Welcome Ghost, what faith do you subscribe to?
Tough question, I was raised by a Catholic (now ex) mother & Protestant (ex) father, but we started off in Catholic church, then Congregational. I went to a Jesuit HS at one point, and a Methodist uni.
short answer:
All & everything. I do believe we are all one and we can unite on Earth. I choose not to pick a single church or label.
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long answer:
I don't subscribe to a specific group right now. I am currently still reading as much as I can, but to summarize without writing an essay then you could say that I believe that Christianity, Judaism and Islam have shared roots and shared truths and that the transition from polytheism to monotheism led to a misunderstanding of earlier cultures that in my opinion should've actually served as written proof of these shared origins. I don't subscribe to a specific belief system or religion because of this divide between cultures. And even as I say the oldest texts can be evidence of the Bible's validity, I don't believe or stand by everything in those older texts either.
I think that the Old Testament has thousands of years of written records to back it up, but this is completely ignored by most religions because it's controversial.
I think these types of records are actually evidence that have led me to believe in the Bible more than ever before. No official schooling or church taught me about the older cultures, and it may even come across as heresey or blasphemy to some. But for me, these older stories made me more faithful, not less.
An example of this would be Zi-ud-sura/Ziusudra (alt spellings) who heard whispers from behind a wall, instructing him to build a boat to survive a flood sent to wipe out mankind.
Side-wall, I will speak words to you; take heed of my words, pay attention to my instructions. A flood will sweep over the ...... in all the ....... A decision that the seed of mankind is to be destroyed has been made. The verdict, the word of the divine assembly, cannot be revoked. The order announced by An and Enlil cannot be overturned. Their kingship, their term has been cut off; their heart should be rested about this.
He is said to have reigned for 36,000 years before the flood (Kings List & reference in 'The poem of early rulers'). In Sumer, they used base 60 math. So, 36000/60 is 600, for roughly 600 years pre-flood, the same as Noah. Ziusudra took this boat, and at the end of the floods, he created an opening in the side and Utu the Sun/god shown through. The promise or covenant between man and god was confirmed, guaranteeing mankind would not be wiped out again. After reaching land, the animals disembark. Ziudsura sacrificed oxen and sheep. He was granted eternal life, in the house of young men, in the land of Dilmun (from 'The Flood story' t.1.7.4).
Another reference to this also mentions humans would no longer live forever after the flood (The death of Gilgameš t.1.8.1.3)
Enlil's advice was given to Enki. Enki answered An and Enlil: "In those days, in those distant days, in those nights, in those distant nights, in those years, in those distant years, after the assembly had made the Flood sweep over to destroy the seed of mankind, among us I was the only one who was for life (?), and so he remained alive (?) -- Zi-ud-sura, although (?) a human being, remained alive (?). Then you made me swear by heaven and by earth, and …… that no human will be allowed to live forever (?) any more
This is also a good way to mention that in this specific language, An is father (assoc. with sky & heaven when used in non-name/word format), En-lil is Lord(en) spirit/wind/storm/weather (lil), and En-ki is Lord(en) of Earth(ki). This trinity is often disregarded as polytheism, as separate gods/deities. However, they often work in tandem, and perhaps could have been early cultural interpretations of one God throughout the decision to flood mankind, and then save "Noah"/Zi-ud-sura. I choose to be open to the idea that *perhaps* early polytheistic naming and modern monotheistic titling (Lord, LORD, God, God Most High, Father, Abba, and more) are just different human interpretations of the same shared story, origin, and truth.
That's just one quick example, but all in all, I 100% fully believe that Genesis can be backdated a few thousand years and although this would be heresy or blasphemy in some circles, for me it's further proof of the Bible's importance and validity. It certainly hasn't made me doubt the Bible, only have stronger faith in it.
I can't say I am a Sumerian or Catholic or Jewish, or Muslim, or LDS, or Mormon, or anything at all. For me it's more important to focus on what we share and what we can agree is true rather than to focus on one interpretation. This is why I can't agree to the Nicene terms here on the forum, while simultaneously having spent hundreds of hours essentially trying to prove the validity of the trinity across time, which I believe I have done in the last year and a half in my research.
I will share some threads in the future probably, but am happy to answer anything here too. Im an open book, and won't take offense if anyone has questions or some thoughts on this topic
