http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/gilgamesh.html
"The first striking thing that one notices when reading the Epic of Gilgamesh is how silly the story is. Part of the silliness is because of the obviously human-like behavior of the gods. They are constantly fighting amongst each other, plotting and deceiving each other.
Of course the behavior of Gods is very human like, we were made in their image, at least according to your God. Take a look at the variety of religions, both current and ancient, where the Gods experience the same dilemmas, go through similar types of struggles, yet on a different scale. A gulf of power separates us, but we are alike. The Indian Gods battled, the Norse gods plotted and schemed, the Celtic Gods went to war. Politics and intrigue roamed the hallowed halls of deity far and wide.
Taken within the context of multiple pantheons of Gods, one 'family' of Gods stands out as different to the rest, in that it is now tries to claim a "privilege" over everything - effectively the "1%" of Gods. It sees itself as "better" than everyone else, deserving of all the attention and worship of all creation, not just it's own little desert tribe. It believes in a monopoly over all things, particularly worship; enforced at the end of the sword, with those who won't buy into it's way of doing things butchered. It even has it's own occupy movement - they are called heretics.
It is a smart marketer, creating the first "instant gratification" - salvation though faith - that quickly undermined the more established products on the market and their own corrupt supply chains (as we established, Gods have human traits).
The children of this family even suffer from Affulenza - everyone else has to die, but no, dad has to intervene for the "special" kid, raise him us and sit him where he can keep an eye on him. Oh, and use control of the MSM to spread the story that he never did a thing wrong even once in his life. Dad does promise him he can go back and smash up all the others kids' toys one day, though.
I've yet to come across any "God" that interacts with humanity who is not like humans - after a fashion. Yahweh makes our 1% seem like benevolent angels looking over us lesser mortals. The destruction of places of worship belonging to competing religions were systematically destroyed, a little more aggressively than Walmart does moving into an area, but it had a similar impact on the local spiritual ecosystem. Where there was variety, monoculture reduced the landscape to blandness. Like that same 1%, it has opposed education, preferring an ignorant and easily manipulated herd. Feudalism is God's business model made manifest on earth.
One would expect this part of the story to be removed from a Genesis copy. Therefore, we would expect that the Genesis account would be changed to involve some kind of judgment, since Yahweh (God) does not capriciously destroy humans, as was done in the Gilgamesh epic.
No, he has a reason - they were not making him enough profit (giving worship). Destroying those weaker than oneself is acceptable if its in line with the corporate agenda. The suckers in the 99% will even believe you if you tell them, "that was the last right-sizing' of the workforce."
He had a reason too, when he sent bears to kill children for making fun of a bald spot. He had a reason when he tired to encourage human sacrifice from Abraham, and the, "you won't? Okay, good, I was just testing you," would be familiar to anyone who has been pushed past breaking point by an abuser with power over them.
The "God of the Book" is very human in its behavior and how it orders the universe around it. The structure of heaven from the middle ages was the current social order on a divine scale, with a torture chamber in the basement and all the peasants giving him what he craves, - more attention than any of the other gods.
To argue that the other accounts are unrealistic because their Gods were more like us ignores the fact that the Abrahamic god is a reflection of the idea that a powerful individual or cabal deserves to control our lives. The 1%. The Illuminati. The Holy Church. The idea that it's okay to abrogate personal responsibility to an elite who you see as "better" than you.
The boats in the two accounts are quite different. The Gilgamesh boat was an unseaworthy cube with a slate roof. Obviously, such a design would immediately flip over or roll around in the water. In contrast, the ark had dimensions that were ideal for a seaworthy ship. This fact might be surprising, since both cultures were not noted for their nautical skills. It is obvious that the gods of the Sumerians had no expertise in shipbuilding."[/i]
The idea that the ark could float is a matter of faith, much like the Gilgamesh boat, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who knows ship building who would say it was seaworthy - the faithful followers of the divine 1% excepted.
It's okay to believe one's God is "special" and one's relationship with that God is "special". It touches a deep human need that probably goes back to our mothers telling us how important we were to them. One's relationship with divinity
is unique, one does not have to claim that your God is the only God or the only valid God to enjoy that relationship.
Your "Gods" need to be the only game in town is a very ... human failing.
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