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June 9, 2004 The first thing we need to realize about the Bible, especially the Old Testament is that it wasn't written in English. The Old Testament was written in an ancient form of Hebrew. Something is always lost in translation and so modern readers will never be able to get a perfect interpretation of what the original writers actually meant. For instance the measurements of Noah's ark are given in modern translations of the Bible in feet and inches. These are only approximate. Keep these facts in mind as you read this fascinating article. Okay, on with the show. Most fundamentalists consider the story of Noah and the Flood to be quite literal, but most other people including scholars and academics recognize it as only an ancient myth. One reason for this is because at least two other ancient myths from the Middle East exist which describe a giant flood. One is the Epic of Gilgamesh and the other is the story of Ziusudra who also builds an ark. The word "ark" simply means "box." One translator even called it a barge which is probably more accurate because of all the cargo it had to hold. Be that as it may these stories describe a similar cataclysmic event that happened 7000 - 8000 years ago in the Middle East. This is where modern technology enters the picture. Two geophysicists named William Ryan and Walter Pitman have discovered evidence of a giant flood of epic proportions that happened 7600 years ago in the region known today as the Black Sea. They speculated that an ancient shoreline existed under the current sea level. Using sound waves and coring devices they probed the sea floor and eventually discovered evidence that the Black Sea had once been a vast freshwater lake lying hundreds of feet below the level of the world's rising oceans. Briefly, the theory of Ryan and Pitman is that the Black Sea was once isolated from the Mediterranean by a narrow strip of land and that the level of the Mediterranean was much lower than it is today because of the last Ice Age. That meant that the Black Sea was below "sea level." When the world's oceans began rising because the icecaps were melting there would have been many places where ocean water encroached on dry land and filled previously empty basins or enlarged freshwater lakes by breaching natural dikes and other narrow strips of land. This is probably what happened in the Black Sea. As the Mediterranean continued to rise it eventually flowed over the top of the narrow isthmus separating the two bodies of water and created a huge cataract cascading down into the Black Sea Basin. The result would have been catastrophic to anyone living along the ancient shoreline of the Black Sea. Ryan and Pitman estimate that the water level would have risen several inches per hour over many days and months. This sudden influx of salt water and the rising water level would have destroyed or displaced all life on the ancient shores of the lake and would have killed any freshwater species living in the lake which had been used as food by the people living there. To the people living along the ancient shoreline it would have seemed like a huge flood had indeed "covered the whole earth." They fled this deluge and ended up traveling as far away as Western Europe, Central Asia, China, Egypt and the Persian Gulf region and they took their culture with them. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Deluge of Ziusudra and Noah's Ark are all mythic tales passed down from generation to generation commemorating this epic event. If this event happened 7600 years ago then we know there were active cultures and even villages and agriculture. The earliest account of the Noah story was probably written about 3,000 years ago and so the story of the great flood could easily have been in circulation for many centuries before it was actually written down. It probably passed through many different languages also before being written down. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in an early Semitic language related to Hebrew but the point is that separate languages contribute to confusion about original intent. By the time the story gets to modern readers the meaning and intention of the original writers could easily have been lost or at best changed and embellished. In most Mesopotamian mythology the purpose of the flood story seems to be mainly to report a disastrous event. The flood was clearly perceived as an epic, life-changing divide in human history. The flood itself is seen as a unique natural event caused by capricious gods. The gods themselves have feeble reasons for causing such a catastrophe such as that people are too noisy or to control overpopulation. However, in the Noah story there is a much clearer message even though the framework is similar. First of all the writers of Genesis are trying to contain two very different ideologies: the old pantheism and the new monotheism. The idea that there is only one God, that he is almighty, purposeful and good and he wants a direct, personal relationship with humans is a new idea. The people in Genesis are described as being distincly immoral so that their sin is specifically a moral transgression against God. The magnitude of the flood displays the omnipotent nature of God but in the aftermath he smells the sweet aroma of Noah's burnt offering and promises never to destroy the world again with a huge flood. He exhibits the intimate nature of a personal God who genuinely cares about his people. This theme is reiterated over and over throughout the Bible which clearly demonstrates the difference between the religion of the ancient Hebrews and all other religions. And we know where that led to, don't we? ------------ About the author Keith Cantrell: I am a native Oregonian who lives in a small Oregon town. I was raised as a fundamentalist but lately have been exploring other spiritual options. I am curious by nature and constantly ask questions about people's beliefs which really irritates some people. I have been in the military, taught school, worked in construction, and many other odd jobs in my life. Currently I am a teacher, artist, musician and writer. My wife and I have 4 grandchildren and another one on the way. I have just completed my first book called "The World's Most Dangerous Book" but it has not been published yet. It is about the origins of the Bible and the reason it has influenced Western Society more than any book ever written. I love talking to various people from all walks of life about the meaning of life and why they believe what they do. Drop me a line! Email: kwcantrell@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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