Noah and the Ark
Religion
See: Noah (film)
According to the Epic, a Babylonian named Utnapishtim was approached by
Prince Ea, who opposed the decision to destroy his creation, Homo sapiens. Ea
told Utnapishtim that the other "gods" planned to cause a deluge to wipe out the
human race. Ea, who is described in other writings as a master shipbuilder and
sailor, gave Utnapishtim instructions on how to build a boat which could survive
the flood.
Utnapishtim followed Ea's directions and, with the help of
friends, completed the vessel before the flooding began. Utnapishtim then loaded
the boat with his gold, family, and livestock, along with craftsmen and wild
animals, and hoisted off to sea. Babylonian and Assyrian tablets relate that
just prior to flooding the land, the Custodians scorched it with flame.
Then they flooded the region by causing a long rainstorm and
by breaking the intricate system of dams and dikes that had been built in
Mesopotamia to control the erratic flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
The Gilgamesh Epic relates that Utnapishtim and his crew
survived the ordeal. When it was over, they sought out dry land by releasing a
series of three birds; if a bird did not return to the boat, Utnapishtim would
know that it had found dry land nearby on which to alight. Once back on solid
ground, Utnapishtim was joined by several Custodians returning from out of the
sky. Instead of destroying the survivors, a degree of leniency prevailed and the
Custodians transported the surviving humans to another region to live.
The tale of Utnapishtim should ring a bell with anyone who is
familiar with the Biblical story of Noah and the Ark. That is because the tale
of Noah, like many other stories in the Old Testament, is taken from older
Mesopotamian writings. Biblical authors simply altered names and changed the
many "gods" of the original writings into the one "God" or "Lord" of the Hebrew
religion. The latter change was an unfortunate one because it caused a Supreme
Being to be blamed for the brutal acts that earner writers had attributed to the
very un-God-like Custodians.
Early Mesopotamian writings gave us another famous Old
Testament story: the tale of Adam and Eve. The Adam and Eve narrative is also
derived from earlier Mesopotamian sources which described life under the
Custodial "gods." The "God" or "Lord God" of the Bible's Adam and Eve story can
therefore be translated to mean the Custodial rulers of Earth. The story of Adam
and Eve is unique in that it is entirely symbolic, and through its symbols it
provides an intriguing account of early human history. According to the Bible,
Adam, who symbolizes first man, was created by "God" from the "dust of the
ground." This idea reflects the older Mesopotamian belief that Homo sapiens was
created partially from "clay." Adam's wife, Eve, was also created artificially.
They both lived in an abundant paradise known as the Garden of Eden. Modern
versions of the Bible place the Garden of Eden in the Tigris-Euphrates region of
Mesopotamia. The Old Testament tells us that Adam (first man) was designed to be
a servant. His function was to till the soil and to care for the lush gardens
and crops owned by his "God." As long as Adam and Eve accepted their servient
status and obeyed their ever-present masters, all of their physical needs would
be met and they would be permitted to remain in their "paradise" indefinitely.
There was, however, one unpardonable sin that they must never commit. They must
never attempt to seek certain types of knowledge. Those forbidden forms of
knowledge are symbolized in the story as two trees: the "tree of knowledge of
good and evil" and the "tree of life." The first "tree" symbolizes an
understanding of ethics and justice. The second "tree" symbolizes the knowledge
of how to regain and retain one's spiritual identity and immortality
[1989] Gods of Eden by William Bramley