I dont believe africans are the sons of ham or even that there was a man named ham as described in the legend

I do think that we modern humans embalm our dead because of the egyptians starting the practice

I think we embalm them because they start to rot and smell if we don't.

As far as religions go, Christianity is the new kid on the block and most are way older than it.

I guess from a chronological perspective, Christianity might be said to be 2,000 years old because the Messiah rose from the grave in 33AD. Is that what you mean Scuba?
The faith however is much older. There was knowledge of the Redeemer in Job for instance 1500-2000 years prior to Christ. Where did Job get his faith in a Savior to come? From the Gen. 3:15 promise of Yahweh. The whole OT is based on this promise of God to the woman in the original garden and moves in time until 33AD, with the ascension. The story of God started with the first man and woman, so it's as old as the 1st humans are. Adam and Eve told Abel, Cain, and Seth who told.... who told... who told.....

Orthodox Christian theologians would argue there are all sorts of pagan god(s) stories which took the day #1 Hebrew story of creation - started day #1 - and got it twisted as it was passed along. A snake became dragons, etc. FYI - There is no more comprehensive story of creation and end times by any culture than the Hebrew version of old.
We do the very same thing today when we retell a story person to person. The story gets twisted year to year.

Of all the religions past, present, and future, Christianity is unique in that while ALL other religions are about men who want to be gods, Christianity alone is about a God who became a man,

Most notably, Christianity stands alone in all of human history with a dead man waking up and then walking with people 3 days after he was laid to rest.
That changed everything.

It's all quite supra-logical so we don't need to overthink, but sometimes inaccurate commentary can be set back on the rails.

Blessings,
Mark

Why? Every ancient culture acknowledges the flood in one form or another. Google Gilgamesh. It's only in the Pentatuch we get the correct narration.

I guess if you consider 2,000 years not old, that could be true. But, there are other religions since Christianity that would qualify as being the newer kid on the block. Scientology for one comes to mind. There are many others, Unification Church, Shree Rajneesh, Divine Light Mission, The Way, etc.

I think it became popular during the civil war so fallen soldiers could be sent back to their families on a train. Some paid an insurance ahead of time just in case they got killed they would be returned to their family.

Based on one definition of religion, atheism is a form of religion.
"Pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance".


Based on that definition Trapping can be considered as a religion.

Yes the gilgamesh story is the basis for the noah story. Doesn’t mean either are true

Im going to start drinking now.

Bible does not say that the sons of Ham were Africans. That's just someone's weird interpretation.

I don't know Danny, I've been with my wife 25 years and still don't fully understand her. I'm not about to try and figure all this other stuff out just for grins.... I already have a headache from her most of the time. LOL

. Flood myths are widespread, but they are not all the same myth. Theydiffer in many important aspects, including • reasons for the flood. (Most do not give a reason.)
who survived. (Almost none have only a family of eight surviving.)
what they took with them. (Very few saved samples of all life.)
how they survived. (In about half the myths, people escaped to highground; some flood myths have no survivors.)
what they did afterwards. (Few feature any kind of sacrificeafter the flood.)

If the world's flood myths arose from a common source, then we wouldexpect evidence of common descent. An analysis of their similaritiesand differences should show either a branching tree such as theevolutionary tree of life, or, if the original biblical myth waspreserved unchanged, the differences should be greater the further onegets from Babylon. Neither pattern matches the evidence. Flood mythsare best explained by repeated independent origins with some localspread and some spread by missionaries. The biblical flood myth inparticular has close parallels only to other myths from the sameregion, with which it probably shares a common source, and to versionsspread to other cultures by missionaries


Flood myths are likely common because floods are common; the commonnessof the myth in no way implies a global flood. Myths about snakes areeven more common than myths about floods, but that does not mean therewas once one snake surrounding the entire earth.

What is the universe expanding into? Can’t be complete blackness since black or dark is something. Does the universe end. If so, what is on the other side? If the universe is infinity, it can’t be expanding since it is already there so nothing to expand into.

grandpa i doubt we live long enough to find out

I have wondered, and maybe someone here has similar thoughts, if God is omnipotent and omniscient, can time really be linear for Him? I realize it is for us, but in a different realm.......

Wisdom is;

> Refocusing on what really matters
> Realizing you don't know everything

- Major concepts from the most read book in history.

Blessings,
Mark

Mark ... I meant that going by the bible, things kicked off around 4000 years ago. But there are religions older than that. Of course, the folks that wrote the bible could not know that as those places had not been discovered at the time they wrote the book.

It's doubtful that time exists for God. If it does it certainly can't be " earth" time.
Because time is relative to gravity.