Does the Catholic Church recognize the story of Noah and the flood as being literally true?

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Itinerant1 - with all these links you posted the next question is - how did the flood narrative stay in the Bible? Why didn’t the Catholic Church find it non-canonical? This simple step would have saved us all a bunch of posts.🙂

Was the Holy Spirit sleeping on the job again?

Was there a man named Noah at all? What about the genealogies and his offspring?
 
adriancombe said:
If you look back, I made a similar argument earlier on. I’m no longer so sure this is valid. I say this because it seems Peter (thanks whoever posted this) had a different idea. When he referenced the flood he used the term ‘kosmos’ not ‘ge’. AFAIK this is a term referencing all of creation - it has a connotation of universality.

I would appreciate feedback.
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Adriancombe, it would be very difficult to flood interstellar space with water out to the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, much less to the edge of the known universe.

StAnastasia
 
buffalo said:
Was the Holy Spirit sleeping on the job again? Was there a man named Noah at all? What about the genealogies and his offspring?
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She never sleeps. We were sleeping in failing to interpret the text properly. The genealogies are ficitionalized legendary accounts, possibly including some named of historical personages.
 
StAnastasia said:
She never sleeps. We were sleeping in failing to interpret the text properly. The genealogies are ficitionalized legendary accounts, possibly including some named of historical personages.
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Noah existed or not?

Yes or no.
 
StAnastasia said:
Adriancombe, it would be very difficult to flood interstellar space with water out to the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, much less to the edge of the known universe.

StAnastasia
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The earth is bombarded every day by water from outer space in the form of ice balls.
 
I also had a Catholic education along with my children, none of us were taught that the Noah story is literal.

I also believe that the Fundamentalist Protestant Bible teaching has been creeping in. Remember, the Catholic church has three pillars, tradition (2000 years of history), the scriptures (Bible), and the Magisterial (descended from the Apostles). The Fundamentalist Protestants have only the Bible and frequently use its quotes (even out of context) to answer all religious questions and defend their faith.

I am also an engineer/scientist and do believe that science for the most part is good. But it is when science is used in the realm of politics (climate change) with out all the facts is when things get distorted.

Go with Gods Grace!
 
buffalo said:
Noah existed or not? Yes or no.
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I have no reason to believe there was not at some point a man who saved his family, goats and sheep from a mighty flood. It is no surprise that this remarkable story of survival became magnified though the hyperbole of oral tradition until it reached epic proportions. It is a stirring story, with great theological significance about God’s power to both save and destroy.

StAnastasia
 
donsnow said:
Thanks, buffalo - It’s surprising that all three model Arks of different hull designs tested as all three going broadside to the waves and riding them out.
It always pleases me to discover people researching the Ark.Don
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Don, do you believe the ark had diesel engines or only sails? Diesle would have allowed Noah to avoid being broadside to the swells even in unfavorable weather. And if God is God, it would not have been impossible for him magically to have created diesel engines (and a one-year supply of diesel) for Noah. The fuel tanks would have been in the hold.
 
StAnastasia said:
I have no reason to believe there was not at some point a man who saved his family, goats and sheep from a mighty flood. It is no surprise that this remarkable story of survival became magnified though the hyperbole of oral tradition until it reached epic proportions. It is a stirring story, with great theological significance about God’s power to both save and destroy.

StAnastasia
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So we agree Noah was real. Good.
 
edwest2 said:
Do… do you think if I get out of the small town I live in and move to the big city, my IQ will automatically go up? Peace, Ed
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I don’t think so. But we can cultivate the native intelligence with which we are endowed.
 
juliamajor said:
Ah, not in my catholic school nor my mom’s-she’s 90 my husband who is 60 never heard of the literal interpretation of Genesis until I started reading him the posts.He says it’s"fundamentalism" that’s creeped into the Church through American Evangelical culture which was dominant for the last 30 odd years.
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Juliamajor, I believe you are right. I think a lot of converts bring their fundamentalist Protestant biblical literalism with them when they “swim the Tiber” and are reluctant to give it up. We find that on this forum.
 
StAnastasia said:
Juliamajor, I believe you are right. I think a lot of converts bring their fundamentalist Protestant biblical literalism with them when they “swim the Tiber” and are reluctant to give it up. We find that on this forum.
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Do you have a timeline showing what the Church taught and believed for 2000 years?

I would like to see what we believed when, when it changed and what it is now?
 
StAnastasia said:
I have no reason to believe there was not at some point a man who saved his family, goats and sheep from a mighty flood. It is no surprise that this remarkable story of survival became magnified though the hyperbole of oral tradition until it reached epic proportions. It is a stirring story, with great theological significance about God’s power to both save and destroy.

StAnastasia
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Even if we don’t take this story to be literally true, this is still a story that says that God once got so angry that he decided to kill every human being on the planet. Is this even a story that Catholics want to think of as true in some non-literal way? Do you think of God as the sort that could get mad and kill all of humanity for sinful behavior? Do you think of God as one who could change his mind and decide to save one righteous family? Does God sometimes change his mind? That would be impossible for an omniscient being wouldn’t it?

By the way, what were the people doing that was so wicked that everyone including children and babies and even the unborn children in the wicked women’s wombs needed to be not just instantly and painlessly killed but actually drowned to death?

Only Noah was innocent? Not even the unborn babies? It is interesting that the Noah story is one of those popular children’s Bible stories (likewise the Jericho story). Pro-life?

The Noah story seems to me to have bigger problems for Catholics than just the logistics of accumulating enough water and packing all those animals in a boat. Those are the least of the issues here.

Best,
Leela
 
buffalo said:
Do you have a timeline showing what the Church taught and believed for 2000 years? I would like to see what we believed when, when it changed and what it is now?
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No, I don’t have such a timeline. I’m sure one could be drawn up, theologian by theologian, century by century.
 
Leela said:
By the way, what were the people doing that was so wicked that everyone including children and babies and even the unborn children in the wicked women’s wombs needed to be not just instantly and painlessly killed but actually drowned to death?
Only Noah was innocent? Not even the unborn babies? It is interesting that the Noah story is one of those popular children’s Bible stories (likewise the Jericho story). Pro-life?
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Leela, while I do not agree that the Noah story is pro-abortion per se, it certainly is compatible with the “culture of death.” God did not abort all the babies because they were an inconvenience; God did it because they were in the way of God’s plan, as were their sisters and brothers, their mommies and daddies and grandparents. They had to go to make way for a better society, a society without drunkeness and nakedness.

StAnastasia
 
StAnastasia said:
Leela, while I do not agree that the Noah story is pro-abortion per se, it certainly is compatible with the “culture of death.” God did not abort all the babies because they were an inconvenience; God did it because they were in the way of God’s plan, as were their sisters and brothers, their mommies and daddies and grandparents. They had to go to make way for a better society, a society without drunkeness and nakedness.

StAnastasia
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If one only focuses on the human body it is easy to fall into this trap. Focus on the soul.

What became of their souls?
 
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