I do not believe that ever thread about religion should go into the D&D (see the thread I will start after this post). With that said, I do believe this one should be there, and with what I'll say next, it'll probably get a small shove that way.... Anyways, the tale of Noah is probably the least likely of all tales from the bible to be completely true. It is just impossible for someone to gather all the animals of the world (at least the animals we still have in the world), and put them onto one ship, and keep them there for 40 days and nights. Whether you have some sort of help or no, it's highly speculative, but I'm pretty sure most biologists, etc. would agree it's impossible. With that said, if the story has any truth whatsoever to it, I believe that it had to have occured at least a million years ago. A million years ago, there were fewer branches of animals on this planet. Many species of today had not evolved into their present beings. With that said, it would be much easier to store and keep all these animals on a ship for that long. However, if this did occur about a million years ago, my views of creationism (I don't really believe in it) would be completely altered, in a more negative way. With that said, even if it did occur a million years ago, Noah would (from fossil records) be presumably a lot different than modern-day humans. For example, he would have a much smaller brain capacity and not be nearly as smart. He wouldn't have the ability to speak. He wouldn't have the ability to control or manipulate fire, or even the ability of the wheel to facilitate his work on the ship. All of this seems to point to the whole story being false. I know this is just merely my opinion, though, and I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just HIGHLY unlikely from a logical standpoint.
I'm predicting it's Noah's Ark, with dinosaur skeletons in it, the missing link, a fish with legs, the lochness monster, Captain America, the missing Gospels of Jesus, the missing chapters of the Koran, Jimmy Hoffa, an alien spaceship, WMD's, and Mariah Carey's acting ability.
Maybe yes. Maybe no I see blind acceptance in bible stories, without critical thought. The simple story of 40 days of heavy rain does not put The Ark on top on a mountain. If the story went "God flooded the entire planet" as a mulligan, the story comes across as more vindicative but less misleading.
I believe in evolution and I believe in faith. There are WAY too many things in the world (past and present) that defy explanation, at least to me. I just know that through God all things are possible. Saying this will probably cause some to laugh at me but that is okay. It is just what I personally believe.
How about apply logic? In the Bible if I recall correctlly, Noah only brought his inner family to the ship, and everybody else were drown. So if that is true, we all are in-breads! Well, that does kind of explain why we have so many stupid people today though.
If creationism is true, we are all in-breds in the first place. Same difference. If you want to go far enough, everything on Earth (from an evolutionists' view) stems from one simple single-celled organism.
I agree that it seems pretty impossible for rain to fall at 10.4 feet per hour, BUT to Christians who believe in the validity of the Bible it is very possible. In Genesis 1:6, when God creates water, he not only mentions the waters on the surface of the earth as we know it, but also water above the earth. This is what Christians know as the firmament. It was basically a layer of water that surrounded the earth. It shielded the earth from the sun's uv rays and basically allowed for the whole earth to have a tropical climate. There still exists ice crystals in the earth's upper atmosphere which could be evidence of this layer of water above the earth. Anyways, this layer of water above the earth is what fell. One thing that points to this happening is that the lifespan of people after the flood continually decreases until it is almost consistent with ours. There are no more people living for 500 years and crap like that. The Bible also mentions that water from springs came forth also. So, if the flood was caused by only rain, then yes, it seems pretty impossible for that amount of rainfall. But if you consider these other aspects, then the flood is very possible.
I just love anti-religious people and their "higher-than-thou" attitude towards people who have faith. The smirking and sarcasm are just icing on the cake. Tell you what anti-christ people... Let's do a little "what-if?" scenario. a) You are right, and we are wrong. When we die, we die. Damnit, I was wrong! b) We were right and you were wrong. Hope that sarcasm was worth living in Hell. Anti-religious people are just so darn funny!
