Agreed Caedes. They needed to explain how enough water could be stored to engulf the planet. This needed to be a large legend. It still have proven to be that - believed by billions so far.
Jeff
Is Genesis account just a myth?
by AK - Jeff 54 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Caedes
Looking at it as just an old story to explain how we got here and why we see the sun, moon, day and night, stars and rain the discrepancies make sense, If you want to make it fit the realities of the solar system, basic physics and earth's water cycle then it all starts to unravel. As just a creation myth, then it's just a nice story that makes sense from a primitive human point of view.
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Aphrodite
In a word: Yes.
Regarding the mist. If there was mist and sunshine the water would be evaporated and rise up into the sky and form clouds. The clouds when cooled become denser and the water falls from the sky. Thus we have rain. If there was moisture on the earth, there was rain. Period. You can't stop the water cycle, unless you are an all-powerfull omni-potent all-knowing god, of course and do it just for kicks.
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AK - Jeff
You can't stop the water cycle, unless you are an all-powerfull omni-potent all-knowing god, of course and do it just for kicks.
And of course that is precisely what the legend would have us accept, isn't it? Except the 'for kicks' part perhaps.
Jeff
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Aphrodite
Why would god change the laws of the universe though?
Also doesn't the scientific record show millions of years of rain erosion?
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Aphrodite
Here we go: (from http://www.physorg.com/news71418588.html )
Heavy raindrops
To determine when the Sierra rose to its current height, the scientists used an increasingly popular research tool that combines geology and chemistry to create a record of prehistoric rainfall patterns dating back millions of years. This technique relies on the fact that in nature, hydrogen and other atoms occur in different sizes called isotopes. Deuterium, for example, is a slightly heavier form of hydrogen, and drops of rainwater that contain deuterium isotopes often fall at lower elevations.
"If you have a cloud coming in and dropping out water, as it climbs the mountain its preference is to first drop the heavy water that's rich in deuterium," Chamberlain said. "As you go up in elevation, the raindrops become lighter and lighter. Therefore, the rainwater becomes gradually depleted of deuterium the higher up the mountain range it falls."
Over time, some raindrops are incorporated into molecules of clay and other minerals that form on the ground. These clays provide scientists with a geologic record of ancient precipitation, which can then be compared with samples of modern precipitation collected at the same altitude. If the comparison reveals similar isotopic ratios, then the elevation of the mountain must have been similar in ancient and modern times.
"Determining the height of a now-eroded mountain range has remained frustrating and elusive," said Graham. "Relating the isotopic composition of ancient rainfall to minerals formed in ancient soils provides a powerful way to infer those paleoelevations and is creating a burgeoning set of data from the Himalayas and Tibet, the Andes and now the Sierra Nevada. -
LouBelle
Ak-Jeff my whole take on the Genesis account is figurative - it has a deeper meaning as does every other word.
Right from the beginning:
In the beginning (what beginning? beginning of time, beginning of actual creation ... or the beginning when you perceive truth?) god created heven and earth : here we see opposites come into play. There was darkness on the face of the earth (for me meanning that there was no enlightment, no understanding) God said let there be light ---- your opposites again.....
this is difficult for me to actually type out because it's long winded - the whole opposites : man/woman,
sun/moon jacob/esau light/dark god/satan and the list goes on and on....
To get to my point quickly and painlessly - the bible is figurative and when you take it that way it makes a hellofa lot more sense.
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AK - Jeff
That is why I believe that a study of the earth's hydrology, will without fail, to create a metaphoric pun, dry up the Genesis account more quickly than all other argumentation. The water cycle has gone on unabated for eons of time - the evidence is compelling. Look at the Grand Canyon as example.
Just too much evidence that the account in Genesis is a fraud.
Jeff
Edited to add: Yes, LouBelle I agree that it must be figurative, not literal. But of course most Christians take it absolutely literally. If it is just figurative - then do you assume that it is legend of man's making? Or somehow still possesses God's wisdom?
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Aphrodite
Its interesting though AK - Jeff because I have never even thought about it before. When a witness I just assumed that mist was one thing and rain another. Really though mist is just low fine rain/cloud. Interesting that it never crossed my mind or I never let it until I read your post just now. Just one more nail in the coffin lid for my bible belief.
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LouBelle
Interesting JK - perhaps a bit of both if I can sit on the fence. It had to take an inspired man (of sorts) to be able to get chapter after chapter down keeping in mind that it was figurative and would have to be applicable for any age. I don't only look at the so called bible as inspired works - there is so much out there in the forms of books / art / anything really that it leaves you pretty much speechless. Perhaps there is a touch of divine in all of us.