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The deluge

Deluge (global flood) stories are found in many cultures around the world: Babylonia, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Turkey, China, India, Burma, Viet Nam, Australia (aborigines), New Zealand, Norse, Finland, Iceland, Hottentots (south Africa), Nigeria, Congo, Polynesian, and in the Americas, the Inca, Toltec, Aztec, Algonquin, and Eskimo. And more.

Some of the parallels are very striking: the few number saved, a Noah character, a boat or chest that is used, animals that are brought on, landing on a mountain, a raven or dove sent out, etc. Frederick Filby concludes:


“It remains true that there is no other story of an ancient event in all the world so widely accepted. The cumulative weight of this evidence is that the present human race has spread from one centre and even from one family – a family who themselves experienced the great Deluge of which every story speaks.” (Frederick A. Filby, The Flood Reconsidered)



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