Pascal's wager. i enjoy life in the here and now with faith. i trust in His promises about the here-after. i definitely sense some antagonism, though. if this thread gets moved to D&D, it's not because believers came in to say, "see, I told you so!!!" because that didn't happen.
i believe that the story of noah could be true in some ways and in some ways legend. here is the BEST explanation of the flood i've ever heard, it's quite plausible and it comes from the scientific not the religious spectrum............ Almost every culture on Earth includes an ancient flood story. Details vary, but the basic plot is the same: Deluge kills all but a lucky few. • The story most familiar to many people is the biblical account of Noah and his ark. Genesis tells how “God saw that the wickedness of man was great” and decided to destroy all of creation. Only Noah, “who found grace in the eyes of the Lord,” his family, and the animals aboard the ark survived to repopulate the planet. • Older than Genesis is the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, a king who embarked on a journey to find the secret of immortality. Along the way, he met Utnapishtim, survivor of a great flood sent by the gods. Warned by Enki, the water god, Utnapishtim built a boat and saved his family and friends, along with artisans, animals, and precious metals. • Ancient Greeks and Romans grew up with the story of Deucalion and Pyhrra, who saved their children and a collection of animals by boarding a vessel shaped like a giant box. • Irish legends talk about Queen Cesair and her court, who sailed for seven years to avoid drowning when the oceans overwhelmed Ireland. • European explorers in the Americas were startled by Indian legends that sounded similar to the story of Noah. Some Spanish priests feared the devil had planted such stories in the Indians’ minds to confuse them. Columbia University geologists William Ryan and Walter Pitman wondered what could explain the preponderance of flood legends. Their theory: As the Ice Age ended and glaciers melted, a wall of seawater surged from the Mediterranean into the Black Sea. • During the Ice Age, Ryan and Pitman argue, the Black Sea was an isolated freshwater lake surrounded by farmland. • About 12,000 years ago, toward the end of the Ice Age, Earth began growing warmer. Vast sheets of ice that sprawled over the Northern Hemisphere began to melt. Oceans and seas grew deeper as a result. • About 7,000 years ago the Mediterranean Sea swelled. Seawater pushed northward, slicing through what is now Turkey. • Funneled through the narrow Bosporus, the water hit the Black Sea with 200 times the force of Niagara Falls. Each day the Black Sea rose about six inches (15 centimeters), and coastal farms were flooded. • Seared into the memories of terrified survivors, the tale of the flood was passed down through the generations and eventually became the Noah story. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/blacksea/ax/frame.html
Projection is your friend too, I see. There are some Christians who do not take everything in the Bible literally. Perhaps, you can see the *righteousness* of their ways?
Almost every culture on Earth includes an ancient flood story. You can say the same thing about *dragons*.
underoverup -- that's fascinating stuff. i read a book once that included various accounts of missionaries encountering people in uncivilized areas of the world...when they asked them what they knew of God they would describe a story very similar to Adam & Eve's story...a fall from grace...from a closeness with God...a waiting for something or someone to change that. there is an account of an ancient king in south america uncovering some evidence of a connection with the "one true God" from days gone by..and how it was lost, and so they started worshipping idols of wood and bronze in His place, because they'd fallen out of favor with Him. when they reported back that these people were very eager for the message of Christ, the churches supporting them didn't believe it...they couldn't believe that it was sincere that so many were making that decision. I believe in God. I believe in the message of the Bible. I believe in the redemption of mankind through Christ. But I don't necessarily believe you have to have a Bible or ascribe truth to all of those Old Testament stories to get there. Christ came and spoke in parable...because it helped him illustrate for people what his message was really about. Perhaps parts of the Old Testament are that as well. I dont' know. I don't really care.
serious question...do you think that comes from digging up dinosaur bones? do you think those legends might have sprung from that?
but no one here is throwing that on you. people responded to your post. but no one here came in throwing righteousness around in this story.
Fatty, I'm an agnostic and if your postings on this BBS even remotely resemble the way you live your life, I can guarantee you my attitude, behavior, and treatment of others is way closer to the teachings of Christ than yours. So please spare us the religious lectures.
