fallingblood

Here are some facts about Noah's Ark (or at least how the Bible describes it):
-It was nearly the size of the Titanic (450 feet or 300 cubits long/30 cubits high/30 cubits wide which would make it the size of todays super tankers)
-There would have been an estimated 60 million animals on board
-Took 7 days to get all the animals on it
-Would've had to load the animals at a rate of 50 pairs a second (using a more realistic rate, it would have taken at least 30 years)
-Rained for 40 nights and 40 days
-Water covered all of the Earth
-Landed on top of Mt. Ararat in modern day Turkey
-254 versions of the flood story

Now to disprove the Biblical story:
-A recent worldwide flood is inconsistent with geological records
-Isn't possible to get 2 of every species of animal unto a wooden boat
-Not even a 19th century engineer could have built an ark that big out of wood alone
-Wouldn't be able to keep shape of the boat because of the wood as a material (boat would distort and the seams would open which would cause it to sink)
-Would've sprung hundreds of leaks
-Noah would've struggled to get all those animals on a fleet of arks
-The flood would have left very large signature all over the world
-Would've required 5 times the water in the oceans
-40 days and 40 nights of raining is not enough water
-With all the water we have, we would still not have enough
-There is not enough water inside the earth because it would've made the crust quick sand
-Amount of water it takes to flood the planet would've changed the atmosphere
-There would've been a huge amount of water vapor in the atmosphere which would cause you to drown
-The atmospheric pressure caused by these conditions would have made your lungs collapse
-Gysers pump out huge amounts of noxious sulfric rich gases, so much that even before the flood, you wouldn't been able to breath
-1,000 mile wide comet (size of Brazil) could have flooded the earth, but would force the temperture of the atmosphere to rise to 12,000 degrees F/ would cause massive shockwaves/ destruction of forests and the extinction of the planet (would be like the comet that supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs)
-There has been no evidence found (could be because wood rots in a matter of centuries)
-God condemns inbreeding, but the animals and people would have to

And now the true story (or atleast what could have happened)
The ark was smaller then what the Bible says. God also buts in another instruction to Noah. He says take 7 pairs of clean animals (Bible lists 10, so that would be 140). He then says take 1 pair of impure animals and birds (Bible lists around 30, so that brings the total to 200). And lastly he say, take 7 pairs of clean birds (Bible lists 30, so that is only 260 animals). That way it is more believable.
The story probably from Sumeria (modern day Iraq). Noah was probably a buisness man. He had a boat instead of an ark. He was the King of the city. He was having a banquet on the day of the flood. A tropical storm started in the mountains. Since Noah already had the boat, or barge, he just loaded the animals on it. The storm lasted 7 days (Babolynian records). They didn't see land for at least 7 days.
The water in which they were in was said to be salty (gives proof of being in the Persian Gulf). So they drank beer (which was made of 98% water). Noah couldn't return to his homeland because of the debt he gained. He had to flee the country.

Sorry for the length, but I'm pretty sure I covered everything. So now I would like to hear what you guys have to say about this, I'm I right or I'm I completely off course?

River

Noah's ark is located on Mt. Judi

This is fact.


---River

River

The Narration of the Flood Contained in the Qur'an.

The Qur'an gives a general version which is different from that contained in the Bible and does not give rise to any criticisms from a historical point of view.

It does not provide a continuous narration of the Flood. Numerous suras talk of the punishment inflicted upon Noah's people. The most complete account of this is in sura 11, verses 25 to 49. Sura 71, which bears Noah's name, describes above all Noah's preachings, as do verses 105 to 115, sura 26. Before going into the actual course taken by events, we must consider the Flood as described in the Qur' an by relating it to the general context of the punishment God inflicted on communities guilty of gravely infringing His Commandments.

Whereas the Bible describes a universal Flood intended to punish ungodly humanity as a whole, the Qur'an, in contrast, mentions several punishments inflicted on certain specifically defined communities.

This may be seen in verses 35 to 39, sura 25:
"We gave Moses the Scripture and appointed his brother Aaron with him as vizier. We said: Go to the people who have denied Our signs. We destroyed them completely. When the people of Noah denied the Messengers, We drowned them and We made of them a sign for mankind. (We destroyed the tribes) of Âd and Tamud, the companions of Rass and many generations between them. We warned each of them by examples and We annihilated them completely."

