[LNHY/ACRA] The Daily Super Short-Short Story #63 [Long, again]

[Martin Phipps]

saxon.brenton at uts.edu.au (Saxon Brenton) wrote in message news:<15f3bff1.0411201617.68048a5 at posting.google.com>...
>      "I know I'm not Lisa!" Martin snapped. "But I've got the same type 
> of problem, even if it's more complex. I may be called to do good as a 
> Benandanti but I've also got to put up with the drag of evil from being a 
> Nephalim.

I came across somthing just now that is giving me a bit of a headache.

>>From http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html,

"The Sumerian King List records all the rulers of Earth back over
400,000 years. This huge stretch of time coupled with reigns into the
thousands of years has caused most historians to reject its accuracy.
However all the early rulers were gods - immortals. The King List does
record the reign of Enmeduranki whose name meant 'ruler whose me
connect Heaven and Earth.'  These Gods were called the Nephilim."

I was stunned to see this.  I did a google search for Nephilim and the
first site, http://www.geocities.com/nephilimnot/nephilim.html, gave
me "'Nephilim' is a Hebrew word meaning whose basic meaning is 'those
who have fallen.' ...
The subject of the Nephilim is a complicated matter, and one of the
great puzzles of the Bible. The same general theme is found throughout
ancient writings of many peoples and is not confined exclusively to
the Bible.
They were obviously a race of impressive physical stature compared to
the smaller Hebrews, from Numbers 13:33. This particular reference is
glossed by a statement which implies that the offspring of Anak in
Canaan were descended from the renowned Rephaim or Nephilim.
The origination of the Nephilim begins with a story of the fallen
angels. Originating in the Book of Enoch {Apocrypha} Shemhazai, an
angel of high rank, led a sect of angels in a descent to earth to
instruct humans in righteousness.  The mission lasted for a few
centuries, but soon the soldiers/missionaries/angels became corrupted
in their lusting after human females.  After lusting, the fallen
angels instructed the women in magic and conjuring, mated with them,
and produced offspring, who would later be referred to as the
Nephilim. ...
Another work concerned with the fallen Angels and Enoch , It was
widely read in ancient Rome and Greece but only fragments of it, some
un-translated exist today. ...
It is interesting to note that one the Giants referred to in this work
is Gilgamesh, for any who are familiar with the Gilgamesh Epic."

Gilgamesh was one of the Sumerian kings.  In fact, according to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2982891.stm, it would appear as
though he was a REAL PERSON.  According to Sumerian legends he was NOT
evil and was, in fact, a HERO.

But, wait, I just found this quote from the Bible (Genesis 6:4): "The
Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the
sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them.
They
were the heroes of old, the men of renown."  So now I'm confused. 
Other than their Hebrew name which implies that they are "fallen",
where in the Bible does it say that the Nephilim are evil?  Or was
that just a line the sock fed Martin?

Now, we have some interesting points to consider: 1) the Nephilim were
(presumably) considered evil in the Bible, 2) the Nephilim were
worshipped by the Sumerians and were one of the earliest pantheons in
Western mythology and 3) the Nephilim were apparently real people whom
some considered good and, presumably, some considered evil.  One could
go so far as to speculate that ALL of Western mythology and religion
can be traced back to Sumerian legends.

It gets worse.  On a hunch, I did a google search for "Nephilim
Neanderthal".  According to http://bric.users.ftech.net/rp.no38.html
"According to present scientific thinking the fossil record of
Neanderthals abruptly ends about 30,000 to 35,000 years ago ... It is
the writers belief that this hybrid half breed race referred to as the
Nephilim were in fact one and the same as the Neanderthal race."

Anyway, I have to go.  I've got work to do.  I'll have to look at all
this later.

Martin