The variance in beliefs is easily explained by progressive revelation coupled with the way the followers of the older religions have corrupted the original revelations.
“This is the Day when the loved ones of God should keep their eyes directed towards His Manifestation, and fasten them upon whatsoever that Manifestation may be pleased to reveal. Certain traditions of bygone ages rest on no foundations whatever, while the notions entertained by past generations, and which they have recorded in their books, have, for the most part, been influenced by the desires of a corrupt inclination. Thou dost witness how most of the commentaries and interpretations of the words of God, now current amongst men, are devoid of truth. Their falsity hath, in some cases, been exposed when the intervening veils were rent asunder. They themselves have acknowledged their failure in apprehending the meaning of any of the words of God.” Gleanings, p. 171-172
Regarding the flood, Baha'u'llah told us to disregard tales and traditions so I do not think about those things.
“Moreover, it is not Our wish to relate the stories of the days that are past. God is Our witness that what We even now mention is due solely to Our tender affection for thee, that haply the poor of the earth may attain the shores of the sea of wealth, the ignorant be led unto the ocean of divine knowledge, and they that thirst for understanding partake of the Salsabíl of divine wisdom. Otherwise, this servant regardeth the consideration of such records a grave mistake and a grievous transgression.” The Kitáb-i-Íqán, pp. 62-63
“Please God thou wilt turn thine eyes towards the Most Great Revelation, and entirely disregard these conflicting tales and traditions.”
Gleanings, pp. 174-175
The problem is... How trustworthy is the Bible? For atheists to say that the Bible stories are made up fiction is one thing, but for a new religion to say the stories aren't true is something different. Some Jews, some Christians and some Muslims take their Scriptures very literal, after all, they believe it is the Word of God. The Baha'is say they believe in those Scriptures, but then turn it around to say that things like the Flood never happened. That's the difficulty that some of us have with Baha'is, they can agree and disagree with the Bible and the Quran at the same time.
If a person believes in the Baha'i Faith, then the differences are easily explained. But, for others, especially the believers of those Scriptures, Baha'is are essentially saying the words in those Scriptures are wrong or at least misinterpreted... usually by Baha'is saying the event was not a literal event but a symbolic event.
Now the problem I have with "progressive" revelation. The grade school analogy is perfect... except each teacher left their class to a substitute teacher. Baha'is are saying that the original curriculum was changed by the substitute. So that class was taught to believe the wrong things. The students move on? With false beliefs? Only some move on. Others believe those things they were taught are true and refuse to listen to the new teacher in the new grade.
But then this teacher leaves. This next class is left with a substitute that corrupts the things that were originally taught to the students. And so on. But, in reality, and I've asked this several times to Baha'is, when did Christians ever teach the "true", original message of Jesus? We don't know what that is. He never wrote it down. All we have is what the "substitute" teachers say that he taught. And then they build a story about him dying and rising again. And teach that as true. So that progresses to what? Some of Muhammad's followers think that Jesus wasn't crucified... that it was a body double.
Both Christianity and Islam "progress" into a bunch of different sects. There is no one "truth" that leads from one religion to another. And that goes for Noah and the Flood too. The Baha'is supposedly believe that Noah was not older than 120 years? Then who "corrupted" the story and make him 500 before he even had a son? The Jews have their Bible. The Christians did "progress" and build off of that. They maintained, the false belief, that the Flood was real. Islam builds off of that, and they support the belief in the Flood. Then, if we go back to the grade school analogy, three grades later, the new teacher says that "no" it didn't happen?
That makes the story in the Bible wrong. I'm not sure if you include Noah as a manifestation, but even without him you have Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad and maybe even Buddha that fit into that timeline that let a symbolic story be believed as true. This is not "certain" traditions. This is from the Bible. So let's be very clear... Baha'is believe that parts of the Bible are not authentic and have been changed or are "traditions" of men? If so, then the "textbook" of one of the "grades" in progressive revelation is wrong, has false information and is misleading, as it pretends that something is an historical event that wasn't. There was no Flood and Noah never lived to be 950.
And, as all the Baha'is should know by now, I'm perfectly fine with that. If it's all a make believe myth, that's all right with me. But then don't pretend that it is the "Word of God" too. At best, it would be the words of men about who they think their God is.
