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The writer believes every person is free to choose what they believe; and that the curious human mind must not be stopped from asking difficult questions. That is man’s nature.
In this second article, the writer wishes to make a tentative argument -- to assuage the concerns of a few people who dispute and dismiss this event as an untruth -- as concerns the Biblical floods: whether one can actually explain some of the biblical narratives in light of present day thinking and knowledge. This writer is again of the opinion that every occurrence has a logical explanation on earth and the universe. On the other hand, one has a duty to admit their limitations: in that not all things can be explained by man; and that the argument that if man may not have answers to certain phenomena automatically disqualifies that occurrence as non-existent. For instance, we can explain why the sky is blue but can we actually explain why it was not red or green in the first place?
On this note one is inclined to ask the question:
Is there any scientific explanation to substantiate where the flood water went and how?
According to Genesis 7:8: “And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days”; and furthermore, Genesis 8: 1-3 states: “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the water assuaged. The Fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters returned from the earth continually: and after the end of 150 days the waters were abated”.
If we apply the theories of thermodynamics and heat transfer by evaporation in multi-fluid flow of air and water assuming that sunlight appeared at one point after the flood and rains, one may understand that a strong air current is the main agent of evaporation of fluids on this occasion. Furthermore, evaporation is time dependent in relation to the speed of air that passes over a large body of water; and the volume of air in relation to the volume of water. Given the enormously large volume of water involved in the flood, as aforementioned, the volume and speed of the wind must have been cataclysmic: no different from a Tsunami. The wind, therefore, could have had the double effect of evaporating agent; and an agent of force to drive the waters to a fixed position where the evaporation will continue but the flood will end. Now, the time constraint for this act to be completed has not been calculated. However, it appears 150 days is a reasonable -- as stated in the Bible -- time span to dissipate these waters from the earth if a Tsunami can be imagined. It should be remembered that not all the water was evaporated on to the air; and that some of it remained on earth as Seas and Rivers.
What about sea monsters such as the whale and other fishes? Did Noah take them into the ark by twos in sevens?
This is a difficult one as there is no evidence in the Bible that indicates that there was water in the Ark; and that the Bible is silent on marine creatures on this occasion. On the contrary, the ark was designed specifically to be water tight. However, water tight was meant to prevent them but from the outside flood; and not that they should perish of thirst. Consequently, it might as well be possible that Noah had an aquarium within the ark to preserve marine life as well as having drinking water. Given that the ark was approximately 160m long, 27 m wide and 17 m high, which quite neatly fits to today’s description of a container ship or tanker capable of holding at least 600 standard containers, this is quite possible. But can a Whale fit into a container aquarium? A baby killer Whale is 10 feet( about 3 metres) long when it is born. If we agree on this, then given the dimensions of the ark, there is a possibility that whales and other marine creatures could have been in an aquarium in the Ark.
Another possible theory may lie in the fact that there was no need to bring in marine life into the ark as the devastation involved but water. The problem with this theory is that, it is clearly stated in the bible that every living thing died in the flood apart from those in the ark.
What about the salinity of the Seas? Did the flood dilute the seas; and therefore rendered future marine life impossible?
There is no evidence in bible that the original sea was a salty environment? Genesis states that in the beginning of creation, there was just water which was separated from the land. However, during the flood and given its huge scale, it is possible that the salts of the earth were dissolved in the waters. Now, after the evaporation by the wind, large amounts of water evaporated while the salt remains. The more water that were removed, the more concentrated with salts the water that was left became. Thus, the sea is but this concentrated water. What we have as fresh water is either from springs or from rain which again released the evaporated water with no salt thus began the water cycle. As to adaptation, all animals and humans that stayed alive after the flood had to adapt to the new extreme conditions of climate change that followed the deluge. So too are the marine creatures to marine life.
What about the Rainbow? Can it be explained scientifically in relation to the flood?
Genesis 9: 12-14 states: “And God said, “This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you, for perpetual generations. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud”.”It is possible that after the flood and the intense evaporation, the sky was overcast with the clouds some of them condensing. Furthermore, the air must have been heavy with moisture and water droplets due to the rain. Scientifically, a rainbow is seen when sunlight refracts through raindrops followed by a reflection as it emerges from the raindrop. Thus, what is seen is that light after this process: seven colours of light. This is the process Isaac Newton performed when he refracted light through a prism to reveal the seven visible colours of light. Is there anything new? So, we can say for certain that the rainbow that was seen by Noah actually occurred after the flood; and by implication the flood actually occurred.
Fast forward Revelation 4: 2 -3: “And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”
We know that there is Light in Heaven because we have been told so in the bible. But is there water as well? The writer cannot answer this question as he has never been to the spiritual Heaven. All we know is that we can explain the formation of the rainbow on earth. It would be futile to attempt explaining the phenomenon in Heaven where one has never been using the same knowledge on earth. On the other hand, that one cannot explain it does not render the book of Revelation irrelevant. Every occurrence and observation has a logical explanation at the proper dimension of space and time; or their appropriate .level ot existence -- spiritual or material.
Now, is there water in the visible heavens that hold the stars and heavenly bodies? It appears this is the case as recent discoveries are proving. Which brings us to the question: was the heavens in the beginning of creation meant to refer to both unseen spiritual heaven and the heavenly bodies?
This article is based on narratives in Genesis Chapter 6 – 9 and Revelations 4: 2 – 3 of the Bible and scientific knowledge in the modern world.
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