Expedition Will Seek to Find Noah's Ark

AP ^ | 4/27/2004 | HOPE YEN

[a_Turk]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An expedition is being planned for this summer to the upper reaches of Turkey's Mount Ararat where organizers hope to prove an object nestled amid the snow and ice is Noah's Ark.

A joint U.S.-Turkish team of 10 explorers plans to make the arduous trek up Turkey's tallest mountain, at 17,820 feet, from July 15 to August 15, subject to the approval of the Turkish government, said Daniel P. McGivern, president of Shamrock-The Trinity Corporation of Honolulu, Hawaii.

The goal: to enter what they believe to be a mammoth structure some 45 feet high, 75 feet wide and up to 450 feet long that was exposed in part by last summer's heat wave in Europe.

"We are not excavating it. We are not taking any artifacts. We're going to photograph it and, God willing, you're all going to see it," McGivern said.

Explorers have long searched for an ark on the high slopes of Mount Ararat, where the biblical account of the Great Flood places it.

In 1957, Turkish air force pilots spotted a boat-shaped formation in Agri province. The government did not pursue the sighting, however. The entire area, including Mount Ararat, was off limits to foreigners because of Soviet complaints that explorers were U.S. spies.

That ban was lifted in 1982, and since then teams of explorers have visited the area but have been unable to substantiate any claim of an ark.

McGivern and Ahmet Ali Arslan, a Turkish mountain climber who grew up in a town near Mount Ararat, say satellite photos have helped them pinpoint a more exact location. Arslan will be leading the expedition.

The biblical account in the Book of Genesis says that after the great deluge, the ark came to rest on the mountain with Noah's family and a cargo of male and female pairs of every kind of animal.

Geologists say even though there is evidence of a flood in Mesopotamia in Sumerian times, it is not possible for a ship to make landfall at an altitude as high as Mount Ararat.

[Blzbba]

"...or there was this REALLY BIG flood !"


Which there obviously wasn't since there's not enough water on Earth now to cover the planet in a flood. Even if there had been the amount of rainfall necessary for a flood, the resulting atmospheric pressure from all that rain would've been far too much for any surface life to have survived, Noah included.

It's a nice story for the kids that doesn't hold water when looked at through the eyes of elementary science. Since mass is neither created nor destroyed, what happened to all that water?

[O.C. - Old Cracker]

In what way is the movie, 'The Passion of the Christ', mediocre? Please be specific.

[bigcheese]

However much I would like to see the Ark discovered, Ron Wyatt appears to have been a charlatan.

There was a link to a creationist website here on FR a few days ago, where they gave 'points' not to talk about when having discussions with evolutionists. One of those points concerned Ron Wyatt and his charlatan ways.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[John H K]

The Institute for Creation Research being dubious about an Ark-hunter is like Al Queda being dubious about another terrorist group because they're "too violent."

[zip]

Keep me on the ping list. thx

[zip]

Welcome back from DU, troll. Haven't seen you leftist rants for a while. Have you been sick? (sicker)

[zip]

Excellent post. thx

[mombonn]

it is not possible for a ship to make landfall at an altitude as high as Mount Ararat.

Luke 1:37 - "For nothing is impossible with God."

Matt. 19:26 - "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible"

I think I'll take God's Word for it.

Frankly, I don't care whether they find the Ark or not, I believe the Bible. If they DO find it, we can only begin to imagine the battle that would ensue over "ownership".

[SpookBrat]

I'm in agreement with you and the scriptures you posted mombonn. I think it would be neat to "find" it, however, if found, people would worship it, etc. I'm not sure how I would feel if they found actual gopher wood at the top of a mountain.

At any rate, it's fascinating and I would appreciate you pinging me to any updates, a_Turk.

[bigcheese]

It appears that you are inferring from my post that I believe in ICR. I don't (not by a long, long, long shot ;-) But for someone who might be 'inclined' to believe Ron Wyatt's tales, well then, ICR would appear be a legitimate and authoritative 'counterweight'. :-)

Not to you specifically, but didn't Ron Wyatt say all the evidence he had was supposed to be released after his death? The Ark, Ark of the Convenant, Mt. Sinai, etc, etc... I think he died in 1998.

