The Flood

[FaithT]

Are Catholics supposed to believe the flood was global or are we allowed to believe it was regional?

 

[Bob Crowley]

To quote the authors of both the following articles, "The Catholic Church does not prohibit interpretations of Genesis 6-8 that include a worldwide flood, but neither does the Church require there to be a worldwide flood in all interpretations of these passages. "

The second link is mentioned in the first article.

Two Views of the Flood

That’s a good question. The answer depends on what actually happened in history. The Catholic Church does not prohibit interpretations of Genesis 6-8 that inclu...

www.catholic.com

A Catholic Perspective on a New Attraction

So is the story of Noah’s Ark an example of science contradicting religion, as Nye says? Is it an example of how we should trust Scripture instead of mainstream science, as Ham says? Or is there a third option?

www.catholic.com

When I was a new Christian a bit over 40 years ago I was a bit of a fanatic on "Creation Science". I've since become less dogmatic, but I still believe that there is a colossal intelligence behind everything, so pervasive in its knowledge of us that "indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered." (Luke 12:7 NIV) This omiscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Being hides Himself pretty well.

Actually I don't think He hides Himself so much as the fact He has put some sort of barrier in place which prevents us from seeing Him. I think it's "space-time" but that's conjecture on my part.

I occasionally waste time day dreaming about things. In Febuary 2022 two years ago we had floods around here. I think I calculated several million Olympic sized swimming pools were held up in the air in the form of clouds which were then dropped over a few days. When Hiroshima was destroyed by a nuclear bomb, all it took was about 1.1 kilogram of matter to be converted to energy.

Take a look around and get some idea of the amount of compressed energy all around us.

But normally what is the result of all these phenomenal forces of nature combining together in our vicinity?

"Just another nice day...."

 

[Wolseley]

There are hundreds of Flood accounts, from virtually every ancient culture everywhere on the planet: our account of it comes from the Middle East, but the Africans have Flood accounts, as well; so do the ancient Europeans; so do the Eskimos; so do the Native American cultures (in both North and South America); so do the Australian Aborigines; so do the Chinese; so do the Pacific islander cultures. So I, personally, think that it's pretty clear that some sort of Large Water Event happened on a global scale.

 

[Michie]

Are Catholics supposed to believe the flood was global or are we allowed to believe it was regional?

The Catholic Church does not prohibit interpretations of Genesis 6-8 that include a worldwide flood, but neither does the Church require there to be a worldwide flood in all interpretations of these passages. Instead, according to Pope Pius XII, “in simple and metaphorical language adapted to the mentality of a people but little cultured,” the first eleven chapters of Genesis “both state the principal truths which are fundamental for our salvation, and also give a popular description of the origin of the human race and the chosen people” (Humani Generis 38).

Consequently, the flood could be understood as impacting the entire world, or possibly a large region of the world. If it did impact the entire world, animals in distant regions would likely have been miraculously transported to the ark.

On the other hand, if the flood was more regional, a view which has gained increasing traction in recent centuries because of scientific findings, then all the animals of the world would not have been destroyed, and thus polar bears and penguins would not have been affected.

Two Views of the Flood

That’s a good question. The answer depends on what actually happened in history. The Catholic Church does not prohibit interpretations of Genesis 6-8 that inclu...

www.catholic.com

The flood may have covered the whole earth, or it may have destroyed all men, covering only a certain part of the earth ...

Deluge

Deluge, the name of a catastrophe fully described in...

www.catholic.com

 

[FaithT]

Ok,so then it’s A-OK to believe the flood was regional? I ask because in my priests homily last night he made it sound like it was global.

 

[Michie]

Ok,so then it’s A-OK to believe the flood was regional? I ask because in my priests homily last night he made it sound like it was global.

Yep. It’s A-OK.

You are free to believe either way.

 

[FaithT]

Yep. It’s A-OK.

You are free to believe either way.

Good. Thanks Michie!

 

[Michie]

Good. Thanks Michie!

You’re very welcome!