The Bible’s story of creation was relitively peaceful compared to others of the period, which were quite violent. In them, wars took place between the gods and the goddesses literally have birth to the world.
I believe that any mythological stories have in them an original paradisaical Earth which was corrupted (correct me if I’m wrong). But that certainly doesn’t mean that the Garden of Eden didn’t exist. I think that it shows that deep within our species subconscious, we know the reality of human selfishness and how it corrupts man’s relationships with others and with God. And sin, remember, is rooted in selfishness.
As far as I know, Moses and the Tower of Babel have no equivalent story outside Sacred Scripture.
I’m aware of a movie available on Youtube called Zeitgeist, which alleges that Jesus is a bad copy of other gods of the period, like Krishna and Horus. However, the movie outright lies in their comparisons of Jesus and these figures. For example, it alleges that Jesus is a rip off of Horus because both were born of a virgin on December 25, was baptized, crucified, and rose from the dead. However, Horus was not born of a virgin, was not born on December 25, was not baptized, was not crucified, and did not resurrect.
To see more refutations of the claims of Zeitgeist, go
Here.
I think that Mormons believe the Garden of Eden is located in present-day Missouri. Catholics do not. Sacred Scripture tells us in Genesis ii. 2-14:
We don’t know where the rivers of Geshon and Phison were, but we do know that the Tigris and the Euphrates were far from Missouri.
This question is a controversial one. On the one hand, our Deceleration of Independence acknowledges the existence of Creator God, however on the other hand the Treaty of Tripoli (signed by John Adams in 1796) says “The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”
Based on the historical evidence, our nation was founded on enlightenment ideals by men who mostly came from Protestant backgrounds but mostly became deists. Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine are examples of this. However, these men had a correct understanding of rights, their source, and their ends. Their understanding of rights was defiantly more Christian than morally relativistic as they believed that rights were rooted in God (not men, or our feelings) and that a government could not abrogate them.
Make of that what you will in regards to that question.