BTW, did you know there were Fiber Optics on Noah's Ark?

[MEGoody]

How old is your boy in that picture?

[MEGoody]

"Very much as the parables of Jesus were meant to be instructive, to inform, to make a point, obviously not to be taken as having literally happened."

Yep, the parables were. But New Testament scripture talks of Noah and the flood as an historical event.

All boils down to what we each choose to believe.

[MEGoody]

"Which there obviously wasn't since there's not enough water on Earth now to cover the planet in a flood"

Really? So you've checked this out?

Good, I have a few questions, which I'm sure you can answer.

On average, at any given time, how many millions of gallons of water are in clouds floating over the earth?

How many millions of gallons of water make up the ice at each of the poles?

How many millions of gallons of water are sitting elsewhere across the world in snowcapped peaks, etc.?

How many millions of gallons of water are in underground bodies of water?

[MEGoody]

"The Institute for Creation Research being dubious about an Ark-hunter. . ."

And you being dubious about the Institute for Creation Research is like John Kerry being dubious about George Bush.

[MEGoody]

I see some blue arrows and a red circle. Other than that, not sure what I'm looking at. (The ridge the blue arrows is pointing to just looks like a mountain ridge to me. I can't figure out what the red circle is highlighting.

Guess we'll find out.

[D Rider]

Ancient text and the bible said that the ark was in Armenia. The problem is that Ancient Armenia was in the mountains of Iran. Which is why the Bible said that the left the ark and traveled from the east into the Mesopotamia plain.

The current mount Ararat didn't even get its current name till the 12th century. That is when the Armenian Christians had the Bible translated into their own language. And since that is the only mountain of note in the area, it became "Ararat." If you read the scripture it says the "mountainS" of Ararat. It is in the mountains, not on a lone mountain on a plain.

[Blzbba]

"Really? So you've checked this out?"


As a former hydrogeologist, yes I have...


Good, I have a few questions, which I'm sure you can answer."


Shoot.


"On average, at any given time, how many millions of gallons of water are in clouds floating over the earth?"


Not enough to flood the Earth if combined with all other forms of water.



"How many millions of gallons of water make up the ice at each of the poles?"

Not enough to flood the Earth if combined with all other forms of water.


"How many millions of gallons of water are sitting elsewhere across the world in snowcapped peaks, etc.?"

Not enough to flood the Earth if combined with all other forms of water.


"How many millions of gallons of water are in underground bodies of water?"


Not enough to flood the Earth if combined with all other forms of water.



Sorry, but this isn't even 'science' as much as it is simple mathematics. The volume of water needed to flood the world to the tip of Mt. Ararat (which isn't nearly as high as Mt. Everest, throwing another monkey wrench into this children's story) simply doesn't exist on this planet.

And again, the resultant atmospheric pressure due to this mythical amount of rainfall would've smothered Noah and his zoo long before they supposedly crashed on a mountain top in Turkey.

Most geologists agree that the mythical Flood was probably due to the Mediterranean Sea finally overflowing the Hellespont and creating the Black Sea. To the uneducated, mostly-illiterate masses living in the area at the time, I'm sure it was a terrifying event that few, if any, in the area survived. The more the story is retold down-the-road from the actual event, the more the details of the event get embellished, as all human beings are prone to doing when telling a good story. There's certainly large grains of fact in the story itself, however.

I wouldn't be surprised if an old man (Noah) took it upon himself after a Godly warning to make a big boat and gather as many animals as possible. But therein lies another problem, since it would've been impossible for Noah to gather the animals of Africa, most of Asia, and Australia. Not only would his boat be the size of a country to hold all these animals, but he would've needed Santa's magic sleigh to do all this in the 40 or so days of warning.

[Ebony and Ivory]

The bible, if I am not mistaken says that water came up from the earth so it would not have all been in the atmosphere and so the atmospheric pressure issue is a non-issue.

Further, it doesn't say Noah went to collect all the animals. Rather God brought all the animals to Noah. So Noah would not have needed a "santa-sleigh" as you called it. Moreover, if the animals were infants-animals (cubs, calfs etc) then the ark would not have had to be so big as you seem to think. A baby elephant is alot smaller than an adult elephant.

regards,

ivory