Re:Karl Marx was right. (sigh) (Score 1)

It's obvious through your paragraph that you need to understand some things a bit more. For instance, though divinely inspired, that "witch" quotation actually comes from Moses (Deuteronomy), when Israel did serve as an instrument of judgment/justice from God (which the Old Testament itself points out is not because of Israel being "good" but because of the practices of the other nations).

An interesting point: in order to be hit on the right cheek, you must hit with either your left hand or the back of your right. Hitting someone w/ the back of your hand is what you would do when calling someone a heretic, infidel, et cetera. About turning the other cheek: Jesus is not talking about when being mugged you just do nothing and turn the other cheek, he's saying don't retaliate, don't take justice into your own hands. You are allowed to defend yourself, but not punish. That's for the government. In the Old Testament, punishment was to fit the crime. But some of those who Jesus spoke to used this guideline to take vengeance into their own hands. This was not the point.

And to understand ancient Mesopotamian history... Look up the Epic of Gilgamesh, Atrahasis Epic... actually just take a quick browse through Ancient Flood Mythology [wikipedia.org] for a summary of all sorts of accounts.

To say "Gee, you would think a major event like that would have been written down by just about everyone during that time period)," think about first, that only Noah and his family survived. "Everyone during that time period" would just be Noah's family. It would spread through there. As people repopulated and spread through the earth, certainly there would get to be great variations. And there are.