Duvenoy

And to survive it seriously over loaded, under manned, and with no means of propultion. Gimmie a break!

doov

Jeremy Pallant

Which just goes to show that logic is not a concept embraced by a fundamentalist brain.

Zadok001

Now, hold on here. First of all, I think it's possible to claim that the Flood wasn't the worst storm of all time - It was just the longest. God could make it a light drizzle, if it lasted long enough, the world would still flood. So you can set aside worries of the Ark having a very rough ride.

Once the waters got high enough, they would also be nicely flat! If I recall how the oceans work well enough, if you just had an entire world of water with no land, you wouldn't get very severe waves on the surface ('specially if God was kind enough to keep the wind down).

Additionally, remember that the Ark needs absolutely no contrivances of directional control. As a result, it can be built in VERY unorthadox ways, since it doesn't need to be able to cut through the water to any particular end. If it can just FLOAT, with no control, for long enough, everything would be ok.

I'm fairly sure one of those points changes the math here somewhat. (I'm agnostic, for the record, but I believe in giving each Bible story a fair chance. I've never really done calculations regarding the Ark, but it's important to note it doesn't have to be 'ship-shaped' at all, no pun intended. It could be a big cube.)

pz

Nope. In a mere 40 days, we supposedly had a Deluge: sufficient water falling out of the skies to drown every terrestrial feature on the planet. That's a big storm.
Nope, again. I live on the prairies, and I can tell you that when you flatten things, winds get worse. An uninterrupted expanse of sea is going to be able to build up some pretty tremendous waves.

And remember, all this water getting abruptly dumped everywhere is going to produce extreme atmospheric disturbances.

Of course, if you want to just postulate a miracle, and that god made the water magically appear and stopped every little breeze, go ahead. Just don't pretend that you are making a rational argument.
I get the impression that you've never been on a boat in your life.

Control is essential, even if you aren't trying to get anywhere. Try taking a fishing boat out to sea. They're planning to just stop somewhere and let you throw your line out, but you'll find that the captain pays a lot of attention to what the boat is doing. Let it turn parallel to the swells and waves, and things can get very nasty on board. If the weather is at all rough, you can easily be capsized.
Why, yes. That way it could just roll around to any side and still float. Never mind about ventilation, though, and the fact that you've got a couple of elephants rattling around in there like dried peas in a maraca really doesn't matter.

Jack the Bodiless

As for keeping thousands of animals in a ship with no windows:

Yes, they would soon enter a dormant state in which they would not attack each other. They would also require no food and produce no wastes. Unfortunately they would remain in this state permanently.

Unless the God who supposedly restored Jesus to life did the same thing to all those suffocated animals. But, if so, then why bother to herd them onto the Ark at all?

thebeave

Wouldn't the beavers and rats chew through the hull of the ship?

seanie

Originally posted by Zadok001:

Now, hold on here. First of all, I think it's possible to claim that the Flood wasn't the worst storm of all time - It was just the longest. God could make it a light drizzle, if it lasted long enough, the world would still flood. So you can set aside worries of the Ark having a very rough ride.

Then how come nobody else is supposed to have survived? If it was just a prolonged drizzle why didn't any other boats make it?

Once the waters got high enough, they would also be nicely flat! If I recall how the oceans work well enough, if you just had an entire world of water with no land, you wouldn't get very severe waves on the surface ('specially if God was kind enough to keep the wind down).

Wave size is determined by wind speed, wind duration and fetch. Wind speed is the result of pressure/temperature differentials. The absence of land masses would affect the wind patterns and would reduce pressure differentials. However there would still be differentials so there would still be wind. Add that to an unlimited fetch and a duration of several months and you have the potential for massive seas.

Additionally, remember that the Ark needs absolutely no contrivances of directional control. As a result, it can be built in VERY unorthadox ways, since it doesn't need to be able to cut through the water to any particular end. If it can just FLOAT, with no control, for long enough, everything would be ok.

Ships aren't the shapes they are purely in order to go places. They're also the shape they are in order to survive. You need to be a shape that cuts through the water to avoid being pummelled to smithereens or rolled in rough seas. You also need propulsion and control systems to enable you to present yourself to the prevailing sea in the right way. Any boat of any size (even an aircraft carrier or a supertanker) adrift in rough seas is in serious trouble.

However there is a way to avoid the problem of rough seas.

Maybe Noah built a very large Gopher wood submarine.

Zadok001

I would reply that since God controlled these storms, he could probably have prevented Noah's little rubber dinghy from being hit TOO hard by the storm... But then again, I'm just playing Devil's advocate (or God's advocate, no pun intended).

I honestly think the Flood story is ridiculous, though, and you guys did a fair job of tearing down my little construct. Danke!

Principia

Ah, what one could do if he were divine. But, come to think about it, why would a deity resort to a flood to destroy his own creation? Why not, poof them out of existence?

lpetrich

The Ark's overall dimensions are described as

300 cubits * 50 cubits * 30 cubits

(1 cubit ~ 1.5 ft or 0.5 m)