From: George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Date: Tue Nov 19 2002 - 07:35:50 EST
Dick Fischer wrote:
>
> Hi Glenn, you wrote:
>
> >The reason I said what I did about you and the Sumerian texts, is that I
> >have often observed you to believe them when there is a factual dispute with
> >the Bible. Thus, it is logical to conclude that you beleive them over the
> >Bible.
>
> Sometimes I wonder if you actually believe what you say, or just say it to
> see what effect it will have.
>
> If any have gotten the impression that I respect any other text over the
> Holy Bible then let me correct that now. The ancient near eastern texts do
> give us added insights, and can help us clarify passages that otherwise
> might remain obscure.
>
> For example, the phrase "fountains of the deep" appears in the Atrahasis
> epic and refers to their irrigation system running dry due to draught. We
> no longer need wonder what those fountains are in the flood narrative. We
> should know.
>
> > But, the real question is, do we really worship Ea? What do you
> >think Dick?
>
> Well, since you asked me nicely ...
>
> If the early Accadians worshipped a triad of gods rather than one god, and
> if those gods were the equivalent of our trinity, and if Ea corresponds to
> "Emmanuel," then it may be that they worshipped in fact the pre-incarnate
> Christ.
>
> In other words, our saviour today who exists in spirit may have been the
> one they knew as "Ea." If so, then it is possible that Christ to us was Ea
> to them - the same God.
>
> Dick Fischer - Genesis Proclaimed Association
> "Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History"
> www.genesisproclaimed.org
>
> --=====================_3268549==.ALT
> Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Hi Glenn, you wrote:
>
> >The reason I said what I did about you and the Sumerian texts, is that I
> >have often observed you to believe them when there is a factual dispute with
> >the Bible. Thus, it is logical to conclude that you beleive them over the
> >Bible.
> >
>
> Sometimes I wonder if you actually believe what you say, or just say
> it to see what effect it will have.
>
> If any have gotten the impression that I respect any other text over
> the Holy Bible then let me correct that now. The ancient near
> eastern texts do give us added insights, and can help us clarify
> passages that otherwise might remain obscure.
>
> For example, the phrase "fountains of the deep" appears in the
> Atrahasis epic and refers to their irrigation system running dry due
> to draught. We no longer need wonder what those fountains are in the
> flood narrative. We should know.
>
> > But, the real question is, do we really worship Ea? What do you
> >think Dick?
> >
>
> Well, since you asked me nicely ...
>
> If the early Accadians worshipped a triad of gods rather than one
> god, and if those gods were the equivalent of our trinity, and if Ea
> corresponds to "Emmanuel," then it may be that they worshipped in
> fact the pre-incarnate Christ.
>
> In other words, our saviour today who exists in spirit may have been
> the one they knew as "Ea." If so, then it is possible that Christ to
> us was Ea to them - the same God.
Many people, both pro- & anti- the Christian doctrine of the
Trinity, have
tried to equate various triads of deities with Father, Son & Holy Spirit. (The
Jehovah's Witnesses, e.g., will tell you that the Trinity is
Babylonian.) The Celts,
Hindus & probably a lot of others have had such triads. But the
Christian understanding
of God as Trinity does not have to do simply with some idea of 3-ness
in God. It is
connected in a fundamental way with the belief that God has revealed
Godself in Jesus of
Nazareth, & specifically in the cross-resurrection event. I.e., it
is based on the
belief that God really is, in the most down to earth sense,
"Immanuel", "God with us."
While there may be hints of such a belief in the OT, & while Christians
legitimately read the OT in light of the NT & thus of trinitarian
belief, the ancient
Israelites, including the writers of the OT, did not know of or
believe in God as the
Trinity. (No, the plural character of "elohim", "Let us make ..." &c
do not mean this.)
Much less did the early Accadians.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
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