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God’s biggest fail in the Bible is Noah’s Ark and…

5 years ago • April 15, 2021 • by ourCOG

I have an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary and I respect the work of people like Cornelius Van Til. About 2 years ago I had a Spiritual Awakening that resulted in renouncing my Christian faith. It is now difficult for me to understand how such smart, educated people can embrace beliefs like a literal Noah’s Ark and Flood. I am a teacher and my school is closed so I am taking some time to write out my new conclusions about some of these topics. I honestly welcome your feed back and would like to understand how so many of your are able to embrace beliefs like this.

People often ask me what caused me to lose my Christian faith. It was Noah’s Ark. Noah’s Ark just seemed increasingly absurd to me. But for years I dismissed it as a secondary issue and explained it with ‘God can do anything’. But other doubts began to emerge and multiply. Finally, after Kissy and I were married, I decided I needed to resolve these doubts. Noah’s Ark bothered me the most so I started with it. And the more I studied the more problems that I discovered and they had widespread theological implications. This post is the product of years of thought. It helps me to get it out of my head and in writing. It also gives me a reference to provide people who want to know why I think Noah is a myth. I am also writing this for the 30 year old me out there and hoping to save that person a lot of wasted time and to allow them to get on with their personal spiritual journey.

God’s biggest fail in the Bible is Noah’s Ark and the Flood. And it caused me to lose my Christian faith. A very kind, generous, and well-intended Christian friend gave my family some …

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Discussion

51 comments

  1. Javier Ortiz says:
    March 24, 2020 at 11:35 am

    I’m sorry bro . But Noah is irrelevant to what Jesus has done . It has no matter to our faith . The importance is the gospel .

    Reply
  2. Jackson Lim says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:02 pm

    There are thousands of cultures around the world with flood stories, even those havent read the Bible yet. You were not the 1st to question the authencity of Noah’s account and yet for hundred of years it has been defended. So clearly you havent done your researches. Say for example Ron Wyatt’s discovery of the actual ark. In can be hoax but for a man of like him, with reputation as solid as stone, he could have really pin pointed the ark. Archeologist are now there with 0 news being released.

    Centuries ago, they said that Pilate never really existed, now they began to dug authentic relics from Pilate’s reign. They said Caiaphas never really existed, now they were able to dug his tomb. There are tons of account now proving the authencity of the Bible as science points to God, not the other way around.

    Reply
  3. Matthew Shepperson says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    Evidence of the flood are to be found on every continent. Layers and layers of sediments. And with the fossils in them proof of a catastrophic flood. Noah did obviously not take every animal on board but one of each specie. Pity that you are not able to comprehend the feasibility of such an event.

    Reply
  4. Isaiah Su says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    Have you watch @Kent Hovind on his theory on the flood? I believe this will help you think about your doubt against God’s word. Bless you brother.

    Reply
  5. Harold Goldman says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    It boils down to this and this alone if Christ rose from the dead then Christianity is true

    Reply
  6. Donovan Loreman says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:41 pm

    Your first mistake was not in believing in Jesus, it was that you expect 3 million different species to be on the ark. Secondly you assume full grown animals. Thirdly, you assume they were awake their normal amount of time. Assuming incorrectly can lead to incorrect results. Which is what you have done. You assume everything will be according to what you know now. There is more proof and evidence of a global flood than the entirety of evolution. I used to believe in evolution. But the evidence for creation is so overwhelming it can not be ignored once you see it.

    Reply
  7. Erin Huminski says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:50 pm

    As I do agree that the base of the story is hard to grasp. My family and I will talk about Noah and how tragic it was. However I want to ask some questions. First you are assuming that every living creature that we have currently was also there in the time of Noah. Correct? Also isn’t it possible that all the continents were still together? Also Mount Everest isn’t as old as the flood is. So you do have holes in your theory.

