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To: Jehu; derheimwill
Noah's Ark is another issue which we can take up if you wish.

Doubtless (if you believe that the story is true) you will include an explanation of where the water came from and where it went to (as a good engineer, Jehu). IIRC the biblical account variously claims the source as "The fountains of the earth" (artesian water?) and 40 days of rain. It also states that the earth including mountains was completely covered to a depth of 15 cubits (I have just looked up in KJ).

Taking the 5 miles above sea level of mount Everest as a reference point that has to be submerged the requirement can be calculated as around 1 billion cubic miles of water appearing over a period of 40 days. To put it another way, that much water would be a sphere over 1000 miles in diameter. Hope that helps.

Presumably you will also account for the total lack of any genetic or geological evidence of this event. In fact the total lack of any evidence at all for this event, other than the fact that lots of ancient civilisations have flood stories... Gee I wonder why that would be? I don't suppose it has anything to do with ancient civilisations all growing up along rivers that occasionally flooded catastrophically. (perhaps people even occasionally saved themselves and a tiny portion of their livestock on a boat or raft)

943 posted on 12/23/2004 1:53:31 AM PST by Thatcherite (Conservative and Biblical Literalist are not synonymous)
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To: Thatcherite
Noah's Ark: I don't know enough details to consider myself any kind of expert but, looking at the whole story, it fits together. You're right, the rain was not the only source of water. Here are a few things to consider:

Traditional understanding is that much of the water came from huge underground caverns, which collapsed, causing their contents to spew out. IOW, the pre-deluvian ocean surface was much smaller. Such caverns still exist under Florida.

Another source of water is "the floodgates of heaven." A few years ago, it was discovered that the earth is constantly colliding with huge masses of ice crystals lying along its orbital path. The apparent source of these crystals is - earth. We leave them behind as vapour and pick them back up, later. I suspect this process was somehow involved, as well.

The account indicates the flood as the first rain ever. That's quite a claim. If true, there must have been some massive atmospheric changes, as well.

Finally, another odd phrase is "the water covered all the mountains to a depth of 15 cubits." Well, all the mountains are not the same heighth. I believe a tidal wave is being described here - one large enough to travel around the whole earth. The Scandinavian and pacific island accounts indicate something of this nature, as well.

P. S. There is no way of knowing where Noah lived, prior to the flood. We only know he landed somewhere between Turkey and Egypt.

955 posted on 12/23/2004 7:03:03 AM PST by derheimwill (Love is a person, not an emotion.)
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