RE: Flood Deposits in Mesopotamia [Was: Special Creation]

HI Glenn, you wrote:
 
For Dick, who also mentioned in an earlier post that wind might help his
punters. Are you going to say here and now that the wind was always
behind the ark and longitudinal to the river flood plain, regardless of
what direction that flood plain is orientated? I guess I am amazed that
when the floodplain is orientated 90 degrees to the wind, the wind
doesn't seem to have any effect which strong wind would have on normal
boats. On a normal boat, the wind would drive it to the shore, but I
guess we have a magical boat here.
 
There is a range of possibilities, Glenn, but I can't tell you we have
thought of all of them. For example, I really don't think we have a
handle on what Noah's boat was like. I have a photocopy of the 1983
issue of Creation/Evolution which is "The Impossible Voyage of Noah's
Ark." The author, Robert Moore, raises so many objections in his
lighthearted 43 page dissertation that it is hard to find a way to
reconcile the biblical narrative no matter what you do.
 
Just building such a massive structure (if you trust the biblical
dimensions) puts a strain on credulity. It's too big to build quickly
and if you allow the time to build it, the bottom timbers rot out before
you can complete it. The longest six-masted schooner ever constructed
was the 329 foot USS Wyoming. And that's 120 feet shorter than the
ark's reputed 450 foot length. From sailing boats I can vouch for the
fact that a boat only a few feet longer is a lot bigger. Pollard and
Robertson wrote "a wooden ship had great stresses as a structure. The
absolute limit of its length was 300 feet, and it was liable to
'hogging' and 'sagging.'"
 
Imagine what the air would have been like for Noah cooped up for a year
with poopy animals in an enclosed vessel and only a small hatch at the
top. (No wonder he had a drinking problem!)
 
But I don't know how to bridge all the gaps in a way that would satisfy
critics. The Gilgamesh epic has a boat of similar size yet different
dimensions. Our idea of one massive boat the size of the Rose Bowl is
likely wrong. Noah might have constructed much smaller box-like
structures, lashed them together, and put a roof of some sort overall.
He could lash some river barges together so in effect it would be one
boat. Not that he did the work himself, but simply directed the work
along with his supervisors, Ham, Shem and Japheth. Or maybe he did all
the construction himself. Hope I can hammer in nails when I reach 500.
 
The Gilgamesh epic mentions punting holes, and includes a boatman,
Puzur-Amurri. After all, do kings and princes or their wives crew
boats, pull poles, feed and water animals, and muck out the stables? So
let's allow a crew of able Sumerians with a ship's captain. Not to
worry about Peter's mention of "eight" survivors. Only Hebrew
passengers count. (CNN announced that President and Mrs. Bush flew to
India. A true statement, but that doesn't tell us how many were on the
plane.)
 
In summary, there are scenarios, including ones I never thought of, that
expand the range of possibilities as to what actually could have
happened all within the context of a Mesopotamian adventure as recorded
in Genesis. There is just too much evidence that points directly to
this region and time frame. I have listed some of it piecemeal in posts
I have made over the years. All of it is in my book, The Origins
Solution.
 
What has happened, my friend, is you have painted yourself into a corner
with a methodology that is beyond belief, yet you are so committed to
it, and have been so publicly adamant about it that to change horses now
would cost you credibility that you don't want to lose. And you are
brilliant! I am amazed at how quickly you can generate formulas and
quotations and rationale like Don Quixote lancing windmills right and
left.
 
However, the overwhelming weight of evidence falls on a local ca. 2900
BC flood in the Mesopotamian basin. Exactly how deep the water was, how
many animals were on board, how the boat was configured, how it was
propelled, which direction the wind blew, what the boat's exact course
was, and where it landed are all debatable points - maybe. But why get
bogged down in the things we can't substantiate when there is so much we
can?
 
Dick Fischer
~Dick Fischer~ Genesis Proclaimed Association
Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History
 <http://www.genesisproclaimed.org> www.genesisproclaimed.org
Received on Sun Mar 5 12:41:34 2006