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101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

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84<br />

yth #36:<br />

All earthly life had become wicked and had to be destroyed.<br />

The Myth: The earth also was corrupt before God, and <strong>the</strong> earth was filled with<br />

violence. And God looked upon <strong>the</strong> earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had<br />

corrupted his way upon <strong>the</strong> earth. And God said unto Noah, The end <strong>of</strong> all flesh is<br />

come before me; for <strong>the</strong> earth is filled with violence through <strong>the</strong>m; and, behold, I will<br />

destroy <strong>the</strong>m with <strong>the</strong> earth. (Gen. 6:11–13)<br />

The Reality: The <strong>the</strong>me <strong>of</strong> earthly corruption and punishment combines an<br />

Egyptian myth from The Book <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Divine Cow with Babylonian stories about <strong>the</strong><br />

drowning <strong>of</strong> humanity.<br />

Genesis gives two different explanations for God’s wrath against humanity and <strong>the</strong><br />

reason for bringing on <strong>the</strong> flood. In Genesis 6:5–7, God’s anger initially arose from <strong>the</strong><br />

wickedness and evil present in humanity, but for some unexplained reason he chose to<br />

destroy not just humans but beasts, creeping things, and fowl.<br />

And God saw that <strong>the</strong> wickedness <strong>of</strong> man was great in <strong>the</strong> earth, and that every<br />

imagination <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> thoughts <strong>of</strong> his heart was only evil continually. And it repented<br />

<strong>the</strong> LORD that he had made man on <strong>the</strong> earth, and it grieved him at his heart.<br />

And <strong>the</strong> LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from <strong>the</strong> face <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

earth; both man, and beast, and <strong>the</strong> creeping thing, and <strong>the</strong> fowls <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> air; for it<br />

repenteth me that I have made <strong>the</strong>m. (Gen. 6:5–7)<br />

Genesis 6:11–13 is concerned with corruption and violence ra<strong>the</strong>r than wickedness<br />

and evil, and it imputes such behavior to all creatures, not just humans, saying<br />

all <strong>the</strong> earth was corrupt and all flesh (not just humanity’s flesh) had corrupted<br />

God’s ways.<br />

The one explanation suggests a natural disorder among all species while <strong>the</strong> second<br />

implies moral disorder only among humans.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> Egyptian Book <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Divine Cow we have a similar situation to <strong>the</strong> first<br />

explanation. Humanity had become corrupt and rebelled against <strong>the</strong> authority <strong>of</strong> Re,

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