    Reply
  8. Austin Garey says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:51 pm

    If only you knew the timing of it all…how it lines up with the Jewish feasts. They came out on the feast of firstfruits(the new beginning) with 8 people the number of new beginnings and christ as christ is our ark. There is plenty more. This story is rich with truths

    Reply
  9. Luzviminda Damance says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:52 pm

    I don’t think he’s really a true believer.

    Reply
  10. Naathan Lewis says:
    March 24, 2020 at 12:53 pm

    I’m not sure what’s so far-fetched about it. Geological evidence of a global flood is literally everywhere. I even recently read a secular article stating that “New discoveries show that Earth was at one point completely submerged in water.”

    The Catastrophic Plate Tectonics theory is the best explanation of the fossil record and why our planet looks the way it does.

    As for as the Ark itself, when you see tons of adult animals crammed into the ark of course it seems absurd.

    Hear me out on this. The animals would have been very young, thus taking up less space and requiring far less food. It wouldn’t have had to be every species either, but every “kind” of animal. The different kinds would have been able to create all the various species relatively quickly. Speciation can happen in a matter of a few generations.

    Reply
  11. Roger Haefer says:
    March 24, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    Christopher R Heasty I’m not sure why you use the first two arguments, those are generally not criticisms used by those with any degree of Biblical knowledge. The multiple species that exist today descended from a much smaller number through micro evolution. It’s highly unlikely that full grown mammoths and brontosaurus were on the Ark, only babies. The animals didn’t have to be fed if God placed them in a state of hibernation and preserved them like He did with Moses during his months on Sinai with no food or water. Today there is insufficient air and extremely low temperature at the top of the highest mountains, but during the flood the tops of the mountains were at sea level. I believe there is sufficient water in the clouds, ice caps, and underground to cover the mountains, but no one knows how much water is underground so that’s just opinion one way or another, no scientific evidence can be provided. The ice age joined the continents to allow for animal migration, remembering cold weather Malamutes and little hairless hot weather dogs are known to have came from the same species in only hundreds of years, you’re not including micro evolution in your view. The animals left the Ark the same way they entered, Noah didn’t go out and get them, God controlled them. While the land was drying there was sufficient time for grass to grow, I’ve planted various types of grass in the spring and harvested it that same summer. If grass was sufficient nourishment prior to the fall it could have sustained life after the fall under divine intervention. God is not even capable of murdering people, He could only murder another God, but He is the only God who ever existed or will ever exist. Also, death came through Adam rather than God. God is the righteous Judge, the physical judgment of the Flood is minor compared to God’s judgment at the Great White Throne. Even human governmental authorities judge people for their actions, if judgment by authority is always a bad thing picture what society would be like if we released all criminals from prisons and eliminated all laws and police. Judgment is not a moral wrong, not judging evil is the moral wrong.
    As John stated, if you were one of us you would not have gone out from us, but you went out, showing you were not really of us. The Bible persents perseverance as evidence of election, meaning nonperserverance is evidence that a person is not one of the elect. Remember Pascal’s Wadger, you have nothing to offer as a meaningful replacement for Theism, so why do you desire to destroy faith in Christ?

    Reply
  12. Keith A. Smith says:
    March 24, 2020 at 1:18 pm

    You don’t ‘try’ Christianity; it’s not snack cakes. In fact, it’s not even an ‘it,’ it’s a HIM. You follow Jesus because of what He did for us, and let Him answer your questions along the way. Rejecting His offer to be forgiven, and refusing to allow Him to move into your heart is the only “unforgivable sin.” Don’t lose your eternity squabbling over data points.

    Reply
  13. Andrew Forderhase says:
    March 24, 2020 at 1:35 pm

    Im sorry but that’s not real reason to lose one’s christian faith.

    If the arc story ended up being not historical, this might be awkward or inconvenient for christians, but it is by no means some foundational piece upon which everything else stands.

    Simply put; Christ’s work on the Cross is not contingent upon the historical accuracy/reliability of the story of Noah’s Arc.

