nu-mohk-muck-a-nek (Ottawa).

Other cultures refer to the same protagonist by a descriptive name.

Several cultures refer to him as a son of a god, although he may have a different name. Ancient Greeks called him Deucalion, the son of Prometheus.

According to the ancient Chaldeans, he was the tenth king of Babylon. Well, Noah was the tenth generation from Adam. It seems the Babylonians considered the Genesis genealogy to be their king list!

The ancient Sumerians called him a priest-king, which is who ruled their culture. Is Noah where the idea came from?

Another popular title was “Long of Life.” This is the meaning of Ziusudra of Sumer, Utnapishtim of Assyria, and Xisudthrus of Chaldea: all of which were ancient civilizations. Tuvinian (Soyot, north of Mongolia) and Lifou call him the Old Man. According to Genesis, Noah lived 950 years. No later person’s age was worthy of comment.

Noah was known to the Vogul (western Siberia) as the Great Man, to the Maori (New Zealand) as Hero, and to the Cree (indigenous American) as the Old Magician (Wise One).

But to me, the description that is the most tantalizing is from Sumer: The Mariner. I’m interested for two reasons: because Sumer is the oldest scientifically proven civilization, and because “The Mariner” is that specific.

The synonyms closest to “mariner” are seaman, seafarer, navigator, and sailor.

Sailor is a more general word. A sailor can work on lakes or rivers as well as the sea.

A seaman, seafarer, or mariner specifically sails the sea, and by extension the ocean. Yet, there are differences.

A seaman is one who works as a sailor, especially below the rank of an officer. That’s not Noah. He was the highest ranking person on the ark.

Seafarer can be anyone who serves aboard a marine (sea-going) vessel, or a sea traveler, often an adventurer. Yes, that could be Noah.

Mariner is the oldest of the three synonyms, dating from Latin in which “mare” means “the sea.” Mariner then means “man of the sea” or “man from the sea.” It gives the feeling that the sea is not just a job to this man. Somehow, it has become his identity.

Isn’t that true of Noah? Whenever anyone says, “Noah” the usual response is to think of the ark on the sea.

A navigator, however, is a mariner who directs the route of the ship. That was not in Noah’s job description.

When?

Ussher dates the Genesis event 2349-2348 B.C.

Most cultural legends are vague: “in the time of the stone giants,” “after the dream time,” “in the time of the first men.”

The Greeks are more specific: “Zeus sent a flood to destroy the men of the Bronze Age.” Now, that’s odd. If this legend first arose before the ancient Greece civilization we think of, the Greek tribes existed during the Bronze Age! Why didn’t the speaker just refer to that? After all, a civilization ties everything to itself.

Could it be that this is corroboration of the first bronze age: the world that Tubal-Cain invented? That is exactly when the flood occurred according to Genesis! Wow!

Where?

We don’t know where Noah lived. Surely, there was still plenty of room in Turkey for everyone to live. But maybe some went exploring.

We do know that the whole earth would be affected by the event.

What and How?

Ah, that’s the story isn’t it? And it deserves its own post.

See you next time!

Photo credit: globalmoments on Unsplash.com

Categories
World History

The Original Climate Change

The History of Earth’s Weather

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

The Original Climate Change

Let’s talk about weather throughout early time. I promise not to be boring.

There are two theories. https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/entinctheory.html. This article divides theories between intrinsic (planetary causes) and extrinsic (extra planetary causes).

We can also look at theories in terms of ancient meteorology.

The History of Earth’s Weather

  1. Constant theory: Planet Earth has always had the weather it does now, including eras of severe chilling and warming known as Climate Change.

    This was the favorite view because it explained today’s weather (except for the very beginning of weather) and supported evolution, which required billions of years and no interruption in the process.

    However, it did not explain why dinosaurs disappeared. They should have evolved. It also did not explain a marine biological system collapse.
  2. Cataclysmic theory: Planet Earth’s original weather (whatever that was) was interrupted by a cataclysmic event. This is now the preferred view because it explains certain geological data and what happened to the dinosaurs.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Within the Cataclysmic theory are several hypotheses, each depending on the event envisioned. Let’s talk about the two favorite hypotheses.

  1. There was an enormous asteroid or comet. The earth’s original weather was variable, like it is now, when a comet slammed into the earth leaving certain identified markings. A frequently mentioned site is the crater of Chiczulub on the Yucatan Peninsula. The comet would have been the size of a mountain.

    According to this theory, the impact raised an enormous poisonous dust cloud that rose into the atmosphere and spread over the earth, blocking out much of the sunshine. This caused stunting of the size and amounts of plants. This killed off the enormous reptilian dinosaurs because they couldn’t get enough to eat. The smaller dinosaurs continued to evolve into fish and birds. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dinosaur-extinction.html#:~:text=Evidence%20suggests%20an%20asteroid%20impact,happened%20over%20millions%20of%20years.

    Questions: If the impact was disastrous, why wasn’t earth knocked off its orbit and why didn’t all life end in the flames of the sun or in the cold of deep space? Why didn’t the enormous reptiles just take all of the food and let the little guys starve, ending the smaller species, including humans?
  2. Earth’s weather was created by God to be perfect, but a cataclysmic event changed earth’s weather, not only temporarily during the event but for all time, requiring various kinds of animals to adapt quickly to the new environment or die.

