Digging Deeper Links for Noah: The Man, The Ark, The Flood SESSION ONE: NOAH THE MAN The Bible Trumps Everything—Even Creation Science: This article explains the danger of clinging too tightly to models arising from Creation science. It examines some early Creation science models that have given way over the years and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of current models describing the flood. Flood! This article briefly surveys some of the numerous flood accounts in ancient civilizations. Noah’s Flood: the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis: Some scholars argue Genesis borrowed its flood account from the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh. This article challenges that assertion and provides an alternate view. Living for 900 Years: Today few people reach the age of 120 years. We’re understanding more … but, with new research, can we live longer? Fascinating new information about how and why we age casts fresh light on the long lifespans of pre-flood people. Decreased lifespans: Have we been looking in the right place? This article looks at some possible reasons for the decrease in longevity after the flood. Meeting the Ancestors This article shares a fascinating observation about the patriarchal lists of early Genesis. Extreme Aging Tragically, some children age at tremendous rates, resulting in an average lifespan of thirteen years. SESSION TWO: THE ARK Thinking Outside the Box This webpage takes an in depth look at the ark and how it safely brought Noah, his family, and all those animals through the Flood’s devastation. Where does the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod stand on Genesis 1? This page contains the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s official doctrinal position. (Look for #5 “Of Creation”). Hibernation, Migration, and the Ark This article discusses attempts to find natural processes to explain how the animals came to the ark and how Noah cared for them there. Were Dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark? This Creation Ministries International article searches the Bible for possible clues. Depicting the Ark This article traces the different ways artists have rendered Noah’s ark over the centuries. Can the Usher Chronology be Trusted? Examines how Archbishop James Ussher calculated his chronology dating events from Creation to the Fall of Jerusalem. Is there a Link between Noah’s Flood and the Tower of Babel? The famous Jewish historian Josephus offered a link between the flood and the Tower of Babel in his book Jewish Antiquities. Safety Investigation of Noah’s Ark in a Seaway. In this detailed article a Korean firm studied the seaworthiness of the ark. Ancients’ Couldn’t Have Built a Wooden Ship that Large, Could They? This article discusses large ships built in antiquity to prove Noah could have built that large a ship. Was the Ark Seaworthy? A blogger who called himself, “Froggie” challenged the seaworthiness of Noah’s ark. In a three-part series, Tim Lovett (mechanical engineer with Answers in Genesis) answered his challenges. Could Noah’s Ark Float without Problems? Are Wooden Ships Reliable? Was Noah’s Ark Seaworthy, or is that Impossible? Has the Ark been Found? In 1960 articles came out reporting a pilot sighting a boat-like shape on Lesser Mount Ararat. Was it the ark? SESSION THREE: THE FLOOD The Black Sea Flood This article investigates claims from some scientists that a local Black Sea flood was Noah’s flood in the Bible. Was Noah’s Flood Local or Global? This article poses some problems with the view that the Flood was local. Flood Models: The Need for an Integrated Approach This article discusses various models that explain the source of the flood waters, the pattern of sentiment deposition and dinosaur tracks. Drowned from Below The Genesis account of the Flood says “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth” (Genesis 7:11). Now scientists believe there is far more water beneath the Earth’s crust than in the oceans. Fountains of the Great Deep on Mars? Scientists have long thought water was responsible for the surface features of Mars. Some even think there were vast stores of water underground—and there still may be. Did Meteors Trigger Noah’s Flood? In this article Dr. Andrew Snelling considers the possibility that massive meteor strikes shattered the Earth’s crust into tectonic plates and triggered the fountains of the great deep to burst forth. Probing the Earth’s Deep Places Creation Magazine interviews plate tectonics expert Dr. John Baumgardner about evidence for rapid plate tectonics. What Geologic Processes were Operating during the Flood? This article describes the fountains of the great deep, the motion of tectonic plates, and the effects of all that water on the earth. SESSION FOUR: THE AFTERMATH Genesis and Catastrophe this article discusses how the Genesis Flood could have been the main mechanism for laying down the fossil record. New Evidence of Noah’s Flood An