In this blog entry, I investigate the difference between the bible, and contemporaneous religions/myths of the time, that existed, to see if the bible stood out as different, according to those categories of comparison. The bible stands out like a sore thumb. People like Dawkins often say that if someone makes a biblical claim, he can make a similar claim from another religion, but if we are to actually study these categories we can see that there is in fact no comparison, proving that people like Dawkins and other aggressive atheists, are ironically the irrational and uneducated ones for not doing their homework. The bible stands out like a sore thumb. For example the dimensions given for Noah's ark have been confirmed to be correct according to nautical engineers and it would have viably floated, but the epic of gilgamesh has a cube which would capsize. You can make comparisons like that for many, many categories where you compare the bible with other religions, and the bible always stands out as true, and reporting facts from a witness perspective, but myths always are crude and easy to falsify.
SUMMARY of the categories of comparison;
- The Bible: Portrays its ultimate heroes as deeply flawed, weak, or cowardly—such as Abraham lying about his wife, King David committing murder and adultery, and Peter denying Christ. This indicates true events because with myths the consistent theme is to aggrandise the heroes and make them seem infallible because myths are fictional.
- Contemporaneous Myths: Exalt, deify, or excuse their heroic and foundational figures. Royal propaganda pieces, like Egypt's Kadesh Inscriptions, completely scrub defeats and re-write tactical failures as flawless, god-like victories. This indicates dishonesty.
- The Bible: Features thousands of surviving historical manuscripts (over 5,800 Greek New Testament copies alone) with a remarkably narrow chronological gap (sometimes less than a century) between original composition and earliest copies. [1]
- Contemporaneous Myths: Rely on highly isolated, fractured, or fragile copy lines. Grand tales like the Epic of Gilgamesh or Homer's Iliad exist in vastly fewer total copies, with hundreds or even over a thousand years separating the original oral/written composition from our earliest physical transcripts. [1]
- The Bible: Records anomalous occurrences with restrained, clinical, and biological accuracy—such as detailing a family of enemy warriors in Gath passing down the explicit genetic trait of 24 digits (polydactyly). These genetics were discovered thousands of years after the bible. If the bible was a myth we would expect 15 fingers that shot lightning bolts, not a genuine trait linked to the pituitary gland. Other examples include the bible knowing to wash in running water, quarantine, and the vitamin K factor for the 8th day for circumcision, as well as Noah's ark being confirmed to have correct nautical engineering.
- Contemporaneous Myths: Attribute anatomical anomalies to absurd cosmic physics, magic, or divine errors. In Sumerian creation texts like Enki and Ninmah, physical disabilities or biological mutations are merely the result of the gods playing games while intoxicated. Another belief recommended rubbing dung on wounds.
- The Bible: Functions like an intricate interlocking puzzle where passing, casual remarks by one author are completely explained by an uncoordinated, trivial detail dropped by a totally different author writing centuries apart.
- Contemporaneous Myths: Operate as linear, heavily edited, single-threaded narratives. If multiple tablets or cycles exist, they are either overtly copied or outright contradict one another because they lack an underlying bedrock of shared, interlocking historical data. [1]
- The Bible: Features witnesses whose natural senses break down or experience sensory cross-firing when encountering the transcendent, leading to stuttering, awkward language and heavy reliance on clumsy similes ("it was as it were", "the appearance resembled"). My point is, if someone sees something paranormal or supernatural, they will struggle to describe what it is, but with a myth they wouldn't struggle because they would just be lying.
- Contemporaneous Myths: Describe supernatural feats using smooth, confident, and highly descriptive poetic mastery. The epic poets always maintain absolute narrative poise because their supernatural characters are merely exaggerated human actors operating in a fully understood fantasy landscape.
- The Bible: Corroborated heavily by a dense network of physical, geographic, and epigraphic discoveries—such as the Tel Dan Stele confirming the "House of David", the Merneptah Stele validating early Israel, and excavations at Gath proving its exact biblical scale and unique cultural traits. [1] They have even found highly ancillary characters from the bible that are like the background actors in a movies shot on a city street.
- Contemporaneous Myths: Exist in a shifting, unanchored, or entirely fabricated geographical landscape. Epic tales like Gilgamesh or the Enuma Elish rely on floating mythic geography, cosmic oceans, and divine domains that leave zero physical or verifiable trace in the actual archaeological strata of the earth.
