Rcia - noah's ark

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I am RCIA and my teacher said today she does not believe the Noah story happened - its just an object lesson. What lesson does one recieve from a false story?

She said it is Catholic tradition to believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis any way one wants. I am seriously confused as to what to think - chalk it up to differnt strokes etc, or is this common amongst Cathoilcs, to pick and choose which ‘myths’ of the Bible to believe?
 
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kjmccool:
I am RCIA and my teacher said today she does not believe the Noah story happened - its just an object lesson. What lesson does one recieve from a false story?

She said it is Catholic tradition to believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis any way one wants. I am seriously confused as to what to think - chalk it up to differnt strokes etc, or is this common amongst Cathoilcs, to pick and choose which ‘myths’ of the Bible to believe?
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Well, the Genesis creation stories do not need to be taken literally. For example, the stories show the relationship between humans and God, but do not necessarily show the method of creation. It serves to teach about how we are to view God, and shows the fact that we are definitely created by Him. But, both the literal and figurative interpetations must both come to the conclusion that God created us, and is almighty. You can’t just start busting out any old interpretation of the story and think it will fly. It’s not a matter of picking and choosing between what to believe, but rather looking at the message that the story is meant to convey. Even if a story (eg creation) is not 100% factual and historical, that does not mean that parts of it are not true, nor does it mean that the story no longer has any applicable use (nor does it mean that we can interpret it any way we choose).

As for the Church’s stance on Noah’s Ark, I don’t know it (though I bet it is similar). Maybe some other can help you out in that area. I’ll do a little research and get back if I find anything.

Hope it helps a bit
Eamon

By the way, I notice this is your first post. Welcome to the forums, and I hope that they are helpful and fun for you.
 
Here’s a thread on the subject from a while back. There is quite a bit there, and I’m sure you will find it quite helpful.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=19953&highlight=Noah%27s+literal

From what I’m seeing, it is thought to be a historical event. I am much more interested in this now than I was about 10 minutes ago. Thanks, I have something to think about now 🙂 and an interesting subject in need of intense researching. But, either way, it has some important info in the story, regardless of literal or figurative interpretations.

Eamon
 
I didn’t know this Q had been posted b4 - I’m new here. I had never heard the validity of the Noah story debated b4 except by non-christians who disbelieve anything if its in the Bible.

I wonder if the 1st eleven chapters of Genesis being open to personal interpretation is in answer to the seeming ascendance of the theory of evolution?

I don’t want to debate the theory cuz I’m not a scientist and I don’t know - but believing or disbeliving the Noah story doesn’t seem that political - even science says there may have been a flood.

And Noah comes so far after the Big Bang, it just doesn’t seem controversial. Why would anyone bother to disbelieve it?

What lesson should one extrapolate from such an odd story if it isn’t historical?
 
I know that a tv show doc came on a few years ago talking about how researches we trying to discover were the ark had landed and if it was still there. I believe thatA.) Yes the Flood happened and B.) They found some boat in the mountains that was suppose to be in the spot that studies said the ark would be. I can’t remember if they tested it for the age or not but it was an interesting show.

I personally have no problem believe the creation stories of Gensis because it takes just as much faith to believe in evolution as it does to believe in creationism. Neither one can be proven 100%!

As always,
God Bless

Beckers
 
whether the stories in the Bible are literal or not makes little difference, to me. we should accept them as if true. the important thing is the message. ie: job, tobit, jonah. i love those stories. they tell us what God is like, how he loves us sorry sinners. the Bible is full of how we fail to measure up, but God loves us anyway.
 
King Lear is true, even though the events described never really happened as written. The account of Noah’s ark is also true, whether it falls into the category of strict history, or a different kind of literature. It’s not “just an object lesson” though, any more than King Lear is.
 
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kjmccool:
I am RCIA and my teacher said today she does not believe the Noah story happened - its just an object lesson. What lesson does one recieve from a false story?

