Why Noah's story is not borrowed from pagan flood stories

[Dan_Defender]

That is not wood and pitch from thousands of years ago. Nice try.

 

[Sedona]

I see. Have you any engineering tests to cite the seaworthiness of wooden vessels eight stories high? Moreover, would you be able to offer a diagram showing the exact placement of two of each of the 8.7 million species of creatures on the planet on a vessel the dimensions of the ark? I’m sure the answer to that is that with God anything is possible, so that logic would in turn would allow for a 17 story concrete boat if you like. You are shoehorning logic and reason to fit ideas that defy reason and logic. That is my only point. Why do you need to do that if you believe in magic? I’m not saying that there is no such thing as magic, but if you invoke magic in a belief system, why do you need logic and reason or physics or engineering to make a point? You could just say that Noah was given a divine commission to build a magic boat, couldn’t you? I honestly am trying to make sense of this world and some of the things people say, so it’s an honest question.

All the best!

 

[otrrl]

The Bible was written from a standpoint of faith and it is ONLY through the eyes of faith that the Bible can be understood. Faith demands assent, not proof. If we had proof, we wouldn’t need faith. The account of the flood is vague enough to resist and defy scientific inquiry in the first place.

Aside from faith (which may look like a cop-out to you) the ancient genre has to be taken into account. That flood story is intended to convey spiritual truths and if you miss that, you’ve missed the ark.

 

[Sedona]

Actually Otrrl, that is exactly what I am saying. If you invoke faith and magic, there is no reason to torture science, reason and logic into an argument to support what you believe. There is no need for it. You simply say that you have faith and there’s the end of the discussion. Also to your point, I am very aware of the ancient genre, but it ruffles a lot of feathers when I point out that the tendency in the ancient world, (to include Hellenistic writing) to favor meaning over the veracity of facts also applies to the authors of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. We know this about Hellenistic writers but we get upset when anyone points out the likelihood that it was applied to the New Testament. But that’s the conclusion if you go by logic, reason and in this case what we know of history. I think it is difficult to create a confluence between faith and reason, but you can chose to favor one over the other, but they don’t fit into the same argument.

All the best!

 

[Dan_Defender]

I agree with you except that not all ancient flood stories are equal. The whole point of my thread is that Noah’s story is superior to ‘older’ pagan flood stories and shines in comparison. This is not to be taken lightly, for God gives us what we need through the inspired writers, which the pagans don’t have.