Fact or Fiction - the Flood

As Christadelphians, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God. I accept that not everyone can approach this subject from that angle. Indeed, if everyone believed in the Divine inspiration of the Bible, then there would not be the need for articles such as this. We could say "It must be true, because the Bible says so".

But these days, we are taught from school to question everything. We are not satisfied with unsubstantiated claims; we want proof and evidence. The Bible and the message it preaches lean more towards faith. Again, if there were absolute proof of the existence of God, then there would be no need for faith and there would presumably be no atheists!

But we don't have to have blind faith. True faith is built upon something and fills the gap between what we know and what we believe.

But the Bible tells us that we are given different measures of faith. It is part of our human nature to doubt. We are programmed to question things which seem too good to be true. The Bible says that the disciple Thomas was a doubter and he was not condemned for it.

I should add that I, too, came through a conventional school from a conventional background, or what was considered conventional in the 60's and 70's and I believed in evolution and would have considered Adam and Eve and the Flood to be nothing more than fables. I wasn't brought up to believe in these things, so for any sceptics, rest assured - I've been there myself!

So here is a ground rule: if you can believe that the Earth and everything in it was created in six days, then well and good. But if you are happier accepting six creation periods, then that is also well and good. Likewise, if you believe in a global flood that covered the planet, well and good, but if you can accept a more localised flood which nevertheless destroyed almost all Mankind, then that is also a good place to start.

I believe that God, in His infinite mercy has provided us with sufficient evidence upon which to base our belief. So let's consider some of that evidence now.

Unearthing Evidence of the Biblical Flood

But do we need the actual Ark - assuming that it survived almost intact for 4,500 years and assuming that Noah and his descendants did not dismantle it for building materials and firewood. Do we need the much-vaunted "smoking gun", to determine beyond reasonable doubt that a huge cataclysmic deluge devastated the world all that time ago?

What other evidence is there? The Flood is not just found in the Bible.

The records of Chinese dynasties dating back to the twenty-forth century BC place the ascent of Yao to the throne in 2357BC and record a great deluge occurring within his reign. Our date for the Noachian deluge is 2348BC, within the reign of Yao. His son and successor was Shum—the name of Noah's son was Shem. Another account shows Yao reigning after the Flood to the very year that Noah died, while his successor reigns 146 years after him, to within a few years of the death of Shem. The correspondence between these Chinese dates and Bible chronology is remarkable, and amounts to much more than mere coincidence.

Not only these Chinese records, but also the oldest records of Babylonia tell the story of the Deluge—of Noah and his Ark. However, none of these ancient records can compare with the Genesis account. None other gives a connected history of the 1656 years from Adam to the Flood, or a definite record—as does the Bible—of just how long it rained, how high the floods rose and how long a period was required for the waters to drain off.

In other words, the Bible record is written much more scientifically than other ancient records which, although based on the same events, tend to be much more poetic or fanciful than the Scriptures.

Scientific Evidence

Large plant deposits, not compacted by a large weight of sediment, has turned into peat, rather than coal. Peat is common in Canada, Finland and Russia - One seventh or 14 percent of Ireland is covered in peat.

It is believed that incompletely decayed plant and animal remains buried under thick layers of rock have become petroleum. This accounts for the relatively high organic carbon content of fine-grained sediments like the Chattanooga shale which are the principle source rocks for petroleum. Natural gas is the product of the underground decay of organic residuals (animals, plants, etc.) that have changed their molecular structure over thousands of years. Just like in a compost heap, the decay of natural matter gives off heat, and underground, this leads to the production of gas.

Add together the coal, peat, petroleum, and natural gas and we can begin to see just how much plant and animal material was uprooted and deposited in vast layers and the sort of power or catastrophe that would have been required to do this.

A canopy of water originally covered the earth, creating the greenhouse effect responsible for the temperate conditions found in the fossil evidence, even at the poles. A sudden break in this water canopy would not only cause a deluge to come down at both poles, and the flow of great tidal waves toward the equator, as geologists show was the case, but it would also produce a sudden and intense cold at the poles. Amazingly, about one seventh of the earth's surface, from Siberia into Alaska, is a frozen museum containing the remains of millions of mammoths. Some of these animals were killed so rapidly that while grazing peacefully in the meadow, they froze in place with grass still caught in their teeth. All this indicates unexpected planet-wide catastrophe.

Now one of the misconceptions that we ought to clear up is with regard to the Ark. Popular images are of a jolly boat with animals' heads sticking out of a row of portholes and Mr and Mrs Noah standing up on deck. Perhaps such an image, carried with us from childhood books and toys, influences our perceptions ,even today.

A reconstruction of the Biblical description on the other hand, reveals a huge rectangular box, closer in design to a container ship than anything we can find in children's books. Let us remember that it was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. This was not a house-boat with room for a couple of pets. Large models put to the test have proven that this design is unsinkable and that it remains upright and stable under violent conditions.

Let's recap on the evidence we have mentioned so far and see what else we can find to support the Biblical account of the Flood

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Sea originating fossils have been found at high altitudes of every continent.
• The oldest known living trees, Bristlecone Pines in California, are about 5000 years old. This would coincide with the recovery of the earth after the flood. In other words, no living thing on this earth is older than 5,000 years
• The Origin of Civilization appeared near the resting place of the Ark at about the same time that the flood occurred.
• Sedimentary deposits cover large parts of the earth. These are the type of deposits that result from movement of water.
• An analysis of 30,000 radiocarbon dating results published in the "Radiocarbon" journal shows an unmistakable spike in the death of living things about 5,000 years ago.
• In Lincoln County, Wyoming fossils have been found of an alligator, deep sea bass, sunfish, crustaceans, and palm leaves. Obviously these would not grow well in Wyoming's climate. It also suggest that at one time Wyoming was covered in water. The fossils of the life found in this vicinity are very well preserved indicating a fast burial and preservation.
• Radiometric dating performed on volcanic rocks from the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1986 indicated that the rocks were between .34 million years to 2.8 million years old. This suggests that the rardiometric dating methods to determine the earth are at the best inaccurate.
• The shape of the continents hints that they may have been connected at one time. The fossil records of mountain ranges seem to indicate that the mountains were created by the collision of two continents. It is also noted that earthquakes are caused by movement of continents along fault lines. This supports the theory of plate tectonics. A catastrophe such as a the Biblical flood would create enough force to rearrange continents. In fact a flood of these proportions easily becomes a "best fit" for the geological data that exist today.
• Some 250 to 300 “Flood” traditions exist in the literature of various nations - if you had that number of reports about any modern event, whether a flood, earthquake, volcano, or robbery, even if the details differed, I think you would safely assume that the event had really happened.

Timescales

Rapid Deposition

This downstream view of the North Fork Toutle River valley, north and west of St. Helens, shows part of the nearly 2/3 cubic miles (2.3 cubic kilometers) of debris avalanche that slid from the volcano on May 18. This is enough material to cover Washington, D.C. to a depth of 14 feet (4 meters). The avalanche traveled approximately 15 miles (24 kilometers) downstream at a velocity exceeding 150 miles per hour (240 kilometers/hour). It left behind a hummocky deposit with an average thickness of 150 feet (45 meters) and a maximum thickness of 600 feet (180 meters).

Rapid Erosion

I have a favourite quotation from the book of Job:

Job 38 4"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

Going back to the sediment and erosion issues, the scientific "rules" don't even hold up in the light of recent evidence. How can we assume that they held true thousands or millions of years ago? I don't think we can.

Ultimately, of course, this is just one of many battles against human nature. Many Scientists do not want to accept views or evidence that will bring into question the rules and assumptions upon which their science is based. Likewise, an individual is going to be reluctant to accept something that would require them to radically change their life and their thinking. Especially if it required them to say, even to themselves "I was wrong"!

But rather than thinking in terms of right and wrong, black and white, perhaps a sincere person can view things as more of a transition; a shift of viewpoint. Science, in many, many instances, such as those mentioned, supports the Bible account and perhaps causes the enquiring mind to think "How could a so-called primitive nomadic tribe, wandering through the deserts of the Middle East, have recorded such an accurate account of what we would call pre-historic or even scientific events?"

Science is giving us the evidence, but that should not be the end of the story. What are we going to do with the evidence? If the police investigate a crime, it is not with the aim of collecting evidence, but with the aim of solving the crime.

Likewise, we could maintain an academic interest in our evidence, or we could put it to good use. The use God intends us to put it to is to realise that the Flood Account is recorded for us, not just for academic knowledge or as a bit of folklore, but as a warning.

At the time of the Flood, wickedness was so great that men's conduct and thoughts were “only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5) . The wickedness was so bad that God almost wished He hadn't gone to the trouble of creating Mankind. He therefore decided to wipe the world clean and start again, saving only those who were faithful to Him.

The same thing is going to happen again. Once again, the Bible has recorded this information for us.

If we were to consider the World as having two Ages, before the Flood and after the Flood, now we must also consider a third Age, called in the Bible, the Kingdom of God. Once again, God is going to wipe the World clean, removing the wicked and leaving only the faithful and those who can learn to become faithful

The Ark of Salvation

The Bible tells us that Noah preached for many years, giving those around him the chance to repent of their ways and join him. Likewise, we are preaching now to warn all who will listen, of the coming times of tribulation and explain to them God's plan of salvation.

The Bible is a reliable source of information. Science frequently confirms what is says rather than disproves it. Just as the Master says, because you have been faithful in little, I will give you much, can't we say to the Bible; "I have found you reliable in one thing; shouldn't I trust you in other matters?"