JustWondering
Jerk
Thank you for the opportunity to explore these things JW....are your initials a sign???LOL
OK.....just for the sake of argument, if we (Bible believers) acknowledge that there is a power in existence that can create matter....something from nothing (for we know that all material things are made of matter and that it had to come from somewhere....right?) and what if this power formed matter into living things and made itself known to those it designed to reflect its own attributes, as intelligent beings who are endowed with brains that can accumulate knowledge and grow in wisdom and experience over time? It is not a stretch for us to believe that this power can do whatever it takes to express its will through that same power because it has a purpose in connection with us and this earth. We do not believe that this creative power has limitations like humans do. He is personified in scripture as male...but he has no gender.
Since the sciences study physical evidence of what has transpired down through time, it is largely dependent upon how scientists interpret that evidence. Two scientists in the same field may come to different conclusions about the same evidence. No one can say for sure that the flood never happened...all they can do is state that they believe it didn't.
New Evidence Suggests Biblical Great Flood Happened
The details of the flood account are solid when you understand that the ratios used in shipbuilding for centuries were based on the ratios of the ark's measurements. It is very stable even in rough seas. The physical landscape, (Mt Ararat) is also a well known landmark. But what was the purpose of flooding the world to deal with the situation that had arisen back then? There were so many figurative references used by others to show what would happen in the future. One especially important one was Jesus' words in Matthew 24:37-39. The story in Genesis 6 explains the necessity.
As for the animals on the ark, it wasn't Noah who chose them, it was God who brought them to him. As the Creator of life, he chose the best physical specimens and no doubt blessed their reproductive powers after the flood was over and the land returned to being productive. The ark itself was huge...3 stories high, so there was plenty of room for all the animals as well as their food and water. Specimens of every "kind" were brought in. This was all done to God's specific instructions, so nothing was left to chance.
There were 7 of some animals and only 2 of others....a breeding pair. The further apart genetics gets the less likelihood there is of genetic problems. God had it all under control.
From our point of view, we see nothing in this scenario that is a challenge for an all powerful God, but obviously it becomes a challenge for humans handicapped with limitations in their knowledge and lacking in spiritual discernment. (2 Corinthians 2:14-16) We understand that "spiritual" people discern things that purely "physical" people cannot process.
I accept the flood account quite readily but others may not...that is what faith is all about. (Hebrews 11:1)
During the time that the flood happened according to the bible itself, multiple civilizations were prospering, Egypt and China to name two. Civilizations existing at that time made no records of a great flood when the bible claimed it occurred. Secondly. if the great flood happened as the bible claims, Egypt and China wouldn't exist anymore. That is the most obvious evidence against the great flood story. You can try to fall back on the argument some use that the story refers to a flood in a localized area and not the whole world. However, the bible claim is that god flooded the earth to destroy mankind. So the claim that the flood only happened in one area, doesn't add up. Third, Scientists, say there is not enough water on earth to flood it. Not only is there no evidence to back up the Noah story, there is plenty of evidence to refute it. So, I can't take the Noah story anymore seriously than stories about Thor and Ra. It is obvious mythology.