Flood Stories from Around the World |
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Ancient flood stories have been recorded all over the world and from every continent. As many as 500 or more have been recorded, giving strong evidence of the Book of Genesis account of the Flood. Noah’s descendants passed on the story by word of mouth throughout the generations as his descendants spread from the Ararat region in all directions throughout the world in 4,500 years until today. The eight humans aboard Noah’s Ark were the only survivors to pass down the story of the Flood throughout history, according to the creationist model.
Some of these stories are said to predate the Book of Genesis, however one should remember that the Book of Genesis was retold orally through out the generations and was not written down until several centuries after the actual Flood event, by Moses. It is possible that some flood stories were written before Genesis was written, but this fact does not discredit the Book of Genesis as being the original source. As the decedents of Noah spread from the Ararat region, it is likely that several versions of a flood story would be told or written. With an event on the scale of the Genesis Flood, it is likely that many stories would emerge related to this event. Genesis describes a common language in the world until the following Tower of Babel incident where the languages were changed, so therefore some variations in the story would likely develop. There are many other evidences of the Genesis Flood including geologic evidence, however the existence of flood stories from around the world seems to help the evidence.
One interesting trend is that the flood stories from cultures closer to Mesopotamia are more similar to the Genesis account while the flood stories from further away are less similar. As man spread out throughout the world and the flood story was retold in different languages, variations developed. The secular world and academia refers to these flood stories “myths” and implies that these are just fictional stories, including the Genesis flood story. However, when considering the fact that so many different cultures around the world have an ancient global flood story with similar key parts, one must consider the possibility that these stories were passed down through the generations as a result of an actual global flooding event that occurred in the past.
How can so many accounts of an ancient flood story or legend with a divine origin by so many diverse peoples and cultures from around the world be classified as just a "myth?" The secular world, including academia and the media classifies these ancient flood stories as "myths," but the similarities in these stories from around the world suggest that the origin could be more than just a coincidence and that these stories originate from an actual global flood that occurred several thousand years ago with only a few survivors aboard a sea vessel.
Some of these stories are said to predate the Book of Genesis, however one should remember that the Book of Genesis was retold orally through out the generations and was not written down until several centuries after the actual Flood event, by Moses. It is possible that some flood stories were written before Genesis was written, but this fact does not discredit the Book of Genesis as being the original source. As the decedents of Noah spread from the Ararat region, it is likely that several versions of a flood story would be told or written. With an event on the scale of the Genesis Flood, it is likely that many stories would emerge related to this event. Genesis describes a common language in the world until the following Tower of Babel incident where the languages were changed, so therefore some variations in the story would likely develop. There are many other evidences of the Genesis Flood including geologic evidence, however the existence of flood stories from around the world seems to help the evidence.
One interesting trend is that the flood stories from cultures closer to Mesopotamia are more similar to the Genesis account while the flood stories from further away are less similar. As man spread out throughout the world and the flood story was retold in different languages, variations developed. The secular world and academia refers to these flood stories “myths” and implies that these are just fictional stories, including the Genesis flood story. However, when considering the fact that so many different cultures around the world have an ancient global flood story with similar key parts, one must consider the possibility that these stories were passed down through the generations as a result of an actual global flooding event that occurred in the past.
How can so many accounts of an ancient flood story or legend with a divine origin by so many diverse peoples and cultures from around the world be classified as just a "myth?" The secular world, including academia and the media classifies these ancient flood stories as "myths," but the similarities in these stories from around the world suggest that the origin could be more than just a coincidence and that these stories originate from an actual global flood that occurred several thousand years ago with only a few survivors aboard a sea vessel.
