Noah's ark. Second try.

[ionna22]

"I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth - men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air - for I am grieved that I have made them." (Genesis)
We all know the story. A new humanity was not better (maybe worse) than the previous breed. Experiment failed second time in a row.
Couple of questions:
1. All right, people were bad but why killing all animals?
2. How come that ALL GOOD (and merciful) god killed everybody for HE failed in HIS own attemp?
3. Are we sure he will not to do it again?

 

[robot23]

Are we sure he will not to do it again?

i don't think he'll have to
we will destroy ourselves soon enough

i personally dont believe that god sent floods to destroy humanity, noah ark, 2 of every species etc

 

[ionna22]

i personally dont believe that god sent floods to destroy humanity, noah ark, 2 of every species etc

Neither do I. Just trying to think logically. 'One who believes blindly sees not truth' - right?

 

[robot23]

'One who believes blindly sees not truth' - right?

sounds good to me

 

[MJ421]

3. Are we sure he will not to do it again?

Well, as the story also goes, he made rainbow as a sign that he'll never drown us again. However, that doesn't rule out earthquakes, volcanos, fire, and every other way you can die.

So...yay...

 

[Im_a_theist]

'One who believes blindly sees not truth' - right?

not if truth is blackness

noah's ark is one of the most far fetched story in the bible, not only because of the physical immpossibly but because the whole thing happened because 'god' was unhappy with what happened.how could someone who has power over all things be unhappy with anything? freewill? well, in a christian mind not only did god give humans freewill, but at the time humanity was created god was also onmisent(knowing all things that will ever happened).So he also knew what you would do when he created you. Its like someone breaking your leg and then punching you because you cant run.

 

[Zalnavris]

i think that the next time everything os destroyed it will be with the comin of the lord and then we wont care cause well be in heavn.

 

[Star_Pixels]

Am I the only person who noticed all these atheists popping up out of nowhere started fights with Christianity?

*raises eyebrow*

Or am I just the only one who's visited Raving Atheist and knows what they're up to?

"I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth - men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air - for I am grieved that I have made them." (Genesis)
We all know the story. A new humanity was not better (maybe worse) than the previous breed. Experiment failed second time in a row.

First off, how do you know Humanity isn't better this time around? Were you alive back then? The bible doesn't clearly state how bad these people are, but from my understanding, God destroyed the Earth because it was too early for mankind to start acting like that.

http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/flood.htm
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2004/20040206.htm
http://www.bible-truth.org/GEN6.HTM

1. All right, people were bad but why killing all animals?

He didn't kill all animals.

6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
6:20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 6:21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

And to answer your question:

6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

I assume the animals were bad too.

2. How come that ALL GOOD (and merciful) god killed everybody for HE failed in HIS own attemp?

6:12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.</SPAN>

Look at the last part there: for all flesh had corrupted his way...

His attempt was perfect, but because of Genesis, where he gave Adam and Eve the choice to eat the fruit or not...

Ge 2:17 - except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die."
He gave them the choice to be evil or good.

3. Are we sure he will not to do it again?

21 And the LORD was pleased with the sacrifice and said to himself, "I will never again curse the earth, destroying all living things, even though people's thoughts and actions are bent toward evil from childhood. 22 As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night."

 

[biblebabe003]

" When the Son of Man comes again, it will be as it was when Noah lived. People were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving their children to be married until the day Noah entered the arc. Then the flood came and killed them all. It will be the same as during the time of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from the sky and killed them all. This is how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.

"On that day, a person who is on the roof and whose belongings are in the house should not go inside to get them. A person who is in the field should not go back home. Remember Lot's wife. Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them."
~ Luke 17:24-33

 

[Arikay]

Not a bad question.

If the flood myth is literal and true.
Why did God kill all the cute fluffy bunnies when it was people that were the problem. Why did he kill all of the uninfluenced children when it was the adults that were the problem. And why did he choose a natural disaster to do it with.

 

[Stinker]

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, "The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them, and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." (Gen.6:12-13)

This is why God destroyed the entire earth with the flood.

 

[Star_Pixels]

Why did he kill all of the uninfluenced children when it was the adults that were the problem.

Wait, now who said it was just the adults? If a man beats up his wife, his son is more likely to be a wife-beater. If a man is a drunkard, his son is more likely to have drinking problems.

And why did he choose a natural disaster to do it with.

Would you prefer he burnt them alive or had a wave of demons/angels sweep down onto the earth and smite them all with flaming swords and torture devices?

I've heard that drowning is painless.

I've also heard that rain, in that time, was unheard of. In fact, a pastor pointed out that never before in the bible did it mention rain. So, that wouldn't exactly be a natural disaster for the time.

 

[Arikay]

Those are basically learned traits. A child who hasn't learned from a wife beater wont become a wife beater because their parents happened to be one.
"More likely" suggests God is playing odds. An all powerful being should know which children will turn out bad. Although the bible does seem to suggest that God didn't have all knowledge because he made a bad choice (Noah brought sin back into the world quicker than it was removed).

Why did God kill the innocent bunnies and infants?


