Is there anything to the story of the Tower of Babel?
It’s a legend about why human languages are so different. So was there really only one human language a long time ago? Maybe — but how does this match up with the biblical account of the confounding of tongues?
Linguist Daniel Midgley puts an end to the confusion on this episode of Talk the Talk.
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Cutting Room Floor
We talk coffee. Then it gets real, as we confront the feels we have about religious people. (Ben even has to leave the room. But it’s for more coffee.)
Then we ask: If we tell the truth about myths, does this kill Santa Claus? Kylie explains the research.
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Show notes
All 72 New Unicode 9 Emoji, Definitively Ranked From Most Exciting To Most Meh
http://www.bustle.com/articles/168770-all-72-new-unicode-9-emoji-definitively-ranked-from-most-exciting-to-most-meh
Apple releases animated emoji sticker packs for iOS 10 Messages
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/02/apple-releases-animated-emoji-sticker-packs-for-ios-10-messages
Apple, Facebook and Google ban rifle emoji from Olympics update
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/06/20/apple-facebook-and-google-ban-rifle-emoji-from-olympics-update/
Rifle emoji blocked from phones ‘after pressure from Apple’
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/20/apple-rifle-emoji-phones-unicode
Here’s The Reason Why There Will Be No Rifle Emoji
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/165709/20160618/here-s-reason-why-will-rifle-emoji.htm
What happened to the rifle emoji?
http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/06/what-happened-rifle-emoji
Could an emoji death threat land you in jail?
http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2014/01/could-an-emoji-death-threat-land-you-in-jail.html
RationalWiki: Tower of Babel
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel
Skeptics Annotated Bible: Genesis 11
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/gen/11.html
Focus On Tower of Babel
https://global.oup.com/obso/focus/focus_on_towerbabel/
The Wrathful Dispersion Controversy: A Canadian Perspective
http://specgram.com/CLI.1/06.pheevr.dispersion.html
Yes, people do believe this.
Gallup: “Twenty-eight percent of Americans believe the Bible is the actual word of God and that it should be taken literally.”
http://www.gallup.com/poll/170834/three-four-bible-word-god.aspx
Grain of salt alert for the next two articles!
The Tower of Babel Account: A Linguistic Consideration
http://smithandfranklin.com/current-issues/The-Tower-of-Babel-Account-A-Linguistic-Consideration/9/5/98/html
Answers in Genesis: Was the Dispersion at Babel a Real Event?
https://answersingenesis.org/tower-of-babel/was-the-dispersion-at-babel-a-real-event/
The Canterbury Tales (in Middle English)
http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm
There are more things in prehistory than are dreamt of in our urheimat
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/08/there-are-more-things-in-prehistory-than-are-dreamt-of-in-our-urheimat/
Ussher Chronology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ussher_chronology
Can the Ussher Chronology Be Trusted?
http://www.icr.org/article/can-ussher-chronology-be-trusted/
Cuneiform
http://www.ancient.eu/cuneiform/
Makapansgat pebble
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makapansgat_pebble
I’m all ears: fossils reveal human ancestors’ hearing abilities
http://www.reuters.com/article/science-hearing-idUSL1N11U03020150925
2-million-year-old fossils reveal hearing abilities of early humans
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/bu-2fr092415.php
Recovery Connection: Drunkorexia
https://www.recoveryconnection.com/addiction-resources/common-eating-disorders/drunkorexia/
‘Drunkorexia’ phenomena prominent in young Australian women, research finds
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-30/drunkorexia-phenomena-prominent-in-young-australian-women/7556476
The scary trend sweeping across Australian universities
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/the-scary-trend-sweeping-across-australian-universities/news-story/7b8959b65655d798253c161ae66e2816
The Butterfly Foundation — Support for Australians experiencing eating disorders
http://thebutterflyfoundation.org.au
Government of Western Australia — Drug and Alcohol Office
http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au/Home.aspx
Bill Nye visited a Noah’s Ark he doesn’t believe should exist
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/07/10/bill-nye-visited-a-noahs-ark-he-doesnt-believe-should-exist/
Kan Ham’s Blog: Bill Nye Visits the Ark Encounter
https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2016/07/08/bill-nye-visits-ark-encounter/
Image credit: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/dore/gustave/bible/plates/006.jpg
Transcript
We’re working our way back through the archives. If you think we should prioritise a transcript of this episode, let us know!
12 July 2016 at 11:50 am
With regards to (ice age) floods http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/did-a-comet-hit-earth-12900-years-ago/ and the raising sea levels and cataclysms appear to also be in (oral) record here http://research.usc.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/usc:14264?queryType=vitalDismax&query=indigenous+australian+stories
There is also scientific data pointing to two cataclysmic events pointing to the start and end of the younger dryas.
So while the Tower of Babel may or may not have existed, it may be that it existed in a different form to that described in the bible, or may have been a metaphor for something that did happen only ways to describe it were changed over time.