She said it is Catholic tradition to believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis any way one wants. I am seriously confused as to what to think - chalk it up to differnt strokes etc, or is this common amongst Cathoilcs, to pick and choose which ‘myths’ of the Bible to believe?
Click to expand...
As was said by numerous other posters… this is believed to be a true story. Scientists are looking into its clarification, but remnants have been found. A few years ago, there was a PBS special… I will try to find it and give you an update!
 
…consider this my friend… when your mother told you the “cry wolf” story… it’s a false story, but the message she was trying to convey could most possibly save your life right? … the message is what’s important here, don’t get mired in the detail…👍
 
I think there almost *had *to have been a flood. Not only does the bible mention it, but Ovid makes mention of a great flood in his Metamorphosis. My Greek Mythology teacher said that story was very old when Ovid wrote it and based on an ancient Greek story. She also said that most all the cultures around the Mediterranean have some story about a great flood…and most of the times line up with Noah.
 
I lean towards true - partly because of the points Rand stated.

I also saw a show on Nova YEARS ago about Noah’s Ark. It went over the dimensions of the Ark and they did testing in a wave pool and showed it could upright itself up to a 90 degree roll. One guy stated it ‘explains’ like 17 natural phenomenon (including oil deposits, continental drift). Quite interesting.

Unfortunately the producers sensationalized the show a bit but it was quite interesting.
 
I believe the Bible to be true, in its entirety. (I know I will get jumped for this.) I do not believe we should pick and choose which parts of scripture we want to believe is true and which parts are “myths”. This is how extreme interpretations start. The flood story actually is found in almost every culture around the world. American Indians have one, the Khmer paople in Cambodia had one, so did the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Incas, and Aztecs as well as many others.
Which stories are we willing to say are myth and which are true? And, where are we willing to stop?
 
OK, Brother Hrolf the weird is ready to step into the fray. Although I am not a practicing archaeologist, I still try to keep up with my field. I recently finished a book entitled Before the Flood by Ian Wilson which makes a reasonably good argument for the following:

The Dardenalles (sp?) strait (around Constantinople/Byzantium) was closed at the end of the last ice age. The current Black Sea was much lower than it is today. It was very, very fertile ground and there were lots of neolithic settlements in the area. Water levels began to rise after the ice age (the ice melted) and created pressure on the “dam” which held the Mediterranean apart from the Black Sea. About 8,000 BC something happened which caused the “dam” or “plug” to collapse. In poured the Mediterranean massively flooding what was theretofore habitable ground. The water rise was relentless but it would have given the population sufficient time to flee. These populations fled into Anatolia (Turkey), the fertile crescent (Iraq) and down into the Holy Land. Something this massive would have survived in folk memory - read the Epic of Gilgamesh for another version of Noah’s flood. Deucalion’s flood is told in Greek mythology.

On the other hand, many Meso-american cultures have stories of a great flood as well. Rand, Ovid is retelling Deucalion.

Obviously something happened. Heinrich Schlieman believed enough of one “myth” that he went out and found Troy. I think the explosion of the island of Santorini, the resulting tsunami, and the collapse of Minoan civilization explains Atlantis.

The important part about Noah is not whether it happened according to scripture but that God added one more chapter to His plan of salvation. It was one more covenant with man leading up to Our Lord.
 
Not only is there quite a lot of geological evidence for a worldwide flood, there are, as is mentioned earlier in the thread, great “flood legends” held in cultures all over the planet. I would say it’s highly unlikely that the Genesis flood account is a myth.

My bigger concern, however, is that your RCIA teacher (who IS this woman, anyway?) told you that the first 11 chapters of Genesis are open to interpretation. While this is generally true, did she not mention that we do have to believe in a literal Adam and Eve, in the fall, and in original sin?? Those are non-negotiables. I would be wary of this “teacher.”
 
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kjmccool:
I am RCIA and my teacher said today she does not believe the Noah story happened - its just an object lesson. What lesson does one recieve from a false story?

She said it is Catholic tradition to believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis any way one wants. I am seriously confused as to what to think - chalk it up to differnt strokes etc, or is this common amongst Cathoilcs, to pick and choose which ‘myths’ of the Bible to believe?
Click to expand...
I recommend the discussion in this thread…

Noah and the flood a Legend?
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=12817&page=1&pp=100
 
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