I also cover this on my site. It is my belief that the Christian church is responsible for what they would call satanists. They have books that speak of possession and human sacrifice, inverted crosses and the like. I believe very strongly that this is taught by the church so when a person wants to rebel against the church, they become a "satanist". In this way the church can say "we told you this exists and so by the rebellious, they look into what the church has as satanic and they mimic it. Look into the biblical story of the flood, they found the ORIGINAL story in Iraq or, ancient Sumer as it used to be called and a far deeper story is revealed. Ea, then called Enki, saved the human race by teaching Utnapishtim to build the ark. The god Enlil became the god of the bible and Ea was the "Snake in the garden, who taught mankind that living without their spirituality in a garden forever, made no sense. He created them and he knew their potential as he used his own DNA to create man. In Sumerian, this same flood hero is known as Ziusudra and he is identified as a king, priest and seer. In one of the Sumerian king lists he is listed as king of Shuruppak before the flood, and he is also associated with this city in Gilgamesh.
Part of the answer to your question, then, is that Utnapishtim was chosen because of his relationship to the God Ea. Equally if not more important, however, is the purpose for which Utnapishtim was chosen. As mentioned above, we are not told that Utnapishtim was more righteous or worthy than his contemporaries. Rather he is the instrument through which Ea saves human and animal life from complete destruction in the flood.
It should be noted that Utnapishtim was chosen by Ea alone - not 'the gods' as a group. In fact, it was the council of the Gods that agreed to exterminate humanity and Ea deliberately thwarts this decision. In the final showdown between Ea and the chief god Enlil, the other gods take Ea's side and Enlil is accused of sending a disproportionate and unjust punishment. Enlil seems to accept this criticism by granting immortality to the flood hero and his wife as a reward for saving living beings from extinction. In the larger context of the epic this constitutes a subtle rebuke to Gilgamesh, who has exhausted himself seeking personal immortality while neglecting the well being and care of his people.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 749AALQM4E As these and other tablets are being found by modern day archeologists has brought to light that ALL biblical stories were rewritten and edited greatly to create their own story. But knowledge is power and people are starting to ask why, as it is obvious that the ancient Sumerian text is far more detailed.