Flood Stories

8-30-13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sidneynature1  HS

The Bible Vs. The Epic

2 Accounts of The Flood

There one was the earth and the people of the earth where a creative species. The people of the earth where artisans and storytellers. One of these stories, told by many cultures and religions is the flood story. Two famous accounts of this event are: Noah and The Ark and The Epic of Gilgamesh. These two accounts have many important differences.

The first major difference is the reason for the worldwide flood. In The Epic of Gilgamesh the pagan gods were in a rebellious mood and decided to destroy the worlds creatures for entertainment. However the Bible has a fair, just reason for the flood: Earths people had rebelled and grown wicked and corrupt. God wanted to start over with a new beginning.

Second, the warning and the preparation in the two accounts are different. In the Bible, God comes to Noah and tells the exact dimensions and materials to use. God calls the animals and God Himself closed the door to seal Noah and his family safe inside.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh Ea, one of the gods, has to sneak off and tell Utnapishtim about the plans to destroy the earth. Ea was scared and powerless as he told Utnapishtim to build a boat out of the boards of his house. Ea then stood by and watched.

Last, the timeline described is vastly different. In The Epic of Gilgamesh Ea warns Utnapishtim, Utnapishtim finds someone to build the boat, the animals come, it rains for 7 days, the waters go down, he sees dead bodies on the beach, he sends out a bunch of birds and they find land, the boat land, everyone gets out and repopulate the earth. In the Bible account, God tells Noah to build an ark, Noah and his sons build the ark over a few years, and a week after completion the animals cease coming to the ark and God closes the ark. The rains begin, 40 days later the earth is covered and the water begins to go down. 150 days later the ark rests on Mt. Ararat, the second dove to be sent out finds that the earth is safe; God makes a promise never to flood the entire earth again.

There are such vast differences in these two stories. We just have to look to see witch one is reasonable. 

I just started high school and have decided to publish my essays on the blog. Here is my second essay of the year(I will post my first later)

8-16-13                                                                 by Sidneynature1     

Freshman In HS

Is there a God?

Our world is an amazingly complex, beautiful, life supporting, and unique creation. “The watch must have a maker…” [1] If a watch, a simple human tool must have a maker, how much more does our complex earth need a creator.

The creatures in our world are so varied and adept.

Compare a mouse, a small mammal that lives in the grasslands, and a giant squid, a giant fish that lives in the depths of the ocean.

How could two very different and complex creatures evolve from a single celled glob of random chance? Only God our ingenious creator could lovingly create the beautiful creatures we see on the earth today,

Humans need someone to look up to; something to look forward to. If there is no God and no Heaven where do you go when you die? You live a live of fear, waiting for the nothingness to come. However with God and Heaven to look forward to you can live a life for Him, not worrying about death.  God is a good companion in hard times. Knowing that God loves you and cares for you gives you a light in the dark world we live in.

If countries, states and cities did not have laws think of the chaos there would be. The president, governors, mayors and church leaders are just mere humans so they miss the important details and needs of our communities. God is perfect and misses nothing. We are very luck to have His perfect Word to live by.

Our fearfully made world needs a loving creator: “The watch must have a maker; that there must have been at some time and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers, who formed it for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended its construction, and designed its uses.” – William Paley [2]

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[1] William Paley, Natural Teleology: or Evidences of the Attributes of the Deity, collected from the Appearances of Nature, 1972   St. Thomas Press, Huston, Texas, 3. 

[2] William Paley, Natural Theology: or Evidences of the Attributes of the Deity, collected from the Appearances of Nature, 1972   St. Thomas Press, Huston, Texas, 3.