Sura 7, verses 59 to 93 contains a reminder of the punishments brought upon Noah's people, the Âd, the Tamud, Lot (Sodom) and Madian respectively.

Thus the Qur'an presents the cataclysm of the Flood as a punishment specifically intended for Noah's people: this is the first basic difference between the two narrations.

The second fundamental difference is that the Qur'an, in contrast to the Bible, does not date the Flood in time and gives no indication as to the duration of the cataclysm itself.

The causes of the flooding are roughly the same in both narrations. The Sacerdotal description in the Bible (Genesis 7, 11) cites two causes which occurred simultaneously. "On that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened." The Qur'an records the following in verses 11 and 12, sura 54:

"We opened the Gates of Heaven with pouring water. And We caused the ground to gush forth springs, so the waters met according to the decree which has been ordained."

The Qur'an is very precise about the contents of the Ark. The order God gave to Noah was faithfully executed and it was to do the following:

--sura 11, verse 40:
"(In the Ark) load a pair of every kind, thy family, save this one against whom the word has already gone forth, and those who believe. But only a few had believed with him."

The person excluded from the family is an outcast son of Noah. We learn (sura 11, verses 45 and 46) how Noah's supplications on this person's behalf to God were unable to make Him alter His decision. Apart from Noah's family (minus the outcast son), the Qur'an refers to the few other passengers on board the Ark who had believed in God { Maurice Buccaile}

HaysooChreesto!

River, that's interesting. I've never read the Qu'ran before so to hear it's tale of Noah's flood is intriguing.
Thanks for the variety if nothing else. I was about to half heartedly suggest a ban on the Noah's Flood subject as it's been done to death and been so thoroughly debunked so many times over that it's... Suffice it to say that horse is dead, thoroughly beaten, and was hauled off to the rendering plant a long time ago.

I have a question though. Who are the "we" referred to in the Qu'ran, e.g. "We opened the gates of Heaven". Are these angels or is Allah referring to himself in some plural way? Thanks.

Spanky

And didn't the Babylonians (sp?) also have the "myth" of the ark and the flooding of the earth. It must be true then if there are three sources to confirm the veracity of the story .


Can you ellaborate on this affirmation. How are there 254 versions? I only knew of 2 until River "enlightened" me.

funinspace

Yeah, but it came from the Sumerians...Gilgamesh's flood. And our copies come on clay from circa 2000BC from the later Akkadians(sp?). Giglamesh was a Sumerian King around 2600-2800 BC, archeologists assume that the epics about him came later.

River,

Just what are the sources for this "fact" of an Ark?

DK

fallingblood

Many nations had versions of the flood story. The first being the Sumerian one, the epic of Gilgamesh. The reason there are so many flood stories is because ancient civilizations were set up near rivers. Rivers flood annually. But a world wide flood would be impossible.

River

thanks ...

As far as I know the word " We" usually implies that the angels had an active role via G-d's Will. For example even in the Creation process...G-d says "We created man from..." This is because the angel Gabriel was given the instruction to collect "the finest hues from all corners of the Earth"....this " mass of earth/clay " was later brought to Paradise where it was given life. Then we see that G-d said "I" ..."I blew the Spirit into Adam"....( this is important because the angels were not responsible for taking G-d's Spirit and placing it into Adam and Hawaa/Eve...)

---River

River

While it might be an inherent bias on my part....this is the source for the "fact"

[Holy Quran 11:44 ]

Then the word went forth: "O earth! swallow up thy water, and O sky! Withhold (thy rain)!" and the water abated, and the matter was ended. The Ark rested on Mount Judi, and the word went forth: "Away with those who do wrong!"


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I've noticed that CNN had reported recently that there will be an expensive "Noahs Ark Expedition" some time this year. Traditionally people have always searched for "Noah's Ark" in the Arafat plains/range according to the verses in the Bible. Though , the Quran is very specific and states the exact mountain where the Ark has rested. I believe it would be more productive for the archaeologists to investigate "Mt Judi" before trying the other mountains in the Arafat series of mts....


---River

fallingblood

I highly doubt anyone will ever find the ark as I don't believe the ark was as it is described in the Bible. Plus wood decomposes in a relatively short time.