Jim Bell wrote:
>>Pieces of evidence for what? Some sort of "culture" 80,000 years ago? Fine!
But that is what Judge Ito would call "totally irrelevant" to how an event
5.5 million years ago was "passed down" to cultures all over the world.
You have offered nothing on this, and of course you can't. You can push back
"culture" and we can argue about what arranging carcasses really means. <<
Jim,
I admitted I can't prove it, but even in the young earth scenario, you can't
prove that the story of the flood was passed down by word of mouth. No one
can prove that. All you can do is present evidence that some information can
be transmitted over those periods of time. That evidence I presented. If
you don't like it O.K. No problem. If you think it is not enough, that is
fine also, but you simply can not say I "offered nothing on this." That
simply isn't true.
You wrote:
>>But the issue is the virtual universality of the flood story,
cross-culturally. A major problem for the Morton dating of the flood. <<
This is not at all an issue for the dating for the flood. Jim Foley showed a
lot of differences in the stories. I didn't see your response and a detailed
refutation of that post at all. If that post is wrong, why don't you show us
why? Why is it that you get so silent on certain issues?
Jim wrote:
>>Even though you can't prove either, which hypothesis are you currently
favoring: oral tradition, or special revelation to other cultures? (Note: The
latter may make you a closet Mormon, so be careful).<<
Here is the real interesting theological question. Does God reveal himself
to non christians. You warn me about the dangers of Mormonism. I was
unaware that believing the Bible could make one a Mormon. Let's see what the
Bible says about revelation to other cultures.
1 Abraham, was not a Hebrew; he was a Babylonian. God revealed himself to
Abraham. See Genesis 11:28-31.
Ok, you say. Abraham was the first Hebrew so he doesn't count.
I can accept that.
2. Melchizedek was a Canaanite. He was NOT a Hebrew or Chaldean. Yet, it
seems that God revealed Himself to Melchizedek and ordered Abraham to offer
sacrifices through the Priest Melchizedek. Aren't the Canaanites a different
culture from the Hebrews? Gen. 14:18-20
3. Balaam. My Bible dictionary says that Balaam was Chaldean of high
rank.(Num 31:8 and 31:16) He lived on the River Euphrates. Numbers 22:5) God
not only revealed himself to Balaam, but also to Balaam's Donkey. Am I a
Mormon yet?
Other Chaldeans directly impacted by revelation were the wise men who were
warned in a dream to go home by a different path.
4.Nebuchadnezzar. He was Babylonian. I believe that is a different culture
from the Hebrews, of course I might be wrong. But he had weird dreams
telling him what the future would hold. Dan 2:28
5. Pharoah's cup-bearer and baker also had dreams given them by God. Joseph
told them the meaning but the dreams were given by God. But then a little
later Pharoah had a nightmare which foretold the future. Who knows the
future but God. See Genesis 40 and 41.
6.Pilate's wife. My Encyclopaedia says Pontius Pilate was a Roman of
Equestrian rank. No doubt, his wife was also Roman. God sent a dream to
his wife warning her to warn Pilate to leave Jesus alone. Even if the wife
was not Roman, the Dream still constitutes revelatatory knowledge given to
Pilate at that time.Matthew 27:19
So, let's see. If I believe that God revealed himself to a Canaanite
(Melchizedek), a Chaldean,(and through him the Midianites), a Babylonian,
three Egyptians,and a Roman (Pilate's wife) then I am a Morman. Is that how
it goes? And all this time I didn't know I was a Mormon!
Jim, I don't know how the story of the flood was transmitted. Maybe by oral
transmission, maybe by revelation. But for you to tell us that God can not
or would not reveal Himself directly to other cultures is patently false from
Biblical evidence. This borders on a human telling God what He can and can't
do. I wouldn't be quite as bold as that. If God wanted to reveal the story
of the flood to every single man on the Planet, who am I to say He can't? If
God wanted to reveal the flood to every culture, what is to stop him? Come
on Jim, your argument is getting weak here.
glenn