The Biblical Floods and Modern Thoughts (1)

The rugged Mount Everest

Louis Egbe Mbua

Quite recently, there have been claims and counterclaims as to whether the flood occurred or not; at what time frame this event happened in relation to the age of the earth; archaeological evidence relating to the flood; and doubts as to why God would decide to destroy his own creation if he is Good. There have been reports that the Ark of Noah has been found in the Mt. Ararat area by means of satellite technology and sheer brute application of old fashioned archeological excavation; and that the dimensions of this discovery in artefacts match the very descriptions reported in biblical accounts. Others have theorised that there is evidence that a large flood occurred on earth at one point in its existence; but that this deluge never engulfed the entire earth as spoken in the Bible; and that this must have been localised in the Mediterranean sea that burst into the Black sea after the Ice age when the entire ice melted and flooded the region. This article will not dwell on these issues but will examine the flood in light of scientific theories; and to limited geological and geographical approximations. At this stage we can only start by examining the Bible and then scrutinising the evidence with the scientific knowledge at hand.

Accordingly, God gave a clear reason why he brought the flood:

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on earth: and it grieved him at his heart.” Genesis 6: 5-6.

So, the precedence for self-destruction has been set, not by God, but by man. While people question the severity of this action, it is of import that we recognise the power of choice. While man has the choice to go about his business, God, also, has the choice to act as to counter or enhance these various choices in line with the kind of choices made. Since, according to God’s own words, man was created in his own image, it follows that the latter statement holds; and that if wickedness was so great that all man could think of was to self-destruct as a matter of choice, then there was no reason for him to continue in his doomed existence. On the other hand, there was a way to self perpetuate in order that God does not destroy the work of his own hands forever as stated in the Bible:

“Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” Genesis 6:8.

Accordingly, Noah and his family were saved from the flood that was to come by building the ark as prescribed by God. He got into the ark before the rains and the flood came. Now, is there any evidence in the present earth to substantiate the flood? According to Genesis the rain fell for 40 days and forty nights. The flood covered the entire world including the Highest Mountains. Now, Mount Everest is about 9000 m high. The diameter of the earth is about 12,000 km.

Mathematical calculations, assuming the water and the earth formed a liquid-solid concentric circle of different densities, will reveal that the volume of water released was 3.6 trillion trillion cubic metres. In addition, the total volume of water on earth and known man is about 1.26 trillion trillion cubic metres. Whether this includes water stored in plants and the ice in Antarctica is unclear. Furthermore, we we must caution that the heights of mountains have changed over the millennia; and consequently our calculations only indicate the present geological features of the earth. Consequently, the writer does not expect the figures to be exact. However, one may see that the amount of water of the said flood compares reasonably well with what is known to be the total amount of water existing on earth today. The Bible went further to state that all the water didn't come from the earth; some came from Heaven but this is dependent upon what one may reasonably agree as to what constitutes heaven.

Did the water come from the spiritual Heaven or from the Heavens in space that constitutes the stars and other heavenly bodies? On the other hand, if we assume that the water came from Space, then the biblical account is vindicated today because Scientists are now finding water in space and the moon etc. Others posit that asteroids brought water to earth at one point. How plausible this theory stands is open to question. The whole point is that the Bible indicated that the water came from below the earth and from Heaven; and that the total amount of water on earth today tallies with the entire water in the flood. Yet again, mountains like Mount Cameroon and the Everest are heavily contoured and rugged. Rugged contours on landscapes are due to either inundation by a flood of a cataclysmic magnitude or due to a strong wind likened to a hurricane over a short period.

How come the Poles – North and South- are ice-bound? Alaska, for instance, is a very cold area? That ice exists there shows that there was a vast amount of water that froze after the event due to the cold nature of these areas which are below freezing temperatures at most times of the year. Did this event with such large amounts of water cause climate change? Possible or possibly not, as this is difficult to know.

Is there any scientific evidence to substantiate where the flood water went and how?