The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-05-11
POPULAR .APoLoeETIcs.
Adapted from the German of Rev.
Peter Mikes, S. j., by Rev.
James Watcher.
81. Babel and Bible.


Friedrich Delitzsch delivered lecture
before the German Oriental Society
in the presence of the Emperor in
which he showed that the biblical mar
ratives and views for the most part
come from Babylon. The socialist
paper "Bergischa Arbeiterstimmen"
(26 Apr. 1902 remarks: you should
not accept Babylonian fables as the
truth"
Answer: u. Not only believing
exegetes and Assyriologists, but many
railroads.&c. colleagues reproach Del
itzsch with superficiality and covering
up facts on purpose. The following
non-Catholics protest against Del
itzsch: Jensen of Marburg, Hommel
of Leipzig, Behold of Heidelberg,
Barth of Berlin.
On the Catholic side we mention:
Keil, Helm, Nikel, Hoberg, Kugler,
S. j., F. Zorell, S. j. Also Jules OPP
pert (f1905) of France, the Nestor of
Assyriologists. All these men wrote
articles or even books against
Delitzsch, and the thorough lesson he
received is we'll deserved.
p a. On close examination the
dissimilarity is closer than the SINH
larity between the Bible and Babel
(Babylop). Harnack's paper (Theol
ogische Literaturzeitung, 1902 (No 49,
says: "They act as though all were
agreement and are silent about the
rest"
There is great difference between
the biblical and Babylonian account
about the Creation. The Bible puts
the eternal God as the Creator of
heaven and earth in the beginning;
the Bible knows only the purest mono
theism (only one Cod. The Baby
lonian account assumes a chaos, a
wOrld-matter or primeval ocean
(Tiamat); from this world-matter
Tiamat was formed in fantastic
manner, not only the visible but also
the invisible world of the gods; there
(many gods).
Just a short outline, Among these
thus formed gods the most beautiful
is Marduk, the god of light, of the
vernal sun. While the other gods fear
Tiamat, the seven-headed dragon,
bearing gigantic poisonous serpents,
Marduk undertakes the fight. When
Tiamat cried and opened her jaw,
Marduk let an evil wind enter her in
sides and cut her heart to pieces with
his javelin. After that Marduk cut
Tiamat in two and formed of the one
half the heaven and of the other the
earth and adorned heaven with the
sun, moon and stars and the earth
with plants and animals; finally the
first human pair was made of clay
and divine blood.
Babylon also has an immense num-
Der of gods Gas many powers of ma
ture so many gods), who are thought
as men and often very unworthy.
Even the higher gods become intoxi-
Gated. Tiamat and her paramour
Kingu start a rebellion against the
upper gods; the moon god Sin is
bothered by seven demons; Ea and
Bel quarrel about the flood. At the
time of the great food the gods fed
to heaven and crouched there like
dogs with numbness" But as soon
as Ut-napstim (the Babylonian Noah)
has lighted his sacrifice they gather
around s'the sacrificer like flies"
| will not mention the impurities
of Istar's descent into hell and of
Gilgamesh, the mythical Babylonian
king, hero of the Gilgamesh Epic.
Even Marduk, the MODEST god, is
thought human, and although his
power and wisdom are praised, still
he needs all kinds of magic and
charms against the demons. The
power of magic surpasses everything.
Hence We find in the cuneiform in
scriptions all kinds of exorcisms which
are founded on the most ridiculous
imaginations.
How childish and foolish are all
these fables compared with the grand
biblical history and theology! And
still according to Delitzsch these fables
are the purer and more original
form" of the account of the Creation
from which the Bible drew it's ac-
count.
b. The fact that there is a greater
or less similarity between the Bible
and the traditions of the different ma
tons regarding the Creation, Paradise,
the Fall, the Serpent, the Flood has
long been known Long before
Delitzseh the Catholic scholar and
priest, Heinrich Lueken (f1S82), in
his book die Traditionen des
Neutrality-suspicious. The Traditions
of the Human Race"-(2nd ed. 1869
gives interesting information, showing
that fundamental ideas and facts re-
garding the Creation, Paradise and
Flood are found in nearly all heather
religions, and among peoples widely
separated as to place, language and
culture.
The cuneiform inscriptions of Baby.
Ion are only another instance The
reason for this is primeval revela-
ton and history which was taken
along by the different nations in their
wanderings; the only difference being
that the Israelites kept this tradi
tion pure by a special providence OF
God whereas the other nations cor.