Quote from Hello_Dollars:
Umm, I have no intention of wading into the ET religious wars. But the story of Noah's Ark could very well be based on an actual ancient catastrophic flood. The Genesis story might merely represent that society's attempt at explaining a devasting global event in a context that made sense to the people of that time. That does not mean, however, that the story is not true in a literal sense or that the religious aspects of the story have no validity. But that is not for me to judge and it's really beside the point, imo.
But the fact that similar stories of a devastating ancient flood appear in various cultural legends (i.e. the Epic of Gilgamesh) lends support to it's having occurred in some form or another.
Quote from ShoeshineBoy:
Thank you. Very reasonably stated.
I would argue, though, that since so many completely unrelated cultures have a flood tradition, i.e. catastrophe by water, that it is highly reasonable to assume that it was water-based on just anthropological evidence. I cannot think of anything else, i.e. meteor/plagues/famines, that would have been "translated" into Flood stories by hundreds of cultures around the globe.
Quote from Hello_Dollars:
Hence, if remnants of an ancient ship are actually found on Ararat (of which I remain skeptical), the legend of the Ark will no doubt gain further credibility as a historical fact.
Quote from Hello_Dollars:
Shoeshine, I agree. I would also add that a failure to find remnants of an ark on Ararat would not disprove the theory of an ancient catastrophic flood in the same way that finding such remnants would not prove the accuracy of the Bible in a religious sense. The former is best left to science and the latter to faith.
Quote from stu:
Genesis 19 .
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
under the whole heaven.....is a Local Flood ???
Take into account that people didnât have any substantive knowledge of geography and meteorology thousands of years ago.
It is somewhat obvious today that Noah's ark and a flood as described in Genesis, whether local or global, is patently dippy, other than to those who are more susceptible to such notions of absurdity. Biblical fables are also fertile ground for creationistsâ contortions, when attempting to fit fictional fantasy into reality.
Continuous records in the form of scribes' chronicles mention no exceptional or unusual flooding, except for the Nile bursting its banks, which was an expected annual event. Even though Local flooding around Sumaria was dramatic and extensive according to geological records, there was no interruption in the Sumerian culture, which The Adventure's of Noah and his Ark as written would have caused.
It's folklore. Apocalyptic Hebrew story telling. Personally, I prefer Goldilocks and the Three Bears as a fairy tale.
Quote from ARogueTrader:
Take it literally when it serves your purpose, or take it symbolically when it serves your purpose, just like the Fundalmental Theist, the Fundamental Atheist uses the Bible to serve their purpose.
If the instructions are to take the Bible on faith, why do you use the intellect?
Simple, you don't use faith, as is your choice.
When you then apply your choices in life to other people, then you become exactly like the fanatics who preach their respective religions, political beliefs, etc. on others.
Faith in a literal Bible confirms a literal BibleQuote from ARogueTrader:
Take it literally when it serves your purpose, or take it symbolically when it serves your purpose, just like the Fundalmental Theist, the Fundamental Atheist uses the Bible to serve their purpose.
If the instructions are to take the Bible on faith, why do you use the intellect?
Simple, you don't use faith, as is your choice.
When you then apply your choices in life to other people, then you become exactly like the fanatics who preach their respective religions, political beliefs, etc. on others.
Quote from stu:
Genesis 19 .
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
under the whole heaven.....is a Local Flood ???
Take into account that people didnât have any substantive knowledge of geography and meteorology thousands of years ago.