    There was no evolution before this event, and there was certainly no time for interspecies evolution after it. This event happened in 2343 or 2345 B.C.

    News flash! People lived with dinosaurs.

    (Even one of the comet hypotheses dates the comet to only thousands of years, in which case people would be living with dinosaurs.) https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html

    The Genesis theory does not rule out one or more comets during or after the event.

Now, that wasn’t too bad, was it?

By now you have probably deduced that the last hypothesis is commonly referred to as Noah’s Flood: a misnomer if there ever was one.

Noah didn’t cause the flood. And it was much more than a flood. It was a cataclysm of meteorological events!

It was the end of the Dream Time.

And we will venture into those waters next time!

Photo credit: Photo by Jake Fagan on Unsplash

Categories
World History

Kings and Giants and Gods

giant shines flashlight on man

“Caveman” Culture

“Caveman” Life Span

“Caveman” Achievements

Kings and Giants and Gods

This is the period between 4008/4010 B.C. and 2343/2345 B.C. according to Genesis. Once again it is the only source to date the events and also the only one to record specifics.

Cultures around the world still refer to this period as some form of the Dream Time. During this time the gods and goddesses existed and sometimes walked the earth. They are also called Kings or Giants (possibly for physical stature, strength, or achievements).

Genesis calls some of them the Nephilim. “They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”

They were gigantic in size and strength. Perhaps they were the original Hercules and other demigods of ancient cultures.

Nephilim means “to fall.” This can be interpreted as either the Nephilim are “the fallen” or they “cause others to fall.” Considering their stature and the fact that all other remarks about them are laudable, I lean toward the latter interpretation, but it’s shaky either way.

Are all of these humans? This is a hot theological topic, but they certainly could all have been human.

We know from recorded time that even then a human could attain god status by doing something seemingly supernatural in the eyes of the people. It also explains why a certain god/king/giant was associated with specific attributes. The original person had them.

Eventually the humanity disappeared altogether except in character, and only a supernatural god/goddess remained in the cultures.

“Caveman” Culture

In general, what were these people like? They were superior models of today’s humans.  

We can hypothesize from what we learned about the judgement on Adam and Eve that nature, including human nature, was going downhill, but not necessarily rapidly. Although the specific curses took hold, accumulating DNA defects would have taken longer.

In short, the perfect human form and brain created for Adam and Eve began to deteriorate. It’s quite possible that earliest humans used the “dark neurons” that seem to have no purpose today. They may have processed new information more quickly. It’s possible that everyone had the potential to be a genius in every subject.

Caveman fashion was clothes made of animal skins according to Genesis.

These people may have chosen to sleep in the open. Perhaps they used handy caves.

Caves were a much better choice than building a shelter. A cave with one entrance was an excellent choice because it was easily defended, it didn’t have to be constructed, and it was sturdier that wood or dirt structures. Also, if one goes into a cave far enough, the temperature is constant.

“Caveman” Life Span

Following the genealogical line of Adam’s son Seth in Genesis, we see consecutive life spans of 950, 912, 905, 910, 895, 962, 365 (“and then God took him away”), 969, 777, and 950 years old when they died. Besides having amazing bodies, they must have lived in a fairly safe environment.

Mesopotamian culture recorded this list minus Adam in one of their Kings Lists. That’s probably because when Adam was crowned king by God, there were no other humans to rule, not even in a family sense. Or maybe it was because later people were angry that he wrecked the good times. Perhaps it’s because Adam lived in the perfect Dream Time. We just don’t know.

Interestingly, the length of life spans does not mesh—until you remember that Mesopotamia used Base 60 and Moses writes in Base 10. A mathematician calculated the Genesis list into Base 60 and discovered that his results matched the King List almost to the exact year!

Think what a millennium life span meant! Even with a brain like ours, you could have learned everything known by humans and still have had plenty of time to contribute to your field of interest.

However, as people became more and more wicked, God limited the life span of “men” (probably all humans) to 120 years. God may have accelerated DNA mutation to do this.

Interestingly, some scientists today have estimated that today’s man could last about 120 years if illness and accidental injury were controlled!

“Caveman” Achievements

Genesis traces the family lines of two of Adam and Eve’s sons.

Seth’s line were “sons of God,” which Judaism interprets as “the righteous.” Their life spans are listed above. Nothing else is known about them.

Cain’s family were the movers and shakers of Caveman Culture.

Cain, after murdering his brother Abel, was forced to give up farming. He traveled east into the land of Nod and built a city. Look at that! Architecture is the first named art! And it’s quite a complex art for a farmer.

This indicates that Cain learned or invented 4 of the 7 simple tools from which all tools and machines are made even today! He probably used the inclined plane (ramp), lever, wedge, and possibly the wheel.

Four generations later, Cain’s family exploded with creativity! Jabal didn’t like the city. He invented tent life and began domesticating livestock instead of following animals. His brother Jubal, the musician of the family, invented the harp and flute and probably established musical composition.

Their step-brother Tubal-Cain forged bronze and iron. One man brought everyone out of the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age, and into the Iron Age! That’s how smart these “cavemen” were.

No wonder later civilizations called these men gods!

Read it yourself: Genesis chapters 4 and 5 and 6:1-4.

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