Agnosticism, Atheism, Bible Geography, Bible Study, Faith, God, Religion

Skeptical Bible Study: Tower of Babel

Nate

I was listening to a recent speech that Matt Dillahunty gave in Australia (listen here if you’re interested), and in part of it he brought up the story of the Tower of Babel, found in Genesis 11. It’s a story I’ve thought about several times since leaving Christianity. I don’t recall everything Matt said about it, though I know I’ll be making some of the same points he did. I haven’t been a Christian for about 5 years now, and it’s sometimes hard to imagine that I ever believed stories like this one, though I definitely did. And a number of other conservative Christians do as well.

A few days ago, I asked my wife if she remembered what God was angry about in this story, and she gave the same reason that I thought: God was angry because people were being prideful. In case you’ve forgotten, the crux of the story is that several generations after the flood, mankind was growing numerous, and they all had one common language. They decided to build a tower that would reach Heaven (see how prideful?), so God put a stop to it by confusing their language. This caused the various groups to split up, each person going along with whomever could understand him or her.

However, after looking at the details a bit more, it turns out that my recollection was a bit off. First, the people weren’t actually being prideful at all. Instead of trying to build a tower to Heaven — God’s abode — they were just trying to build a tall one to make it easier to stay in one geographic area:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
— Genesis 11:1-4

The phrase “in the heavens” is just talking about the sky, not the realm of God. For just a moment though, let’s pretend that they really had been trying to reach God with their tower. Why would that be such a bad thing? Doesn’t the Bible repeatedly tell us to seek after God? Furthermore, would they have succeeded? On September 12, 2013, Voyager 1 actually left our solar system. In all those miles, it didn’t bump into Heaven. No earth-based tower would ever run the risk of reaching God’s home. So not only were the people not attempting that, even if they had been it wouldn’t have succeeded, and it actually would have been flattering toward God.

So if God wasn’t angry at them for being prideful, why did he confuse their language and force them apart? The next few verses give us the answer:

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
— Genesis 11:5-9

Essentially, God was just being a jerk. He was like a kid stirring up an anthill. I mean, God forbid (literally) that people advance technologically, right? Wouldn’t want them discovering things like the germ theory of disease, after all. And why prevent wars by keeping people within the same culture? Much better, I guess, to create different cultures so mistrust and bigotry can form. Furthermore, if this was such a problem at the time, why hasn’t he stopped us again? We’ve figured out ways to overcome language and culture barriers now. We’ve done so much more than just “build a tall tower.” God’s motivation in this story simply makes no sense at all.

However, if you step back for a moment and stop trying to view this as literal history with an actual god, things become clearer. Imagine living thousands of years ago and trying to make sense of the world around you. You think the world is flat and that the sun revolves around it. You don’t understand the cause of thunder storms, earthquakes, or volcanoes. You can’t imagine how animals and humans got here without some kind of creator. And if there’s a creator, why didn’t he make life easier? Why does he allow disease and starvation? There are so many difficult questions that just have no answer. And so people began to formulate answers as best they could. It’s easy to see that one of those questions may have been “why didn’t God (the gods) give us all the same language?” And so they came up with an answer.

Looking at it from that perspective, it’s much easier to understand how a story like this came to be. These people were dealing with the world as they saw it — and to them, the only reason they could think of for God not wanting everyone to have the same language, is that they would accomplish too much. They had no idea that humanity would one day find a way around that problem, rendering their explanation invalid.

Speaking as someone who grew up believing that stories like this were actual history, I know how easy it is to just go along under that assumption without question, especially if those around us believe as we do. It’s not stupidity; it’s either isolation and ignorance, or it’s stubbornness. We can help the isolated and ignorant by just being available to discuss these things when they come up. And with the Bible, there are plenty of examples to be found.

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Published by Nate

682 thoughts on “Skeptical Bible Study: Tower of Babel”

  1. @William

    I think you hit the nail for me on this one:

    “But I’d also understand people’s skepticism if I told them about it.”

    I mean one hear miracle claims all the time, from many different religions. Hence, it takes a tremendous proud and conceited person to say/think that somehow only his/her miracle is legit, while the rest are all the work of the devil/false/delusions.

    I dunno, maybe because I stay in a decent size city (5+ million) and interact with many different races and religions on a daily basis. Perhaps if I grew up in a smaller town where the only 2 options are Christianity (whatever flavor you may have, maybe multiple) and Atheism, then all the supernatural claims will definitely point to Jesus.

    @Arch

    I dun think Crown was making a Charlie Sheen impression. He said you win, while Charlie Sheen will be saying that he himself won. WINNING.

