- The Biblical story of Noah's ark is a "great myth",
devoid of any scientific or historical credibility according to a new BBC
programme about the great flood.
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- Noah's Ark, which has been produced by the Corporation's
religion and ethics division, argues that there is no evidence to support
the idea of an ark, a global flood or even a man called Noah. It claims
that the story in the Book of Genesis was a fabrication inspired by the
story of King Gilgamesh, who was caught up in a flood while trying to transport
his own livestock.
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- Gilgamesh, who was King of Uruk in Babylonia in around
2,700 BC, had a shaved head and wore make up as well as a kilt. He bore
no resemblance to the traditional image of Noah as displayed in countless
paintings.
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- He and his family were stranded at sea when a freak flood
swept them from the river they were in. Unable to drink seawater they stayed
alive by drinking the beer that they were transporting.
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- Jeremy Bowen, the programme's presenter, tells viewers:
"It is time to forget the original story and start again. The traditional
notion of the Noah story does not pass any sort of rational or historical
test. Maybe it was not meant to, maybe it was made up."
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- In the programme, Bowen interviews a number of scientists
and historians who dismiss the idea that the world was engulfed by a global
flood. They say that there is not enough water in all of the world's oceans
to support a torrent of such proportions. Bowen further concludes that
even 40 days and nights of continuous rain would not have produced enough
water.
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- Recent claims that the flooding could have been caused
by a comet bursting onto the earth's surface are also dismissed.
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- Bowen and his team also contradict traditional notions
about the ark itself, saying that such a huge ship - two thirds the size
of the Titanic - would have not been possible with the level of technology
available at the time. Loading so many animals onto a single vessel would
have taken 35 years, it claims.
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- They conclude that the Noah story was invented by Jewish
scribes who embellished the story of Gilgamesh to evoke an all powerful
and vengeful God.
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- - Noah's Ark will be shown on BBC1 on Sunday March 21
at 7.00pm.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004.
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- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/03/07/
nnoah07.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/03/07/ixhome.html
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- Comment
Alton Raines
3-7-4
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- Well, now isn't THAT SPECIAL? (in Church Lady vernacular)
This is par for the course over at BBC. If they can trash the Bible in
any way, shape or form, they'll do it. They've trashed Jesus, claiming
he never was crucified (a concept 'borrowed' from fundamentalist islam)
and went off to Rome with Mary Magdelene and spawned umpteen little Jesi
there. Granted, many who make claims regarding the authenticity of Bible
events are functional retards, like those who count the "begats"
in order to arrive at an 'age of mankind.' But serious Biblical scholars,
archeologists and anthropologists as well as Creation scientists have a
wealth of knowledge and information on the flood, on Noah, on the Ark and
its feasibility. Many people immediately presume that all the animals could
not have fit on the Ark as described. Well, that's true... if Noah was
a stupid hick who tried to stock it with fully grown ADULT animals! For
some reason, when it comes to Bibllical characters, there's never any benefit
of the doubt regarding their intellect, despite the fact that quite a number
of them achieved feats that so astounded the known world that people came
from far and wide to Israel to gawk at one thing or another, be it the
bones of the Giants or the unrivaled Solomon's Temple. And why does the
BBC limit its information to Gilgamesh? Almost every culture on earth has
a flood story. Well, now isn't THAT SPECIAL? Interesting considering that
Noah and his family restarted the world population, and thereby every culture
that came into being would indeed have just such a "legend."
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- Comment
Bill Steidtmann
3-8-4
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- "Bowen further concludes that even 40 days and nights
of continuous rain would not have produced enough water."
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- Maybe that's why the Bible says that "...the same
day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows
of heaven were opened." (Gen 7:11), meaning a lot of it came up from
underground, as well as from the sky. Makes you wonder if they actually
read it first, but this easily plays off the ignorance of most people who
still think it just rained a lot.
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- Bill Steidtmann
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- Response to comments
- From Jack
- 3-8-4
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- You know, correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the book
of Genesis where Noah gained fame was written by the man himself through
Moses. I thought from my understanding the first 5 books of the Bible
are attributed to Moses' writing. So if Moses was inspired by God to write
those first 5 books of the Bible, do you think God would tell a shepherd
who thought he was hearing voices, how one time he didn't like what he
had created and he destroyed it with water? No, if I were God, and I can't
be because I'm a human so I can only imagine how a god would think, I wouldn't
be telling this shepherd concepts his mind couldn't comprehend. I'd be
telling him a story, while I was laying down the law about why it was important
to keep my laws. "Hey Moses, you know those first three commandments
I gave you I take those very seriously. Did I ever tell you the story
about Noah? No, remind me to tell you about it before I reminisce about
Sodom and Gomorrah."