    Don’t use Noah’s Arc as a pretext for a rejection of Christianity

    Reply
  14. Glenn Gerlach says:
    March 24, 2020 at 1:55 pm

    I don’t think your problem is theological at all; it sounds like you simply want people to believe like you do. If you’ve resolved the doubts you’ve had for your own sake, what’s it to you what others believe?

    Reply
  15. Ken Cliffe says:
    March 24, 2020 at 1:58 pm

    And if scientists discover that there really was a flood and archeologists discover the ark…will you come running or crawling back…???

    Reply
  16. Sam Sears says:
    March 24, 2020 at 2:41 pm

    even if Noah was a myth of some sort, it doesn’t logically follow that there is no God, or that Jesus didn’t exist, or wasn’t God. The only things you would need to logically reject is either a certain interpretation of Genesis and / or the infallibility of scripture.

    Reply
  17. Sam Sears says:
    March 24, 2020 at 2:41 pm

    Also Van Til? So I take it you were trained with Pressupposastionalism in mind? That might be a part of the issue, as it has some inherent logical problems.

    Reply
  18. Chris Hutchinson says:
    March 24, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    I have to say I read this and it amazes me how anyone can have such a twisted ignorant view of the flood. What makes it worse is you claimed you used to be a Christian. Then there is the fact you claim you had a spiritual awakening? To what? To atheism? You are aware that is a logical fallacy? You had a spiritual awakening to the fact there is no spiritual world? But even your method of thinking is hypocritical. If I counter with the same way of thinking with let’s say the fact of Jesus. There is not one recognised ancient historical institution that denies Jesus existence. There by your logic could the rest of the bible just not be true and beyond our level of knowledge?? Ps I suggest you check out answers in Genesis. They have answered basically all of your first questions. And actually built a visual representation of how possible it is.

    Reply
  19. Zach Payne says:
    March 24, 2020 at 3:00 pm

    I would suggest watching people like kent hovind or ken ham but first do you not know of the other flood legends? Over 300 stories of a global flood with a small family surviving by building a boat. There has to be some truth based on that alone. Unless you wish to discredit almost every ancient nation, which would be highly ignorant.

    Reply
  20. Zach Payne says:
    March 24, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    Also to become a Christian you need to have had an encounter with Jesus. That’s what truly draws you to accepting salvation. You are willing to give up everything because of Noah’s ark story? Tells me you weren’t really in it to begin with. Let God handle your hard questions. I hope you decide to truly follow Jesus.

    Reply
  21. David Payne says:
    March 24, 2020 at 3:29 pm

    This is where theres a difference here between fact and truth. Fact is a global flood, given physics and laws of the universe is an impossibility. However, the truth is that at the time of the great flood, that was the world as they knew it. The animals were animals within their region of the world. To them, outside of their known flooded world didnt matter, humans were still very much a tribal people at this time in history so the things they cared about then are vastly different than what we care about now.

    Reply
  22. Marlene Ferguson says:
    March 24, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    Too bad you didn’t take science for your undergrad at a secular institution, like I did. I found out in Geology, that the rocks are dated by the plants and animals. I found out in Biology the plants and animals are dated by the rocks. That unpalatable taste of circular logic, sent me looking for something better.

    I read a lot of Flood geology, and did more science research, concluded something created the universe. But who? Well, God reached out and showed me it was Jesus that created everything, and saved me at the same time.

    Humanities simply tear you away from God. Oh, I have an MDiv from CSBS, and working on a PhD from another theological institute. The more I study science, the more it confirms God is real. I don’t need that science background, but you obviously do, to lose your faith so easily, when the answers are everywhere.

    Reply
  23. Richard Rosas says:
    March 24, 2020 at 4:10 pm

    That was your big Hang-up???? Let’s think logically here for a minute. If what you’re saying is true; your hang-up was the account of the ark can’t be true…wouldn’t your hang-up have to be, “I don’t believe God spoke all things into existence”?

    If God speaking all things into existence from nothing is true (which I believe it is), why do you find the account of the Ark to be problematic?