    @Hayden

    I don’t remember anybody saying Crown was lying. Some were ridiculing him for believing his experiences are supernatural, but not saying that he didn’t experience it. The experience was certainly real for him that we all can agree on.

    In any case, you said you were looking forward to see what Crown has to say, what exactly were you looking for? I thought he has already made his stance rather clear.

    Also, not sure if it’s polite for you to call him “kid”, for all you know he’s as old as Unklee, and being in the 40s doesn’t make you much of an old dog yourself.

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  2. @Powellpowers “I don’t remember anybody saying Crown was lying.”
    Yeah I kinda assumed that one. If Arch had really thought the “Kid” was ill I think he would have been kinder in how he handled that. If for no other reason than to persuade him to get some help. Arch does have a heart. I don;t believe he would want someone with a disorder to harm themselves. Since he instead took the “b-o-y” head-on. I feel it’s safe to ASS – U – Me:) he thought he was a liar. So, I deduced Arch thought Crown was lying because Arch is a decent person.

    “…what exactly were you looking for?” I’m really not sure. It just seemed like he was going somewhere and I was looking forward to asking him some questions at the time.

    “…not sure if it’s polite for you to call him “kid”,” F*&K polite! I’m from Texas!

    “…and being in the 40s doesn’t make you much of an old dog yourself.” You stalkin me?

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  5. “If Arch had really thought the “Kid” was ill I think he would have been kinder in how he handled that. If for no other reason than to persuade him to get some help.”

    Are you kidding, Hayden? That man has no intention of seeking any kind of help, he thinks he’s right and anyone who doesn’t see that, is automatically wrong. Yes, I will treat anyone with kid gloves who seems to honestly want help or lacks direction and knows it, but Crown wouldn’t have listened to any of us, regardless of what approach we took.

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  6. Hey Arch, Well I meant if you thought he was genuinely bozo bonkers.
    Or are you actually admitting that you are a low down dirty no good… what’s another word for horse manure?

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  7. But I DO think he’s genuinely bonkers, but he has to bottom out before he can ever be helped, and coddling him is only enabling him.

    “what’s another word for horse manure?” – Polo – that’s hockey played on horseback, or – are you ready for it? Horse hockey!

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  8. “what’s another word for horse manure?” – Polo – that’s hockey played on horseback, or – are you ready for it? Horse hockey!

    I was NOT ready for it.

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  11. OK. I Looooooved this part! “We as Christians do not want to make our mind more flexible.”

    Yeah. I noticed.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. “So, there were two fundamental commandments given to mankind: reproduce, and fill the land.”

    If Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel (deceased), and Seth were the only human beings on earth, who did Cain and Seth impregnate to “reproduce and fill the land”??

    …sisters not mentioned in the text? …their mother??

    I am on pins and needles to see how conservative Christians explain this little Bible dilemma and still maintain their belief in the objective morality of their perfect god, Yahweh/Jesus.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Hey Gary. They’re gonna say there were other people not mentioned. I forget the excuse they use but something about how A&E were the only ones in the garden or some such.

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  14. Arch that story you linked to reminded me of the fuss in my neck of the woods when some old folks started practicing tai chi to improve their suppleness.

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  15. “…something about how A&E were the only ones in the garden or some such.” – So who reported the conversation? Did A or E keep a diary?

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  17. If there were other people on earth, then the whole Garden of Eden story is a load of crap. Either Adam was the first man or he wasn’t. Jesus seemed to believe he was, so Jesus was wrong.

    It is amazing how Christians must twist themselves into pretzels to maintain the credibility (in their minds) of their ancient tall tale.

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  19. Dr. Alice Roberts BBC series consists of five videos, each about an hour long, that traces Mankind’s spread around the globe. I won’t post the others, as it would slow down the blog’s loading time, but all five are fascinating viewing.

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  20. Let me add to this an excerpt from Belgian anthropologist Dr. Jean-Pierre Hallet’s 1973 book, “Pygmy Kitabu – bear in mind that this particular tribe of Pygmy, living secluded lives in the Ituri Forest in Congo, had never seen a white man nor ever heard of the Judeo/Christian creation story:

    The Pygmy first man, paradise and forbidden tree legend

    One fine day in heaven, God told his chief helper to make the first man. The angel of the moon descended. He modeled the first man from earth, wrapped a skin around the earth, poured blood into the skin, and punched holes for the nostrils, eyes, ears and mouth. He made another hole in the first man’s bottom, and put all the organs in his insides. Then he breathed his own vital force into the little earthen statue. He entered into the body. It moved… It sat up… It stood up… It walked. It was Efé, the first man and father of all who came after.

