There are almost 3000 years of high culture and folklore preceding the Book of Genesis.  Many of the stories that we consider to be original to the Bible are in fact shared across many cultures in slightly variant forms. Fables of the Sumerians, the Persians and other cultures have found their way into what Christians and Jews claim to be factual, historical records of events.  Even the story of Jesus has antecedents dating back to 1000 years BCE.  

 

Dr. Mark Welter of St. Cloud State university teaches World History and the perspective of World Religions and will be our guest today for a discussion on the unsure footing on the rock of Christianity.

 

 Books referred to during the show:

 

"Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come, 2nd Ed." - Norman Cohn

 

"The River of God: A New History of Christian Origins" - Gregory J. Riley  

 

 

"History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History" - Samuel Noah Kramer