Board index Noah's Ark & the Flood

Can you help me understand this?

Postby Newbie » Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:17 pm

I was raised in a Christian family until the age of 10. I maintained my Christian beliefs until early adulthood when I started realizing on my own that the Bible didn't make sense. I was wondering if a Christian could explain a few things to me. First, if all living things were destroyed in the flood, other than what Noah brought onto his ark, did he bring a pair of every type of bug, spider, etc? And did they mate with each other and cross the ocean? I'm not looking to offend anyone's belief or start a debate. I just really want to know how Christians explain this. Also, there is no debating that the Egyptian pyramids existed way before the Bible claims the earth was destroyed. How do you explain that they were not destroyed or damaged? These are just two of many logical questions I have. Please don't be offended. I would just like to hear how this is possible. Thank you.
Newbie
 
Posts: 400
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:34 pm

Re: Can you help me understand this?

Postby jimwalton » Thu Jun 12, 2014 12:32 pm

Thanks for your logical questions. I have some answers you may not expect, but hopefully they're logical also.

First of all, there is no reason to assume that the Egyptian pyramids existed way before the Bible claims the earth was destroyed by a flood. I would say that not a majority of Christians any more accept a young earth theory (though plenty still do). The Bishop Ussher dating of creation at 4004 BC is recognized as ridiculous. The genealogies are now known not to be aimed at including everyone in the line of ancestry, but with other aims. Ancient genealogies often allowed for huge gaps in their reporting, and the biblical lists are no different.

Secondly, I don't believe in a global flood, but I believe in the accuracy of the Bible record. Let me briefly explain, and we can discuss it more fully if you like.

A. The kind of multiple miracles required of God to pull off a global flood are certainly within his capability, but the rest of the Bible lets us know that it's not his modus operandi. It's not the way God does things. A flood of continental proportions, but not global, is much more like the God we see in the rest of the Bible.

B. In Gn. 41.57 we read that "all the countries came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe in all the world." Really? the Australians came? The Mayans? Alaskan eskimos were there? I think not. We find out from the same author in the same book that "all" is used either hyperbolically or contextually, and doesn't really mean "all the world." In its context it means all the countries in the region of the ancient Near East. Hm. It makes one wonder if that's what it means in Gen. 6-8.

C. It's not consistent with what we know of God to judge people who had not been adequately warned. God is always fair that way. In the end times, yes, the whole world is at stake, because the whole world knows. But in those days, we know from 2 Peter 2.5 that Noah was a preacher of righteousness to the ancient world. Here we go again. Noah went to South America? New Zealand? Hawaii? Obviously not. We have to think contextually again. Noah was a preacher of righteousness to the people of his region.

D. The Nephilim were still around after the flood. Num. 13.33.

So saying (and there is more to all of this, but I don't want to write to much all at once), I don't think the flood was global, but a humonstrous regional (continental?) flood that destroyed the life that was in its wake. In this sense the judgment of God is fair (it affects the people who were offenders), Noah still needed a barge to save himself and the animal life in a several thousand mile radius, and all of this happened easily before 10,000 BC and possibly before 20,000. The population of the area would have been minimal (the ancient Near East was pre-historic before 7000 BC), but possibly still worthy of God's judgment (the Bible claims with authority that it was, in any case).

Maybe that helps to explain how this is all possible biblically, logically, and scientifically.
jimwalton
Site Admin
 
Posts: 9102
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:28 pm


Return to Noah's Ark & the Flood

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


cron