Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hah! You can drop the "intellectual" part, since (A) you're doing the same thing, and (B) I never claimed to be anything more than a dummy.

But I'm a dummy with a degree in Psych, and who studied sociology and anthropology (primarily with a religious focus, from ancient "superstition" to modern sects). I really enjoyed the course on "primitive" religions. Like you, I find it "intriguing". And the chapter on the Nacirema was hilarious.

Is it irrational to "generalize" them? Well, I've asked around eight -- wait, no, excuse me, only seven -- and six have given me variations on "no", usually with a disgusted expression. You can call that generalizing, I call it "survey says ... ENNH!" *Big red X appears on screen.*

But on a more serious note ... do they have the same origins? Well, yes, in the sense that supposedly the basic purpose of religion is to make sense of the world (well, "primitive" religions, anyway; most "modern" religions tend to skip past that part and go straight to morality). But that's as far as it goes. These faiths that are created by man (which is most of them) have that basic purpose ... but that's not the same as an origin, a common creator or source.

We've known that European and Asian cultures have been connected (in ancient times) since the 1970s, actually. At least, I've got books printed at that time that show some of the evidence -- and anyone with half a brain can look at two huge cultures on the same landmass and assume that they've had contact (we could consider Alexander the Great, who travelled as far as India -- and we know that India and China had contact. And the Japanese are actually Chinese immigrants; only the Ainu are "native" Japanese). Oh, sure, back in the day, there weren't as many people who believed it (or cared), but it's not exactly "news".

The Triceratops ... eh, that one, I'd have to look into. You understand if I can't take a single source as the final authority, especially since that source has already confessed to personally disliking me and is insulting my intelligence. It wouldn't surprise me if you were accurate; I mean, it's now commonly accepted that dinosaurs were/are related to modern birds, rather than giant lizards.

As for "artifacts uncovered", well ... there's plenty of archaeological evidence for a global flood (not to mention countless smaller local floods, of course), there's anecdotal evidence from cultures all over the globe, and there's something that looks like a large boat (broken) sitting on a mountaintop in Turkey. Almost nobody is allowed near it, due to its position along a disputed border, so we can't exactly test it ... but there may be a man-made "artifact" there.

However, if you mean written records ... well, we could argue that maybe the Genesis account was copied from those records. Keep in mind, though, that since the vast majority of human civilization was supposedly destroyed by the flood (I mean, obviously some buildings and whatnot survived), it's not surprising if there's not a lot of written records floating around. Especially since people in Noah's time probably thought he was a flake, and didn't write down what he was doing.

Now, since you've clearly descended to personal attacks -- and I speak here not as the person you're talking to, but as the Crew member and Mod -- I would suggest you either drop the attitude, or drop the conversation.

PS: Well, duh.

Let me rephrase. Noah's neighbors, before the flood, probably thought he was a flake (meaning crazy), not fluke (random accident), and thus didn't bother to write down what he was doing. After the flood, his only neighbors were his relatives, and obviously somebody did write it down.

And the rest of this is not only old news, but totally unrelated to your original statements. If you're trying to reach a point, please reach it.

(I'm sorry, I didn't have time to read the whole discussion so I'm just going to answer what the thread started off with!!)
I believe in what the bible says completely! There is one true God, and he sent his son-Jesus Christ down to earth to die in a way so terrible that it changed forever the whole way we interact with God. And also, I think that if God exists, created the ENTIRE universe and is amazing enough to know every detail of your life....wouldn't he be big enough to not ahve people mess around with his word? Haha, the whole "what if the bible isn't right" thing I just don't understand why people think it, you eiher believe in Jesus' incredible love for you and all of the bible, or I guess you don't. Haha, and I don't understand what you meant about priests--where I come from, pastors are just as much people as you or I, and are subject to the same mistakes.