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- I have complete faith that a superior being created the
universe. That he has taken pity on us and has moved among us in the flesh
to better understand us and show love for us. But, I have no faith in
religious books. This includes the Bible. The final edition of the holy
books fit for consumption by the masses of the inspired word of God, is
always subject to the editorial power of men not inspired. However, it
seems all the holy books are woven together by fine strands of the same
belief. The tapestry that makes us human glitters from threads that are
the creation of the master weaver. We are woven in the image and likeness
of our creator, but we can no way assume we know the mind of our creator.
If you assume your version is the only correct version of the mind of
God, and are willing to die for it, then I think paradise no more awaits
you than it does any other misguided individual. I believe in the Christos.
I am a Gnostic Christian. To the Gnostic Christian Jesus Christ was a
little different then he is commonly believed to be. His human side, the
body he walked in, was of human genetics, from the house of David. The
only suffering misguided Christians suffer is at the hands of Christians.
Just as Christ foretold would happen if you tried to follow him.
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- Therefore, I think there might have been a flood once
that only the mind of God can remember, but nothing survived. There was
no person named Noah. Moreover, probably a Sodom and Gomorrah too, but
again only God can really remember the events as they happen. However,
there probably wasn't a man named Lot or anyone else anywhere that escaped.
After all, God to exist must be able to create something out of nothing.
To destroy everything and recreate is to be in the beginning the Word.
The Creation is the flesh. Therefore, along with the laws and history,
God provided Moses with a genealogy, and a promise that great events would
come from it. In my faith it did. Will I fight wars over my book? I
call it my book because I was born into Christianity, from this book and
the apocryphal books that accompanies the Bible, I find solace, wisdom,
justice, explanation, providence, intellect, and love, but will I die over
it. No, I won't, its only a book organized by men who assumed they were
inspired by God enough to know God's mind. If my faith is correct, I chose
to be among the humble and meek who will inherit all. That means I do
not fight when the hordes of hell are at my door. It means I surrender
to my enemies and die. He who loves this life more than me will not find
eternal life. Not my words, but the words of the Christos.
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- I also believe that since the very first book of the
Bible, no matter the version or denomination is Genesis because it all
had to start somewhere tangible for a shepherd like Moses. You do realize
that since Noah and his family were the only ones to survive the flood,
we are all descendents of Noah. Could it be Noah is the way the Creator
wish to explain evolution after the fall from paradise suffered by humanity
to a stuttering shepherd he was sending against a Pharos to rescue his
people? I'm sure if the Creator had approached Moses with this opener
after the burning bushes incident, "Well Moses once I was just the
Word I and I expanded my vocabulary and created mass by saying a new word
I called Bang. A word I created also. Bang was such a powerful addition
to my vocabulary that light, and dark expanded away from me in all directions.
That was Big. A word I created as well. The next thing I know is I'm
surrounded by light twinkling in the darkness and I created another new
word for my vocabulary stars. I also discovered I wasn't alone any more.
However, these beings could only say three words, "I Bang Stars."
The couldn't say Big. Only I could say big. I've only used the word Big
once, but I sent a lot of bang around. They were the image and likeness
of my first three words and I called them angels. We had a good relationship
for a while, than some of them wanted their own heaven, but I wouldn't
give them one until they could say Big. Some rebelled; some stayed loyal
and are learning to say big. That brings me to you Moses my old friend.
Did you know once you and your ancestors lived in the ocean?"
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- How many times would Moses have returned? Moses, the
author of the first five books of the Bible was a simple man. He understood
simple concepts, and God gave him stories to help him understand laws and
rules for survival. Also to establish a way to show gratitude through
worship, and be in awe while not feeling alone. Historical evidence of
the planet earth reveals it's been around for a long time. In its history
there are several occurrences of mass destruction of the biosphere and
a resulting mass extinction of life as they knew it. It will happen again.
Who is to say it is not the result of the guiding hand of a Creator?
If there is a Creator, the creator doesn't need the hand shoved to expedite
the Creator's guidance by human miscalculation and unintended consequences.
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- Who has the God given right to say their Creator is the
ultimate and only Creator, and all other stories of the Creator's involvement
in human affairs, are false and blasphemous? They are only false and blasphemous
if you practice one God, while speaking another. We all have a right to
our faith, as we see our faith to be, and no one has the God given right
to take God's gift of a free will along with the genetics of intellect
to exercise free will away to impose their faith or God on another. That
includes the atheist, a religion without a god. Well time to go have to
get to the salt mines in the morning.
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