Noah's Ark

[TL]

Hello all.

I've been thinking about this: There are literally millions of different animal and insect species on earth, right?

So, how could they all fit in the Noah's Ark? Even if they would, it would sink. So why are there so many different species?


Stay strong.

[Believer]

Hello all.

I've been thinking about this: There are literally millions of different animal and insect species on earth, right?

So, how could they all fit in the Noah's Ark? Even if they would, it would sink. So why are there so many different species?


Stay strong.

Hello TL, welcome to the board. In resposne to your question, I make it simplistic, either it is symbolic, or there was indeed a VERY large ship (larger than the Titanic) that did take hundreds of years to build. If it is symbolic, no problem, we have strong evidence for evolution anyways and the story could have been used to just "mask" evolution. If the ship really was built, it would not sink because if you look at the Titanic and times that by a certain low single digit number, you still get a ship that would float. I think God used His "skills" to put each living creature on the ship, put it all in place. As far as micro organisms and flies and the insects, I believe they evolved once the larger animals were brought on shore. So I kind of lean towards the story of Noah's Ark to be both symbolic and real. But then again, the world may never know. A lot of the Old Testement was meant to be symbolic, not all, but some. That's just my thought.

[LittleShepherd]

The Flood had to happen ~28 to 30 thousand years ago. All science backs that up, and certain events that were recorded in the Bible(shortening the lifespan of humans) would coincide very well with things like the Vela Supernova that produced radiation that would have reached earth around that time.

If you look at the dimensions of the ark, you'll see they are very seaworthy. This in a place not known for seamanship, and which didn't even have a body of water big enough to justify a ship of those dimensions. And yes, the Bible says that it took Noah a long time to build the ark. ~100 years.

As for the number of animals -- note that a lot of variation within species takes place all the time. That's microevolution(not to be confused with macroevolution, often called simply Evolution). Essentially, Noah wouldn't have needed to take nearly as many animals on the ark as people would like you to think. While microevolution couldn't account for the difference between dogs and wolves(Noah would have needed 2 of both species), it could very well account for all the different "breeds" of dog.

I'm not sure of the weight specifics of the ark, but I don't think it really matters. Enough of the account makes sense that leaving a couple details to God's hand isn't a big deal. He ordered a man with no knowledge of sailing vessels to build a giant, yet seaworthy(according to its dimensions) boat. If the weight was too great to float normally, big deal. God tends to honor those who move forth in faith(as Noah did) in miraculous ways.

If He can create an entire universe from nothing, I see nothing stopping Him from keeping a boat full of people and animals afloat. The first defies physics completely; the second only a little bit.

[Felgar]

If He can create an entire universe from nothing, I see nothing stopping Him from keeping a boat full of people and animals afloat. The first defies physics completely; the second only a little bit.

I completely agree. Not sure if anyone watches Enterprise, but there was one episode where they found a ship that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. I'm not sure if manipulating space-time inside a ship could cause that effect, but regardless it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult a task for a being that spoke the entire universe into existance.

[AttentionKMartShoppers]

If He can create an entire universe from nothing, I see nothing stopping Him from keeping a boat full of people and animals afloat. The first defies physics completely; the second only a little bit.

I completely agree. Not sure if anyone watches Enterprise, but there was one episode where they found a ship that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. I'm not sure if manipulating space-time inside a ship could cause that effect, but regardless it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult a task for a being that spoke the entire universe into existance.

The thing was a beast, also. It was basically a huge floating hollow brick.

[Forge]

The thing was a beast, also. It was basically a huge floating hollow brick.

But bricks tend to sink.

[AttentionKMartShoppers]

1) Bricks are generally not hollow, and buoyancy is determined by density, so a hollow brick would have little density, 2) I was using brick to refer to its shape...the ark was not shaped like a boat, it was a rectangular prism, to be geometrically correct.

[Forge]

Geez, you people are too serious.

[AttentionKMartShoppers]

Geez, you people are too serious.

I was just following your lead man.

[Forge]

Bah humbug!

[LittleShepherd]

Noah was told to build an <B>ark</B> with those dimensions. An ark is a large, commodious boat. If it were prism-shaped, it would not have been an ark. It would have been something else. So no, the ark was not a prism. It was very much boat-shaped. It was an ark.

[Murray]

I tend to believe the flood to be more symbolic than literal

[RickD]

I tend to believe the flood to be more symbolic than literal

Murray, these are the words of Jesus:Matthew 24:37-38 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

Jesus was talking about His return. In your mind, is Jesus' return symbolic as well?

[Revelations2reveal]

It is quite simple evolution is the answer. God did not expect Noah to find every single living thing of this time. He was expected to find all living things of his time. For example; how many different bred of dog do we have now? How many do you think we had then? Remember this is Genesis we are reading from. It had not been but a few hundred years when God asked Noah to build the Ark, therefore there was not as many different breds to come into the Ark, just the ones that would carry those life lines and soon create those different breds we have today.

And dont miss understand the fact that he said 'All living thing' All FLESH, TWO OF EVERY SORT and THEY SHALL BE MALE AND FELMALE. Then he goes to say FOWLS of their KIND and CATTLE of their KIND then he mentions of EVERY creeping thing of HIS KIND...his kind? why did he say his and not their? Perhaps it is also a much more deeper meaning then you know. Maybe it is all the way back to the begining of Genesis when Cain slewed Abel and God cast Cain out of Eden and lived in Nod, east of Eden where he knew his wife; and she conceived and bare Enoch, which is also the citys named after.

So it never said that no humankind will enter the Ark, it states clearly just two of a kind.

God Bless!

[Murray]

I tend to believe the flood to be more symbolic than literal

In your mind, is Jesus' return symbolic as well?

no