A
group of “scholars” on the internet have been busily trying to “prove” that the
story of Noah’s Ark really could have been true. They have been going through incredible mathematical gyrations
to show that the number of animals aboard the vessel could have been
manageable, since many animals, such as seals and walruses, live much of their
lives in water.
The fact that such
creatures -- except for animals like whales and dolphins, for example, that
have fully adapted to water -- need to rest on dry land apparently never
figured in the equations. After 40 days
forced to float in an Earth-covering ocean, they would all be dead.
The
“scientists” also figured the size of compartments and calculated how big a
boat would have to be to accommodate the animals.
In
their haste to “prove” nonsense, however, they missed a few key points.
Dining elephant |
For
starters, the beastly passengers have to be fed. They don’t line up at buffet tables, such as
on a cruise ship. They typically eat
each other. Obviously, then, Noah and his
few companions would have been very busy divvying up food stored on board.
Modern ships have refrigeration. Noah wouldn’t have enjoyed that luxury. Sailors just 100 years ago could have told
the so-called scholars how long food lasts on a ship. The navies of the world depended on hardtack
and salted meat, almost all of it spoiled and maggot-filled on long sea
voyages.
Herbivores
also need food. Let’s see: an elephant
eats between 200 to 600 pounds of food a day.
Try keeping that fresh for 40 days. Or the tons also needed for hippos, which
live in the water but eat on dry land, as well as rhinos, giraffes, deer and
other large critters.
Then
there’s a little thing called genetics, initially understood only in the
beginning of the 20th century.
The surviving animals would have to mate with each other and their
offspring. The resulting inbreeding
would have shown up in serious illnesses and genetic weaknesses, just as it has
in humans who restrict their genetic choices.
Long way to hop |
On
top of that, there’s the obvious problem of distance. Are the scientists suggesting that two
kangaroos, for example, calmly hopped across open water from Australia, through
Asia to the Middle East to catch a ride on the Ark and then, when the boat came
to rest, hopped back? Where are the
bones left by animals that failed to complete similar journeys? Sloths probably wouldn’t get very far anyway.
Did
Noah make stops en route as animals lined up at stations? The Bible missed that
tidbit.
To
make the whole scenario even more ridiculous, the would-be scholars somehow ignored
whole sections of existing life that would have been destroyed by such a flood,
including insects, plants and bacteria.
Few species of insects live in water. Yet, there
are more of them than any other creatures on Earth. Somehow, the millions of species of beetles,
ants, worms and fleas etc. managed to stay alive amid the flood waters.
Desert blooms |
Then,
too, plants endured. Few of them can
live in water full time, especially in dry areas like deserts. As any home gardener knows, too much watering kills plants. Think what a 40-day deluge would do. Bacteria, too, overcame the obvious
saturation.
To
resolve such difficulties, “scholars” working on “proving” the existence of Noah’s
Ark proposed that the creatures somehow went to a period of suspended animation. Why not just say God can do anything? Great, He could kill everyone without a flood. Then, there would be no reason to bother with
widespread hibernation or other absurd solutions. To claim that, however, would require
ignoring everything from biology to archaeology.
Not
that it matters. Such “scholars” are motivated
solely by their beliefs. Science then
only becomes a roadblock to be avoided, not an arrow providing direction.
Real
scientists don’t have that difficulty.
They go where the research takes them.
If it contradicts beliefs, so be it.
That’s
what scares the faithful. Science, now
armed with an incredible array of instruments, has overwhelmed ancient religions
born in distant generations when knowledge was limited to the weak human
senses. That’s the real flood that
believers are trying to cope with. They
can’t, any more than they can prove that Noah’s Ark actually existed.
Long-time religious
historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history
with an occasional foray into American culture. He also speaks at various
religious organizations throughout Florida. He holds an ABD in American
Studies from Case Western Reserve University and an M.A. in communication from
Kent State University. You can reach him at wplazarus@aol.com.
He is the
author of the famed novel The Unauthorized Biography of
Nostradamus as well as The Last Testament of Simon Peter;
The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information;
Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Comparative
Religion for Dummies. His books are available on
Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers. He can also be
followed on Twitter.