I think archaeologist and geologist confirmed that Mesopotamia has suffered several floods, and at least one catastrophic one. Mesopotamia is a flatland that is trough like in nature. If information that was compiled in the book of Genesis, about the flood came from Noah, why would we expect Noah to know anything about the Earth real size and geometric shape? This is well over 4000 years ago, clearly such knowledge was not in existence at the time.
Certainly whoever wrote the flood story appears to have had no knowledge of the shape or size of the earth. I don't dispute that there may actually have been a catastrophic flood in the region of Mesopotamia on which the Gilgamesh epic, and hence the biblical account, was based.
Such knowledge could have been in existence at the time. If God authored the bible, then he could have told his people about the way the world really was. This would have distinguished the bible from other collections of myths.
It was indeed a gigantic flood, that inundated a large portion of Mesopotamia, and ark of that size seems to be appropriate,
A wooden vessel 450 feet long? It may have been appropriate but it sure as hell wouldn't have been seaworthy.
it would not be necessary for absolutely every species to be account for in the ark.
It wouldn't be necessary for any of them to be in the ark if the flood wasn't global. People must have thought it was hilarious, an old guy building a huge boat, then trying to round up examples of each species in the area and enough food to feed them all for a year. When it started raining, everyone else would just have moved to higher ground while Noah and his floating zoo drifted around Mesopotamia.
I don't necessarily hold to all the details in the flood account to be historically accurate, but generally true.
Generally true, in what sense? Obviously not in the sense that there was a global flood, or the sense that there was a 450 foot wooden boat, or the sense that it was built by four men (and their wives) over a hundred-year period, or the sense that there were two of every kind of animal aboard, or the sense that the whole human race was wiped out except for eight people. There aren't many ways left for it to be true except allegorically, which is no different from saying it's a fairy tale.
For this was not the purpose for which it was recorded. My faith is not altered in God's word. For it is clear scientific accuracy was in no way the common form of communication at the time genesis was compiled. We cannot compare our 20th century form of writting and reporting with ancient form to determine whether or not it is God's word. These were two different eras.
So how would one determine whether it was God's word. Clearly, for you, it doesn't have to be true except in some ill-dfeined "general" sense. If it's not historically accurate, how is it different from any other mythology?
The account of Adam and Eve I believe, is highly metaphorical, my reasons for this, is because of the scientific evidence which indicate organize civilization existed in the promised land many thousands of years before a literal interpretation of Genesis concerning Adam and Eve would indicate. The scientific evidence is very substantial, and after careful examination, as careful as a layman like myself can make that is. I see no reason to doubt the scientific evidence.
Again, if it's not literally true, how is it any more true than any creation myth? The rest of the Bible seems to regard Adam and Eve as real people, so much so that the chronology of Jesus in the gospels goes right back to Adam. Now, perhaps that's meant to be "metaphorical" as well, but a metaphor for what exactly?