    Reply
  24. Andre Jansen says:
    March 24, 2020 at 4:34 pm

    A spiritual awakening that causes a person to renounce his faith in God then seeking attention by questioning the bible…very demonic and very arrogant to think it would not be noticed,brethren hold know threat is what the enemy thinking because we not as one

    Reply
  25. Tricia Laboy says:
    March 24, 2020 at 4:59 pm

    Sad that u allowed what u think get in the way of what really is..but God said in the end times there will be a great falling away..the love of many will wax cold. One of the biggest goals of Satan is to TRY and prove God and His Word is “just a myth” I will say this…u have ur choice to believe or not..we allllll do..we can make our choices but not consequences..and well..least when u stand before God u cant say u never knew..bc u did..u just chose to not believe.

    Reply
  26. Michael Connolly says:
    March 24, 2020 at 5:11 pm

    If you read his article, his issue is not with Noah’s ark but in God’s right to judge all by drowning.

    Reply
  27. Jesus Pascal Nnchedonna says:
    March 24, 2020 at 5:17 pm

    Smiles… Anyone who doesn’t believe in Noah’s ark doesn’t believe in salvation and judgement of God.

    Think again

    Reply
  28. Paul Gray says:
    March 24, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    The dimensions used in scripture for the ark height x width x depth are the same as used by ship builders today. There are three distinct skull types in humans( chimps, apes , fake missing links don’t count ). Mongoloid, Africanus or negroid, and caucasiod just so happens that Noah had three sons Shem, Ham, Japheth. One went to the east (Asians), one to the north (Europeans)and one to the south (Africa). All others are combinations of the three.?

    Reply
  29. Mark Lombard says:
    March 24, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    Wow, these arguments are extremely weak. I have heard many possibilities and scientific facts that suggest that these events are true. However, it is understood, after dealing with many atheists over the years, that no amount of evidence proving the probability of the flood or Noah’s ark will sway disbelief. They are blinded by the god of this world. It is only by faith one can see truth unadulterated. It is God that gives light to the the blind and can quicken the dead. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

    Reply
  30. Jim DeRicci says:
    March 24, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    There is an extraordinary amount of scientific data that proves Noah’s Ark. And the story of the flood happened exactly the way it is written in The Bible. Try visiting the Ark. Encounter in Kentucky and you will see the evidence firsthand. I urge you to do your homework before rejecting The Bible based on this one true story.

    Reply
  31. Donald G. Frazier says:
    March 24, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    Well, it seems he’s playing the avoidance game with me so I will just point this out. He states that it was the story of the ark that led him away from Christianity. So apparently, Jesus walking on water, healing the sick and raising the dead he accepted, along with the virgin birth, the staff turning in to a snake, the transfiguration…but THIS made up his mind? Then if you read the end of his post he talk’s about the 30 year old self he is trying to save so he can continue on with his “spiritual journey.” This presumes that he has gotten on with a spiritual journey of sorts. So I asked him what that journey was and what evidence he had for it. As you can imagine he would not answer. Ask him about his spiritual journey and see if it is anymore provable than the ark. There’s the Achilles heal. This is trolling with an agenda.

    Reply
  32. Steven Moncus says:
    March 24, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    The Ark was built on the same ratio that modern cargo ships are built on. How did Moses know how to build a sea worthy boat when no one was building them back then? The Jews were not mariners. They got the Phoenicians to handle their over sea trading.

    Reply
  33. Brent Waters says:
    March 24, 2020 at 9:41 pm

    There’s evidence for Noah’s ark and the flood

    Reply
  34. Bobby Michaels says:
    March 24, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    Is there a reason the picture shows the ark quite small and overcrowded. A picture speaks a thousand words. No reason to even read the article.

