-
Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Was there a global, world-wide Flood?
- Thread starter Blueforest
- Start date
- Status
PaladinValer
Traditional Orthodox Anglican
- Apr 7, 2004
- 23,587
- 1,245
- 44
- Faith
- Anglican
- Marital Status
- Single
- Politics
- US-Others
It is a myth: a story that teaches religious or moral truth. It did not literally happen, although evidence suggests many catastrophic local floods have occurred in that area in ancient history, and one, many, or all of them are the basis of the stories of the Deluge found in Genesis.
It is also a foreshadowing of Holy Baptism.
It is also a foreshadowing of Holy Baptism.
Upvote
0
Agreed. This website is an excellent resource for those who do not believe science is the enemy of God.
Upvote
0
It seems to me there is a huge difference between the bible being divinely inspired and your personal interpretation of it being so inspired. Talk about your red herrings!!
Upvote
0
B
bbbbbbb
Guest
Not any different than a story about a man being crucified, placed in a tomb, and coming back to life after three days. Many folks take this story literally, too, but a lot of others see past the absurdity and find the actual truth that God intended for us.
Upvote
0
Mr Dave
God Save The Queen!
Differemce being that your example comes in the Gospels, which are intended to present a biography/history of what happened by people who lived at such a time, into a Greek context.
The story of the flood was written by people many years after those who believe in the event claimed it to happen, in an introduction to the law which does not claim to be a history into a Jewish Hebrew context. As the Chief Rabbi (who is a reliable source on things relating to the Torah) said recently
Upvote
0
2thePoint
Looking Up
Allegorizing scripture where there's no textual basis for doing so is common, but that doesn't make it scholarly or intelligent. If Adam and Eve were real, as Jesus clearly believed, then there's no reason to treat Gen. as allegory. Take away a literal Genesis and you might as well take away Jesus' resurrection, as bbbbbbb pointed out. And if the Christian faith is nothing more than moral stories, take your pick.
Logically, a local flood would not necessitate an ark full of animals and a few people, all of whom could easily escape the area, especially since Noah got plenty of time to prepare. It would also not be held up as an example of God's wrath and a lesson to be learned.
Scientifically, the geologic evidence is that the bulk of the fossil record is in sedimentary rock; that is, rock formed from water-born sediments, which rapidly buried living things and hardened quickly such that scavengers and other environmental factors could not cause decay. These are found all over the earth at approximately the same depth, sorted by the natural action of flood waters (higher animals would get to high ground until the last minute, thus being buried at the higher levels). There are also valid theories about a population bottleneck a few thousand years BC, as I recall. (And no, I'm not going to scramble to find all the links, just giving my opinion here.)
Logically, a local flood would not necessitate an ark full of animals and a few people, all of whom could easily escape the area, especially since Noah got plenty of time to prepare. It would also not be held up as an example of God's wrath and a lesson to be learned.
Scientifically, the geologic evidence is that the bulk of the fossil record is in sedimentary rock; that is, rock formed from water-born sediments, which rapidly buried living things and hardened quickly such that scavengers and other environmental factors could not cause decay. These are found all over the earth at approximately the same depth, sorted by the natural action of flood waters (higher animals would get to high ground until the last minute, thus being buried at the higher levels). There are also valid theories about a population bottleneck a few thousand years BC, as I recall. (And no, I'm not going to scramble to find all the links, just giving my opinion here.)
Upvote
0
Harry3142
Regular Member
Blueforest-
The message of The Great Flood as described in Genesis is this: Even though the whole world turns its back on God except for one family, he will not sacrifice that one family in his determination to punish those who rejected him and chose to do evil.
As for the story of the great flood being based on historical fact, that has been given serious study. The story of a great flood was known to widely divergent civilizations, and its origin predates even Holy Scripture. Some scientists suspect that it is based on the melting of the vast glaciers at the end of the last ice age. Sea levels rose by 100's of feet, inundating areas that had been dry land for centuries.
One of these suspicions is that the waters rose to a sufficient height that they filled the Straits of Bosporus and overflowed into the area we now identify as the Black Sea. The influx of water was so great that those who were living on the land where the Black Sea is located now had to run for their lives. Dr. Ballard researched the bottom of that sea and has found evidence that there was at one time human civilization living where it is now seabed.
The message of The Great Flood as described in Genesis is this: Even though the whole world turns its back on God except for one family, he will not sacrifice that one family in his determination to punish those who rejected him and chose to do evil.
As for the story of the great flood being based on historical fact, that has been given serious study. The story of a great flood was known to widely divergent civilizations, and its origin predates even Holy Scripture. Some scientists suspect that it is based on the melting of the vast glaciers at the end of the last ice age. Sea levels rose by 100's of feet, inundating areas that had been dry land for centuries.
One of these suspicions is that the waters rose to a sufficient height that they filled the Straits of Bosporus and overflowed into the area we now identify as the Black Sea. The influx of water was so great that those who were living on the land where the Black Sea is located now had to run for their lives. Dr. Ballard researched the bottom of that sea and has found evidence that there was at one time human civilization living where it is now seabed.
Upvote
0
B
bbbbbbb
Guest
Out of curiousity, which Chief Rabbi are you referring to? As you probably know, American Judaism is divided into three primary denominations (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reformed) with a fourth smaller denomination (Reconstructionist).
The bottom line is that I have read very convincing arguments concerning the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as being primarily a morality story for mankind with its literal features merely being added by the later writers of the gospels who, as we all know, were not really first-hand witnesses.
Upvote
0
Gnarwhal
☩ Broman Catholic ☩
- Oct 31, 2008
- 20,862
- 12,593
- 38
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Republican
Most just understand the difference in literary styles... The Bible isn't like a text book written all in one mode. We have various authors, exhibiting different techniques which should have an impression on how their stories are read. It doesn't make it any less divinely inspired.
An authoritative professor of string theory doesn't always mean exactly what he or she says. It's an every-day practice to use mechanisms like hyperbole, metaphor, simile, etc. Now that's not always the case, as the gospel accounts I believe are more of a biographical narrative then they are, say, poetry.
Divine inspiration and varying literary styles are not mutually exclusive.
An authoritative professor of string theory doesn't always mean exactly what he or she says. It's an every-day practice to use mechanisms like hyperbole, metaphor, simile, etc. Now that's not always the case, as the gospel accounts I believe are more of a biographical narrative then they are, say, poetry.
Divine inspiration and varying literary styles are not mutually exclusive.
Upvote
0
- Status
Similar threads