    God said to Efé, “Beget children to people my forest. I shall give them everything they need to be happy. They will never have to work. They will be lords of the earth. They will live forever. There is only one thing I forbid them. Now–listen well–give my words to your children, and tell them to transmit this commandment to every generation. The tahu tree is absolutely forbidden to man. You must never, for any reason, violate this law.”

    Efé obeyed these instructions. He, and his children, never went near the tree. Many years passed. Then God called to Efé, “Come up to heaven. I need your help!” So Efé went up to the sky. After he left, the ancestors lived in accordance with his laws and teachings for a long, long time. Then, one terrible day, a pregnant woman said to her husband, “Darling, I want to eat the fruit of the tahu tree.” He said, “You know that is wrong.” She said, “Why?” He said, “It is against the law.” She said, “That is a silly old law. Which do you care about more–me, or some silly old law?”

    “There it was–the forbidden tree of God. The sinner picked a tahu fruit.”

    They argued and argued. Finally, he gave in. His heart pounded with fear as he sneaked into the deep, deep forest. Closer and closer he came. There it was–the forbidden tree of God. The sinner picked a tahu fruit. He peeled the tahu fruit. He hid the peel under a pile of leaves. Then he returned to camp and gave the fruit to his wife. She tasted it. She urged her husband to taste it. He did. All of the other Pygmies had a bite. Everyone ate the forbidden fruit, and everyone thought that God would never find out.

    Meanwhile, the angel of the moon watched from on high. He rushed a message to his master: “The people have eaten the fruit of the tahu tree!” God was infuriated. “You have disobeyed my orders,” he said to the ancestors. “For this you will die!” (Hallet, 144-5)

    Another version has God creating the man and woman, and placing them in the forest, where they wanted for nothing. However, after the woman gets pregnant, she desperately desires the tahu fruit, and forces the man to pick it for her, much to his objection. Angered, God says:
    “You broke your promise to me! And you pulled that poor man into sin! Now I’m going to punish you: both of you will find out what it is to work hard and be sick and die. But you, woman, since you made the trouble first, you will suffer the most. Your babies will hurt you when they come, and you will always have to work for the man you betrayed.” (Hallet, 119)

    Remarkably, the Pygmy origin story largely revolves around a monotheistic God the Father who resides in heaven, as was related to Hallet by Efé elders of the Erengeti region. Hallet lived with this tribe for a year, and concludes, “There is no reason to suspect that the Pygmy ‘Garden of Eden’ story is anything but original, and there is much reason to suggest it may well be the oldest account we possess.“

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  21. “So the ENTIRETY of the speculation about man trying to reach God “in heaven” is a fabrication of modern language speakers with modern concepts and traditions. It isn’t actually IN the Scripture itself at all.”

    Crown unfortunately I don’t think this writer has done any research Biblical or otherwise. He’s contrived an answer that suits him while ignoring the very eastern culture of the time he purports to have knowledge of. Its not his first time either but its interesting to see him still at it – doing victory dances of how silly a Bible story is because he ignores/is completely unaware either biblical or cultural context.

    Truth is high places (the higher the better) have a LONG history of pagan worship in those days and in that area. They were a central part of said pagan worship of which Babylon originated quite a bit. They are antithetical to true worship all throughout the OT – Often times even astrological in nature. There is nothing at all about them building a tower to get closer to the true God or to advance technologically (that one was really amusing). This is about their own pride and false worship systems.

    But it is what is is in the rubber stamp club…unfortunately (for nate not I) I see my name in several old posts in a clear breach of our agreement so its fair game to post as I wish as long as it is open….. well….from time to time (2-3 times a year) when I’m bored.

    and don’t mind dear William. he never fails to miss a point he doesn’t want to get. 😉

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  22. “but all five are fascinating viewing.”

    Alas no time. I am too fascinated by more evidence coming out of Archaeology backing a Davidic Monarchy. Your beloved Finkelstein must be going out only at nights these days.

    I see that SaintPaulieGirrrll! has unseated you my dear arch. He is without a doubt my favorite poster. The things he says and the viciousness in nature with sans any real action being taken by Nate proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that Nate’s policies of stifling expression only applies when he is being rebutted.

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  23. “Often times even astrological in nature.” – Certainly correct, where do you think the 12 tribes of Israel and 12 disciples originate, if not from the zodiac?

    “This is about their own pride and false worship systems.” – I can’t argue with that either, since all worship systems fall into that category.

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  24. “Nate’s policies of stifling expression only applies when he is being rebutted” – Of course I can’t imagine that happening to you, as I’ve yet to see you as capable of rebutting him, or much of anyone else for that matter.

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  25. ” I’ve yet to see ”

    Alas you might have finally found some truth if you had just limited your post to the word’s quoted above

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