[Ahban]

You will note I said WIDELY understood.

[Miss Marple]

I think it quite possible that there was a large, local flood in the Mideast, perhaps the Black Sea event. I think that to people living there it would have seemed "world-wide." After all, I don't think those who wrote Genesis knew about Europe, let alone the Americas and Australia.

In a time where people rarely traveled more than 20 miles from their village, world-wide has a different connotation.

As far as the size of the ark, it is quite possible that the critics are wrong. It is also possible that the animals involved were LOCAL animals, leaving out elephants and penguins.

The primary purpose of the story is obedience to God and the cleansing of the area to remove iniquity. The BBC is simply doing their best to denigrate the Bible, as apparently that is part of their charter.