international research team puzzled over a dinosaur find in Mexico. Is Hawaii an Aftermath of the Flood? Geologist Dr. Andrew Snelling considers how plate tectonics connected to the Flood could have formed the Hawaiian Island chain. Dinosaur Footprints Huge dinosaurs flee rising waters of Noah’s flood in Australia. Dinosaur Herd buried in Noah’s Flood? Geologist Dr. Tas Walker discusses a herd of more than twenty-five juvenile dinosaurs that became trapped in mud and buried in sentiment in Inner Mongolia, China. The Mystery of Coal Geologist Dr. Steve Austin discusses some mysteries in the formation of coal that challenge conventional notions. Did Natural Gas take Millions of Years to Form? This article describes experiments which show the production of natural gas and oil occurs very swiftly. Warped Earth In this article geophysicist Dr. David Allen discusses how rocks could be folded without fracturing. A Receding Flood Scenario for the origin of the Grand Canyon Many creation scientists think a breach of lakes left after the Flood formed the Grand Canyon from east to west. This article proposes an alternate origin. The Yellowstone Petrified Forests—Evidence of Catastrophe? This article discusses evolutionist and creationist views of the formation of the Yellowstone petrified forests with insight from Mount St. Helens. “I Got Excited at Mount St. Helens!” Ken Ham describes his tour of Mount St. Helens, and the many geological effects catastrophic events can cause in a short period of time. Mount St. Helens—Explosive Evidence for Creation In this 26:30 YouTube video episode of the show “Origins,” Dr. Steve Austin discusses findings at Mount St. Helens. * After Devastation … The Recovery After the devastating 1980 explosion of Mt. St. Helens, scientists lamented that over 200 square miles of land would be desolate throughout their lifetimes. The rapid recovery tells us something about the world’s recovery after the flood. * How did Animals get from the Ark to Places such as Australia? This article explores possible answers to this challenging question. * Natural Rafts carried Animals around the Globe Fishermen have logged instances of animals floating to new lands on natural rafts. Could this be part of the answer to animals repopulating the earth after the flood? * * These articles include extra-Biblical hypotheses or conclusions that may or may not be true. Please consider them food for thought and the current best guess of creation scientists. Digging Deeper Links for Noah: The Man, The Ark, The Flood The Bible Trumps Everything—Even Creation Science http://creation.com/flood-models-biblical-realism Flood models and biblical realism by Jonathan Sarfati Biblical creationists by definition believe in a globe-covering flood. But how this occurred has been a matter of intense debate within the creationist geologist community. Some general observations can be made from a theological, philosophic and scientific perspective. Hold the Bible strongly; hold models loosely Figure 1. Calculated vertical temperature profile for a vapour canopy model of the earth‘s atmosphere compared with the temperature profile today (after Rush and Vardiman, ref.61). Increased water in the canopy increases the surface temperature of the earth limiting the amount of precipitable water that can be feasibly stored. The Bible, as God‘s written word, should be non-negotiable. Its teachings are propositional truth, and must be the foundation for all our teachings, including about the Flood. This applies not only to explicit statements, but to anything logically deducible from these statements.1 In fact, Jesus Himself endorsed the Flood as a real event, the Ark as a real ship, and Noah as a real person (Luke 17:26–27), so how can any of His professing followers deny it? But where the Bible is genuinely silent, we are free to use science to help build models to help elucidate the clear teachings of Scripture. But these models are just man-made—they must never be given the same authority as Scripture. In any case, science is always changing, so being married to a model today will probably result in being widowed tomorrow. Worse, if the Bible is too tied up with a model later discarded, many will think that the Bible itself was refuted (cf. the church‘s adoption of Aristotelian cosmology v Galileo2,3). Model-building should be an example of the ministerial use of science. Model-building should be an example of the ministerial use of science. In contrast, the magisterial use of science, practised by all compromisers on Genesis, overrules the clear teaching of the Bible to come up with a meaning inconsistent with sound hermeneutics. Instead of the Reformation principle ofSola Scriptura (Scripture alone), this is Scriptura sub scientia (Scripture below science).4 With these principles, some popular ideas can be examined. Pre-Flood paradise? Many creationist works from a few decades ago portrayed the antediluvian world as a paradise, which was horribly spoiled at the Flood.