    Reply
  35. James King says:
    March 24, 2020 at 10:23 pm

    Respectfully, you can believe what you will. And deny what you will. I can do. The sovereignty and the authority of the scriptures stand firm . And it has since 2000 years ago. Gods sos is sound . If there is any failure , it always falls to man and never to God. For me , if I kick Cod to the curb , they do not make Him any less God as the life giver and the creator. The Noah story is what it is . Not understanding that ought not cause one to lose their faith in God . To lose it is never to have it the first place. We do not understand everything but our faith in God ought not sway. Bible teaches , “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god and how can one hear except there be a preacher. “ so , sir read the whole word and believe that it is the infallible word of god . Gods word do not change even if we do not understand it all. There is one thing and if not two that is problematic for man. Unbelief /rejection of the truth and blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Both can secure one a space next to satan, the ceo of evil, inc. ?⚔️

    Reply
  36. Dale Johnson says:
    March 24, 2020 at 10:54 pm

    Your research is a God with limited attributes. Also you say the polar bears walked from the artic. Funny. Noah took 2 of each kind. 2 bears that represent all species. Good luck had nothing to do with Gods creation or Noah. The world is covered 70% in water but your idea of a limited God could not cover the remainder or dispose. Your analysis is full of holes. Sorry but this is a pathetic attempt to discredit our all powerful creator by someone with too much pride.

    Reply
  37. Jerry Basiao says:
    March 24, 2020 at 11:01 pm

    I dont know why this guy has a problem with Noah’s ark…he has no problem how man and woman evolved for billions of years to be perfectly fit for procreation.

    Reply
  38. Grant Reedy says:
    March 24, 2020 at 11:07 pm

    For someone claiming to be educated, certainly wasn’t demonstrated at any point.
    Claiming to be Evangelical carries no value or authority, as many who claim God/Christ, have no knowledge of God regardless.

    My advise is to think a little deeper and gain some knowledge of the scriptures and validate God for yourself.

    Reply
  39. Jesse Johnson says:
    March 24, 2020 at 11:49 pm

    This article is a prime example of putting God in a tight little box of narrow-minded limitations, then refusing to look beyond those assumptions. Case in point:
    //Then the carnage begins. The lions eat the gazelles and the tigers consume the pigs. The owls snap up the mice and the hawks snatch the rabbits.//
    In this case, the author draws a big circle around all the animals within the ark and says that they can only eat each other. We are only allowed to assume that the only possible food sources for the predators would be the weaker animals that were on the ark. Don’t think beyond that! They could have only eaten each other therefore the Bible must not be true! I ask you one question:
    Do cats and birds of prey eat fish? Yes. They do. So why is it so hard for people who seek to disprove the flood to imagine an alternative food source? Because they don’t WANT the Bible to be true. They don’t want to believe God judged the world because they don’t want God to judge THEM. Their intellectual objection stems from a deep seated emotional objection that clouds their intellect. That’s why a man who is too short sighted to see fish as an alternative food source foolishly assumes he can judge God in a matter which the said man lacks the ability to comprehend.

    Reply
  40. Dennis Lee says:
    March 25, 2020 at 12:04 am

    You are going to throw away years of work and study over just one subject in the Bible? In all your years of study have you not researched all the apologetics that is saturated throughout all the scriptures? I, as dedicated apologetic can literally show you tens of thousands of strong evidence that show the impossibility for man to have written the Bible without Divine inspiration and guidance. By the way, the historian Josephus claimed to know where some of the remains of the ark was!
    Hardly any respectable atheist or critic try to deny the historical existence of Christ, way too much secular proof. Those same writings that proclaim His existence, testify of His miracles! How could any just any mortal man perform the many miracles the secular and Christian writings claim. This alone proves the existence of God!

    Reply
  41. Ryan Hunt says:
    March 25, 2020 at 12:15 am

    Sorry, I can even get through your logical problems without seeing huge holes. Waters above the mountains would mean sea level is also above them—air would not be thin. You way overestimate kinds of animals. Animals can hibernate; supernatural? Maybe, but animals do all kinds of weird things before natural disasters. Not enough water? Prove it. Latest theory says there’s water under the earths crust. Glaciers, clouds, etc.. You lost your faith because it was not in Jesus.

