Echoes from the Past: The Bible’s Un-Divinely Inspired Texts

How early did the Israelites begin writing their stories of God? Were the Ten Commandments really the original moral law code of the world? Did God create the world by slaying a sea monster and hacking up and dividing its carcass? If not, then why do the Psalms and Isaiah tell us so? Are some of the laws found in Exodus taken from other cultures? Did Noah’s flood really happen? Come find out! 

Unbeknownst to many, the Bible was actually quite a latecomer to the literary world. It was preceded by many stories from great cultures such as the Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Akkadians, the Egyptians, the Hittites, etc., who wrote legends thousands of years before Bible greats such as Moses and King David had ever lived. But what's really interesting is that one may find within the pages of the Bible traces of myth, narrative, teachings, and law codes from these preexistent societies. Join biblical scholar and archaeologist Nate Ramsayer to learn more! No Bible knowledge is necessary; come with questions! 

Sharing Stories Past and Present – What are some examples of how stories were shared in the past between cultures? Why does this phenomenon happen? How does it play out in our modern culture? How closely do some of the biblical Psalms resemble hymns from the Canaanites and Egyptians?
Flood Stories in the Ancient World – Have the remains of Noah’s Ark been found? This lecture presents a survey of all the other flood myths from Mesopotamian and Near Eastern cultures, as we try to answer the question: did this actually happen?
Ancient Creation Myth Traditions – Did God create the heavens and earth by killing a sea serpent and hacking up its carcass? If not, why do the books of Psalms, Isaiah, and Job tell us so? This will be a look at the formation of the universe in the book of Genesis and how it compares to the Babylonian version.
Ancient Laws from Mesopotamia – Among the myriad compositions archaeologists have found from the ancient Near East are many law codes that pre-date the Exodus event and the Bible. What do these laws say? How similar are they to laws found in the biblical text?