Abrahamic mythology

Abrahamic mythology ([http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?StrongsG3454&tKJV μá¿¦θος (mythos)] in Greek) is the body of traditional narratives associated with Abrahamic religions. Many adherents of Abrahamic religions believe that these narratives are sacred and that they communicate profound truths. In the field of comparative mythology, these narratives are considered distinct from those of the "Pagan religions" from which most mainstream research in this field suggests they developed.
Abrahamic views
The traditional perspective of adherents of the Abrahamic faiths is that there is indeed a common source and history for the world's religions, and borrowing which has produced a shared folklore, which is a kind of shared memory of the truth, partially obscured elsewhere, but preserved in Scripture by divine revelation. The view does not claim, as it may at first seem, that the pagans borrowed from Scripture; but rather the view is that Scripture directly confronts the history, folklore and religious perspectives of the surrounding peoples, contradicting its connection to idols, and in contrast re-orienting religion toward one God, creator, and ruler over all, who is described as an attentive actor in history. The constant refrain of these religions is, "remember".
This view has recently been challenged on multiple fronts, by modern scholarship, as partially described below.
Secular views
Although not all agree on the reliability of Old Testament accounts of Abraham, most scholars believe these belief systems originated four to five thousand years ago under the influence of earlier traditions — primarily Chaldean mythology — and subsequently developed through interaction with contemporaneous religions such as Zoroastrianism. Many historians, comparative mythologists and archeologists came to hold this view towards the end of the 19th Century, as academia became increasingly secularized and non-Abrahamic analogues of the central stories came to light.
Typically, features of resemblance are pointed out between the Abrahamic traditions and those of far greater antiquity, in the effort to trace the borrowing and amendations that may have resulted in the Abrahamic stories. While there are obvious and striking similarities between, for example, the Sumerian myth of Enuma Elish and the later Abrahamic stories of creation, and the cataclysmic flood in the 11th tablet of the epic poem The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Noahic Deluge of Abrahamic legend, there are also a number of other, finer points of similarity shared with other religions of Middle-East. On the basis of such numerous similarities, it is theorized that the Abrahamic myths either originated in Chaldean mythology itself, or at least borrowed heavily from it, as such similarities seem unlikely to have appeared by chance. Higher critics in the academic mainstream have tended to incorporate some of these secular historical perspectives, including the point of view that the Bible, the Qur'an and Hadiths represent a tradition of mythology, which was originally based on some true historical events that were gradually supernaturalized, incorporating a mythical and allegorical character. Consequently, theologians who have adopted this perspective might argue that if the stories are to be seen as true, they should be judged true by other standards than those of modern historical science.
Abrahamic mythology as includes (but not limited to):
*Jewish mythology
*Christian mythology
*Islamic mythology
Closely related, but distinct from Abrahamic mythology are:
*Babylonian and Assyrian religion
*Babylonian mythology
*Egyptian mythology
*Habiru mythology, the early Paganism of the Habiru (Hebrews) before converting to monotheism
Religions whose mythologies represent a blend of Abrahamic and Pagan myths or other sources include:
*Stregheria (a mixture of Roman Catholicism, Roman mythology, and Etruscan mythology)
*Vodun (a mixture of Roman Catholicism and African mythology)
*Gnostic mythology (largely a mixture of early Christian mythology and Greek philosophy, in particular Neoplatonism)

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