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From: Jason
Category: Category 1
Date: 26/08/03
Time: 00:37:36
Remote Name: 203.109.254.50
Babel and Beyond By Keith Sisman
From Genesis we realize that, after the flood, the entire world was finally re-populated by the decendants of Noah. Extant secular records show that most of the peoples of Europe were from the line of Japheth.
The inhabitants of Europe were known in Roman times as Gauls (Latin:Galli). They were divided into three or more large groups, made up of many smaller tribes: the Belgae, Aquitani and Galli (or in their language Celtea, from the greek Keltoi). They were of at least three or more different ethnic backgrounds and we know from the writings of Gaius Julius Caesar that some were tall and fair skinned and others dark and short (the Aquitani).
They spoke different languages and had different customs. These tribes had petty kings (and sometimes queens) who were often elected by the people from royal families at times of dispute within the royal blood line.
The mightiest of these three main tribal groups were the Celtae (Celts). Despite their differing traditions and backgrounds, a vast trading network across Britain and Europe to the middle east had been established well before 600 B.C. Marriage between royalty from different tribes was often arranged, cementing together neighboring tribes so that kingdoms could expand. At times of war these tribes could come together as a collective with a temporary king taking charge over the minor tribal kings/chiefs.
Around 390 BC these tribes were so powerful that even the existence of the Roman Republic was threatened by the invasion of the Celts under the British king Brennius, ending the sacking of Rome. Even the famous Hannibal never succeeded in doing that! The Galatians to whom Paul wrote would have been decendants of these fierce Celtic warriors.
The Celts even minted their own coinage and had wheeled transport. They put in road systems which were improved by the Romans and still exist today. They could organise themselves into industrial and trading areas such as Grimes Graves, in Norfolkshire, where flint was mined and sold.
The Celts and their neighbours had a belief in the after-life, and prayed for their dead to their gods. Their priesthood, the Druids (Oakpriests) was strongest in Celtic Britain. The Druids came from the warrior aristocracy, they were arbitrators, priests, healers and divines. It was though the Druids that the Celts were unified, and for this reason the Romans sought to destroy the power of the Druids.
In northern Europe these pagan peoples with their many beliefs celebrated Yuletide, the feast of the winter solstice, welcoming the return of the sun. As in religions from the east, tree worship, or adoration, was practised, especially for its healing powers. Many eastern religions believed that deities or spirits lived inside various trees, and therefore could assist those who offered prayers to the tree.
The Celts held the oak tree and its mistletoe in high esteem, calling it "all-heal", cutting the mistletoe from the tree on the sixth day of the moon. It is from these peoples that Easter, Yuletide and mistletoe have found their way into modern "Christian" religious celebration via the Catholic church. They, like many of the Indo-Europeans (also descendents of Japheth) believed the egg, which they would paint, to be sacred.
They also practised human sacrifice to their gods and, like other peoples across the world, they had a great fascination with death and the terrible suffering of those who were being sacrificed. Their divines would closely watch the dying, believing they could prophesy from such suffering. Sometimes these sacrifices were even voluntary on the part of the victims.
Also amongst the religius beliefs of the Celts was "dualism"(somewhat modified this later turned up in Christianity as Gnosticism) and "reincarnation"(which is an Ondo-European belief found today in Hinduism).
In common with other religious beliefs from the east, the Druids set up megalithic stones in areas set aside as sacred for worship. Among the stone "henges", the circles of Stonehenge and Avebury are two of the most famous. From these stone circles, alignment of the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset implies both the understanding of the calendar and sun worship.
The sun was adored under the name Bel or Belenus, and human sacrifice was made when worshipping Bel. Normally the victims were prisoners of war or criminals.
Some of the stone blocks at Stonehenge are estimated to weigh over 50 tons. About 900 stone circles survive in Britain and Ireland, some being up to 1300 feet in diameter. What is known about the henges suggests Druid and, therefore, Celtic, worship areas and not earlier unknown peoples according to the popular modernistic view.
The Celts or Gauls were the descendants of Japheth, through the western Indo-European peoples. They brought with them a belief in the primitive pagan religions that had developed in the orient and east. From what we know of their religious beliefs we can clearly see the eastern influence, which is to be expected if mankind migrated from Babel (Genesis 10,11).
Also the many points of similarity between ancient western(Druid), eastern, oriental and south American religious beliefs and practices suggest a recent migration of mankind, agreeing with the Biblical account of nations.
In subsequent times, these nomadic peoples would cultivate the land and become settlers. In modern terms they are classed as stone and later iron age people. Marselle in south France (Gaul) was a Greek colony going back prior to 600 BC, originally being known as Massilia.
In England (known as Loegria) king Lud had expanded the city on the banks of the Thames, being originally called Troia Nova or Troynovant (New Troy) by its Greek founder, Brutus the Trojan. Later corrupted to Trinovantum, it was renamed Kaerlud (meaning the city of Lud) and in time this changed to Kaerlundein. Under Roman occupation it was renamed Londinium and is the London of today.
The only original Celtic-named city to have its name survive is Carlisle in northern England. Being a Kaer (city) it was in Celtic called Kaerleil after its founder king Leil.
Celtic history was handed down through the centuries mainly by oral tradition, although some tribes had scribes (Druids) who wrote down their histories and genealogies. It could take up to twenty years for a Druid to learn the oral tradition of his forefathers. Celtic scholars and philosophers repeated the stories and legends of the great flood that were an important part of their oral history.
Celtic royalty could follow their ancestry right back to Noah. Even to this day Queen Elizabeth 2 of Britain can trace her lineage back to Adam, via the line of Japheth.
Amongst Celtic stories which were passed from generation to generation were the accounts of battles with terrible dragons, flying serpents and sea monsters. What is interesting about such "legends"is that, through the detailed accounts given, we can recognise particular species of dinosaur such as the dreaded Tyrannosaurus Rex, flying Pterodactyl and the frightening water inhabitant, the Plesiosaurus!
Such stories may not be taken seriously today, but their remarkable agreement with the Biblical flood account and the similarity of dragons stories with known species of dinosaur make stunning reading. Maybe modern historians should take a look back into early histories, rather than totally ignoring them in preference to unproved evolutionary time-scales. Even today the Welsh flag still retains its dragon, a symbol of ealier times.
After the flood the conditions for life were not as amenable as they had been prior to the flood. Dinosaurs are reptiles and cold blooded, and would havecontinued to increase in size throughout their lives. It is unlikely that post-flood dinosaurs would have attained their huge pre-flood saize, due to the fact that their life expectancy would have been far shorter - but they would still have had a nasty bite!
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Keith Sisman is is doing research on Biblical and religious history in the ancient libraries of England