Obviously an answer for why God used a natural disaster is, Why not. But it is interesting that the God of the OT uses many natural disasters to get his work done.

Wait, now who said it was just the adults? If a man beats up his wife, his son is more likely to be a wife-beater. If a man is a drunkard, his son is more likely to have drinking problems.

Would you prefer he burnt them alive or had a wave of demons/angels sweep down onto the earth and smite them all with flaming swords and torture devices?

I've heard that drowning is painless.

I've also heard that rain, in that time, was unheard of. In fact, a pastor pointed out that never before in the bible did it mention rain. So, that wouldn't exactly be a natural disaster for the time.

 

[Randall McNally]

I've heard that drowning is painless.

I don't know if I'd believe that. In most cases, you'd hold your breath until the autonomic nervous system forces your diaphragm to contract, expanding your lungs, opening your trachea and drawing water into your respiratiory system. I'm sure we've all accidentally swallowed some water while swimming. I can't imagine the reflexes that try to expel liquid from the trachea would feel all that great.

 

[Lonnie]

1. All right, people were bad but why killing all animals?

A: No point in putting all the animals in the ark, you only need 2, lol.

2. How come that ALL GOOD (and merciful) God killed everybody for HE failed in HIS own attemp?

A: They chose to be evil, and sin, and the punishment for sin is... DEATH. I am unsure what you are asking about Him failing an attempt. (I dont think he failed, lol)

3. Are we sure he will not to do it again?

A: I belive he will kill all the people in the world once again(I believe in revelations it says something about that), but I trust God will not flood the entire world again.

Hope that helps

 

[allsweetncool]

Greetings!

It sounds like you need to trust God more then you do. He knows best and he definatly has a plan for all of us so why worry about him wiping out human existance when he promised us he wouldn't? None of us deserve to be alive based on past experiances but it's through his grace that he forgave us and gave us a second chance. Until you learn to grab hold of the second chance he's given us you will continue to have these kind of questions.

Love
Daniel

 

[Mechanical Bliss]

1. All right, people were bad but why killing all animals?

The story attempts to reconcile the affects of a natural disaster with the belief in a supposedly benevolent deity. But the key here is, natural disaster. Natural events without adequate explanations for ancient peoples (sunrise, sunset, lightning, etc.) were attributed to a deity.

The deity could have just as easily removed all "bad people" from the earth without killing innocent infants or other innocent organisms (and could have even rectified the situation before needing to commit an act of genocide). If not, the deity would not be omnipotent.

This leads to the conclusion that the author of the myth was trying to explain away a natural disaster and reconcile such a localized disaster with a theistic belief rather than a historical discription of something that actually happened.

2. How come that ALL GOOD (and merciful) god killed everybody for HE failed in HIS own attemp?

The god is either not all good or is not omnipotent. That just puts another nail in the coffin of the archetypal Christian explanation of god.

3. Are we sure he will not to do it again?

We already know from geologic evidence that it never happened in the first place, so there's no need to worry.

Of course we don't have any evidence that such a deity exists either, and even if such a deity existed there would be that problem of mistrust because that credibility would have already been violated.


And look even now at the responses of Biblical literalists. None of them have really answered any of your questions. That's likely why most Christians are not literalists and don't believe this event happened in the first place. However that does create a problem with how you intepret an event of genocide on the part of the deity as a metaphor--what does the story symbolize? I really haven't heard a very thorough answer to that effect either.

 

[Star_Pixels]

Those are basically learned traits. A child who hasn't learned from a wife beater wont become a wife beater because their parents happened to be one.

Um, huh? Could you repeat, because I think you added a few "n'ts" where they shouldn't be. You just said what I said.

"More likely" suggests God is playing odds. An all powerful being should know which children will turn out bad.

Those are my words, not God's.

Although the bible does seem to suggest that God didn't have all knowledge because he made a bad choice (Noah brought sin back into the world quicker than it was removed).

Why did God kill the innocent bunnies and infants?

Well, somebody pointed out the generations and stuff either in this thread or another thread, but I'll simplify it: who says there were infants? People, according to the bible, lived a lot longer back then. And since we're arguing the bible, that means that you could have millions of people and not a single baby!

I mean, if people were THAT bad, don't you think they'd be killing babies or sacrificing them or something?

Obviously an answer for why God used a natural disaster is, Why not. But it is interesting that the God of the OT uses many natural disasters to get his work done.

Isn't it? If he used his powers, we'd see it and automatically believe it. Therefore, free will and faith is hendered useless because we all know for sure.

 

[Arikay]

Yes, I have an N't problem. Learned traits are not passed down through genetics, so there is no reason to kill the infant of a wife beater because they are the wife beaters child.

One of their sins was most likely promiscuous behavior. Lacking medical technology, yes I bet there were plenty of infants.

The fact that God told noah his plans negates the idea that he uses natural disasters to keep people guessing and thus using faith. Being God there is no reason why he couldn't use natural disasters but I do find it very interesting, especially since religions that are now considered myths often liked to attribute natural things to Gods will and power.