    Reply
  42. Carl Mason says:
    March 25, 2020 at 1:01 am

    it’s sad you’d let such a minor thing rob you of your faith, I’d suggest you never had a faith to begin with.

    Reply
  43. Joel Postma says:
    March 25, 2020 at 2:19 am

    The OP is written very much unlike the person you describe yourself to be. Not one example, not one detail. Just rant.

    Reply
  44. Erin Huminski says:
    March 25, 2020 at 5:34 am

    Anyone else realize that the guy who created this post isn’t defending why he thinks this? I see many comments asking him questions that go against his article and no response. His theory has holes yet he doesn’t debate with anyone who brings up these inconsistencies ?‍♀️

    Reply
  45. Jeremy Dipietro says:
    March 25, 2020 at 5:57 am

    In my humble opinion sir. That was no AWAKENING. NO in fact what it was is your way of believing the enemies whispers. Whether u see it or anyone else sees but I see it. Your not the only person who hears the accusations and the has doubts. But to go so far as to renounce your glory?? Not wise repent of this my dude.

    Reply
  46. Herb Van Schoick says:
    March 25, 2020 at 9:17 am

    God doesn’t fail…we fail to believe his word which can have terrible results

    Reply
  47. Raul Matsuda Renteria says:
    March 25, 2020 at 1:02 pm

    Christopher R Heasty do you really think that your thoughts on the flood is what really caused you to as you say renounce your faith and why? And also do you believe you had faith to begin with?

    Reply
  48. Tom de Lacey says:
    March 26, 2020 at 3:19 am

    It’s really sad you’ve rejected the Christian faith along with Van Til et al. I read your Galileo post and as “an intellectual” it’s left you with nothing. With no explanation of reality, of the past or future, of why anything exists. With no purpose.You could just as easily apply ‘your logic’ to creation, to miracles, to resurrection, to life after death. There’s no end to it. In your mind nothing is reallly real. Like yourself I was influenced by Van Til & the WTS. Like yourself I drifted away from God and the Bible. I came out of the ministry. But God didn’t let me go. I started on a quest not to explain the Ark but to find God “if he existed”. I started to attend a church with liturgical worship. Sunday by Sunday I sat there seeing the Gospel presented to me. It began with confession of our sins and hearing the gracious words of Jesus forgiveness and then His invitation to join with these people at His Table – to eat with Him – not as a stranger but as a friend. Slowly, over 4 years my heart was moved with the assurance of forgiveness and reconciliation. I am now re-licensed and Pastor of a congregation. Chris, is there nothing in your heart and soul which leads you to re-consider?

    Reply
  49. Bobby Pandaram says:
    March 28, 2020 at 12:02 am

    Firstly, I must start by saying that I take the flood account as historical. Secondly, i must mention that yes there are many objections to the flood account and many has been given a plausible responses. However, since we were not there, we won’t know every little detail. We are only limited to what was recorded.
    Lastly, I’m worried that your faith in GOD was affected by the flood while there is a grander reason to trust GOD. I look at tje finished work of our LORD on the cross and that is more than adequate to strengthen my faith in HIM.
    But the power of the cross is foolishness to those that don’t believe but to us, its salvation.

    Now with that said and the fact that I recognise that the New Testament writers relied and affirmed the old testament and the fact that men were carried along as they wrote scripture, I’m taking GOD in HIS word.

    I pray that you do so to. I pray that you be given the gift of faith.

    Reply
  50. Charles Baldini says:
    March 30, 2020 at 7:00 am

    Although I’m sorry to see you go,alumni (class of ‘91) I’m Glad to see the Holy Spirit actively at work in removing the chaff.

    Reply
  51. God’s biggest fail in the Bible is Noah’s Ark and… #ourCOG – ourcog says:
    April 15, 2021 at 4:00 am

    […] God’s biggest fail in the Bible is Noah’s Ark and… […]

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