(June 7, 2014 at 12:04 pm)Confused Ape Wrote: [quote='mickiel' pid='683294' dateline='1402154282']
It's likely that the story of Abraham is a mythological account of people migrating from Mesopotamia to Canaan. The settlers kept some of the customs of their original homeland because they were useful to them. (The Nuzi Tablets) When they adopted a monotheistic deity they adapted the Mesopotamian myths to suit their new religion.
We know that the Mesopotamians existed and their creation and flood myths are older than the Genesis versions. If we're going to take archaeology and old texts as proof that deities exist, we'll have to accept that the Mesopotamian deities are the real gods and the God of the Bible is just made up.
I disagree, we have the mans tomb. Myths don't have real burial grounds;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs