The Genesis narrative tells how God, grieved by the wickedness of mankind,[1] decides to destroy the corrupted world. However, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD", so God instructs Noah to build the Ark and take on board his family and representatives of the animals and birds. The flood rises to cover the Earth, but at its height "God remembered Noah", the waters abate, and dry land appears. The story ends with Noah offering an animal sacrifice and entering into a covenant with God. God regrets the flood, and promises never to do it again, displaying a rainbow as a guarantee.
The story has been subject to extensive elaborations in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, ranging from hypothetical solutions to practical problems (e.g. waste disposal and the problem of lighting the interior), through to theological interpretations (e.g. the Ark as the precursor of the Church in offering salvation to mankind). By the 19th century, the discoveries of geologists, archaeologists and biblical scholars had led most scientists and many Christians to abandon a literal interpretation of the Ark story, but Biblical literalists today continue to take the Ark as test-case for their understanding of the Bible, and explore the region of the mountains of Ararat, where Genesis says Noah's Ark came to rest." per Wiki
How does science make sense of the story, and how do the faithful make sense of the science?
1 comment:
The story of the flood is most interesting from a world history point of view. A version of a "Great flood" story appears as part of nearly every culture in the world. The only conclusion is that either a) people are born with the flood story in their head or b) some sort of great flood actually happened.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html
Post a Comment