Animals into the ark two by two? Not if you believe the BBC

The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | 03/07/04 | Chris Hastings

[Pokey78]

The Biblical story of Noah's ark is a "great myth", devoid of any scientific or historical credibility according to a new BBC programme about the great flood.

Noah's Ark, which has been produced by the Corporation's religion and ethics division, argues that there is no evidence to support the idea of an ark, a global flood or even a man called Noah. It claims that the story in the Book of Genesis was a fabrication inspired by the story of King Gilgamesh, who was caught up in a flood while trying to transport his own livestock.

Gilgamesh, who was King of Uruk in Babylonia in around 2,700 BC, had a shaved head and wore make up as well as a kilt. He bore no resemblance to the traditional image of Noah as displayed in countless paintings.

He and his family were stranded at sea when a freak flood swept them from the river they were in. Unable to drink seawater they stayed alive by drinking the beer that they were transporting.

Jeremy Bowen, the programme's presenter, tells viewers: "It is time to forget the original story and start again. The traditional notion of the Noah story does not pass any sort of rational or historical test. Maybe it was not meant to, maybe it was made up."

In the programme, Bowen interviews a number of scientists and historians who dismiss the idea that the world was engulfed by a global flood. They say that there is not enough water in all of the world's oceans to support a torrent of such proportions. Bowen further concludes that even 40 days and nights of continuous rain would not have produced enough water.

Recent claims that the flooding could have been caused by a comet bursting onto the earth's surface are also dismissed.

Bowen and his team also contradict traditional notions about the ark itself, saying that such a huge ship - two thirds the size of the Titanic - would have not been possible with the level of technology available at the time. Loading so many animals onto a single vessel would have taken 35 years, it claims.

They conclude that the Noah story was invented by Jewish scribes who embellished the story of Gilgamesh to evoke an all powerful and vengeful God.

Noah's Ark will be shown on BBC1 on Sunday March 21 at 7.00pm.

[SedVictaCatoni]

I was caught in a flood in Dallas back in 1988. It rained seven inches in forty-five minutes. I believe in water. I believe in God.

At that rate, it would have taken approximately 1,089 days to fully inundate North America.

[Kirkwood]

Jewish mythology.

[RightthinkinAmerican]

And that's not anti-Semitic - calling the Jews liars and saying they just made it up?

[whereasandsoforth]

"At that rate, it would have taken approximately 1,089 days to fully inundate North America."

Yeah, you're right. But that was a storm that happened in Dallas back in 1988. God wasn't using his Rath. But that storm was awesome enough.

But speaking of God's Rath, maybe a naysayer should say a little prayer tonight. Rath can be gentle as well.

[Theo]

Two by two? Not exactly. According to Scripture, there were 7 (or 7 pairs) of every clean animal when they started out their bon voyage.

[spyone]

The anti-Semitic BBC.

[Verginius Rufus]

Gilgamesh is thought to be a real historical king of Uruk, about 2700 B.C. Uruk was a Sumerian, not a Babylonian city. Gilgamesh himself was not the survivor of the flood in the so-called "Epic of Gilgamesh" but simply hears the story of the flood from the actual survivor, Ut-napishtim, who corresponds to Noah.

Ut-napishtim is the name according to the text found in Ashurbanipal's library (Ashurbanipal was an Assyrian king who reigned from 668 to 627). In a Sumerian version of the story from about 1700 B.C. he is called Ziusudra, and in a Babylonian version he is called Atrahasis.

[Theo]

It's kind of cool to take Genesis literally. Consider what the earth looked like according to Scripture....

There was a layer of water above the earth, just kind of floating up there. Apparently there wasn't any pollution in the atmosphere on which the water could condense and form rain (there's no mention of rain in Scripture prior to the flood)....

People lived hundreds of years during that time, typically 500, 600, 700 years. Then something from "the deeps" shot up (a volcano, maybe?) and then that layer of water collapsed onto the earth in a great "rain." Polution from the volcano reached the atmosphere, providing something on which the water up there might condense, and fall. Interesting.

Also interesting to note that people after the flood -- immediately after it -- lived a lot shorter, to maybe 120 or less years. Makes you wonder if that water layer protected people from bad sun rays?

In any case, there's a lot of fascinating scientific consistencies in that part of Scripture.

[spyone]

There is also no truth to the myth that socialism is a successful societal model. This does not prevent the BBC from promoting this creed.

[GeronL]

I wonder if the BBC regularly disrespects the Muslim religion??

[SedVictaCatoni]

In any case, there's a lot of fascinating scientific consistencies in that part of Scripture.

Well, except for the gravity part, of course. And the question of where all the water went.

[delapaz]

I love it when people say "oh the flood could never have happened because everyone knows that Miracles are impossible."

[Theo]

The gravity part? Not sure I understand. You mean about why particles of water float in the sky? Hm. Not sure why clouds float.

Perhaps all the water went into the oceans. Perhaps with the flood, the tectonic plates shifted dramatically, spreading the continents apart and creating oceans.

Maybe the thing that caused the fossils in their various layers (and trees jutting through the layers, the thing that caused the continents to spread apart, the thing that turned the palm trees and mammoths into ice on the North Pole, seashells on tops of mountains, and people to live only 100 or so years was the flood? Not sure, but it does seem consistent with science and with Scripture.

[PFC]

A world wide global flood as described in the Bible never happenned - at least not while man has been on the planet. If it had happenned that recently in geological history there would be irrefutable evidence and far fewer species of fauna and flora.

That's not to say miracles don't happen just thata world-wide flood didn't.

[djf]

good link. I downloaded that site to my laptop a while back. He's up to something like 260 stories.

[backtobasics]

Not only did it begin to rain (which had not been seen before), but also the fountains of the great deep were "broken up". Water was coming down from above, and from beneath at the same time.

Later, "the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained."

I wonder what percentage of dry land would be covered with water if both ice caps melted?

[Theo]

I wonder what percentage of dry land would be covered with water if both ice caps melted?

Lots! It's my opinion that prior to the flood, that area was a jungle, with big animals and palm trees. After the flood, when the world was knocked off its axis and that water layer was gone, it froze up. This is the informed opinion of many "creation scientists."

[nmh]

Odd how worldwide other cultures have references to the flood. It happened just as stated.

Only a fool would take BBC seriously.

[Ichneumon]

Odd how worldwide other cultures have references to the flood.

Because, believe it not, most cultures have experienced memorable local floods at some point.

It happened just as stated.

"As stated" by *which* culture? most of the various flood stories differ greatly in their details. And if there had been a worldwide flood within recent history, the scattered stories of it should be far more consistent than they are.

Furthermore there would be unmistakable, clear evidence of it in dozens of different independent scientific fields. And there isn't. Additionally, there is clear evidence that there *hasn't* been (due to the existence of patterns of evidence which would not be found as they are if an Earth-submerging flood had happened within the past 500 million years).