[billbears]

Could this story have provided the inspiration for the holy men who wrote the Book of Genesis 2,000 years later?

No it couldn't have. This is just another example of the world trying to explain away the glory of God. It happened as it is stated in Genesis to Noah and is not some restated Babylonian myth.

[aShepard]

"It happened as it is stated in Genesis to Noah and is not some restated Babylonian myth".......

But, when the Bible tells us that the forty days of rain covered the entire earth in 15 cubits of water, and the ark landed on Mt. Ararat until the water receded, I've got a problem with literal interpretation.

Fifteen cubits is about 23 feet of water, and for that amount of water to cover all the earth, even Mt. Ararat- that existed before the flood, isn't plausible, unless it was some kind of special water that clings to slopes and mountains.

I guess that I'm just supposed to believe, but I can't. That's why there is tension between my born again Baptist grown son and myself, 'cause I just can't get into his life and beliefs.

[justshutupandtakeit]

The Babylonian story PREDATES Genesis and the Hebrews. Abram came from that culture. This in no way diminishes the glory of God.