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Is God Dead?
Though answered in part, the question from last week remains: “Is Christianity a copycat religion?” It is an essential question that critics of Christianity often ask, and rightly so. After all, the oldest clay tablet fragments we have of The Great Flood story are not from the Genesis account but are from at least two other and much older accounts; one written in Sumerian and the other embedded in The Epic of Gilgamesh.
So, it is with purpose that we once again take up our investigation from last week, comparing The Great Flood account in Genesis with these two older universal flood stories to gain some idea of which one is most likely the original version. Since the origin of all three flood accounts is ancient Mesopotamia, and since their transmission undoubtedly began as oral traditions handed down through the generations, some insight can be gained by comparing these three stories to help determine the plausibility and probability of each story being the original, or being a copycat tale.
Flood researcher Charles Martin notes substantial and irreconcilable differences between the stories, and it is in light of these conditions that some significant determinations of plausibility can be made. First, in the flood story of Gilgamesh, the hero Utnapishtim and his wife survive the flood through obedience to the divine, and in return, they are granted immortality.
The problem is that neither Utnapishtim nor his wife are anywhere to be found today. Had they indeed been granted immortality, they should still be around, living their immortal lives somewhere on the earth that we could talk with them. Second, there is a fundamental problem with the Gilgamesh ark. In the story, Utnapishtim is instructed to build an ark that turns out to be seventeen times smaller than Noah’s ark.
Nevertheless, the story goes that all the animals came on board this tiny boat two by two. But there is still more. The Gilgamesh survivors, apparently, vanish from recorded history without leaving so much as a trace. By contrast, Martin notes that in the Genesis story “Noah and his family are identified and their lineages given—lineages that can be traced, historically, to various parts of the world.”
Ultimately, when placed beside the Genesis flood story, the Gilgamesh flood story (as well as the Sumerian version) reads like a fanciful fairytale. Based upon direct observation, there is no doubt the Genesis text is the most logical and plausible of the three flood accounts and much more likely to be the original Great Flood story.
Based upon the evidence, it is highly likely that there was one original flood story told by the survivors themselves, which circulated about through oral tradition in ancient Mesopotamia. As a result, the story of a great flood spread far and wide as cultures developed and migrated.
In the process, some of the details were changed to better suit the developing cultures, but the core of the Great Flood story remained the same: a divine commitment to destroy almost all of mankind; there is a focus on one wise and righteous man destined to survive the flood which involves the building of an ark as described in detail; animals are brought on board to preserve the species; the hero of the story sends out birds to see if they can find dry land; after the floodwater subsides sacrifices are made by the hero to mend mankind’s relationship with the d[D]ivine; and finally, the survivors repopulate the earth. It is not just a Jewish and a Christian story. It is the human story that began in the cradle of civilization and can now be found across the globe.
One Flood—The Great Flood—one Flood story.
Perhaps it is a story written not only on clay tablets but on the hearts of all men; a story that haunts the very soul of all human beings. I am reminded of the American educator and writer Norman McClean, who once wrote, “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.”
Eventually, if one goes back far enough in time, all things do merge into one. Christians hold that after the Great Flood, Noah, and his family began to repopulate the earth in ancient Mesopotamia; “the cradle of civilization.” Having built a tower to reach and compete with the Divine, God confounded their languages and dispersed the people across the land. From this great dispersion at Babel, on the Plains of Shinar, in ancient Mesopotamia, each race, culture, and language trace their origin back to a place and time where all peoples were truly merged into one.
If Christianity is true, then all people on earth are descendants of Noah and his family. But is this true? Going back in time, do all things merge into one? Join us next time as we call upon the science of linguistics to help answer the question: “Was there a Great Flood? And if so, do all people descend directly from Noah and his family?” To every living person, the answer matters a great deal. Until then, what say ye, is God dead?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore, OK. You can contact him at: dr.kerley@ isGoddead.com.
