"For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water." (Genesis 7:17-18) I watched a TV program some time back where a scale model of the ark was built and placed into a large glass water tank. As the tank gradually filled with water, the ark began to float. A device was set up to send down torrential "rains" on the model ark and it continued to float. The tank was hooked to a machine that caused it to rock back and forth to simulate stormy seas and tall waves, and still the ark floated. Gusts of air were aimed down on the ark and still it floated. The group of scientists conducting the experiment weren't seeking to prove or disprove the Biblical story of the flood; their purpose was to see whether the ark could withstand the conditions created by the flood. Their scale model passed the test with flying colors, causing them to conclude that the life sized ark would have been extremely seaworthy.
The waters continued to rise until even the mountains subsided beneath the waves. "They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits." (Genesis 7:19-20) This means that the mountain peaks were about 23 feet beneath the water's surface.
Nearly every culture in the world has a story about a worldwide flood that occurred in ancient times, a flood from which only one family was saved on a boat along with representatives of every species of land animal that existed at the time. The best and most logical explanation for the existence of a global flood story in cultures around the world is that it actually happened. The similarities in the flood legends of these cultures with the Biblical flood story can't be ignored. In the majority of these legends, God (or the "gods") forewarned one man or one family of the approaching flood because this man and his family found favor with the Higher Power during a time when man's wickedness was so great. In fact, most of these stories state that the flood was sent due to man's wickedness. The majority of these legends state that the family was saved by a boat, that representatives of every species of land animal were saved by the boat, and that the flood was a global flood. A smaller percentage of the stories include the ark coming to rest atop a mountain, a bird being sent out to find dry land, and a rainbow appearing in the sky. If as many cultures around the world had a written record of some other type of ancient disaster, most people would accept the story as fact. But because accounts of a worldwide flood match so closely with the Biblical account of the flood, many people have chosen to regard the story of a worldwide flood as a myth.
Many scientists are willing to accept the idea of a devastating regional flood but they are not willing to accept the idea of a global flood. In reading a lot of material regarding this issue, I've come to the conclusion that part of the problem is that they have a mental block when it comes to accepting proof that Biblical stories really happened. But if the flood wasn't worldwide, how can we explain the existence of flood stories from nearly every culture on earth? If the flood of Noah's day were only a local occurrence, how would someone on the other side of the world even know about it? How could a local flood attain such legendary status?
I grew up in a flood-prone region along the Clinch River in Southwest Virginia. The little town of Clinchport, which lay just outside of my very small community of Rye Cove, experienced a devastating flood in the spring of 1977. The town was essentially wiped off the map. I can remember sitting in the car with my parents on higher ground and looking down to see what had become of the town. We saw nothing standing out of the water except the tops of the tallest trees and the highest peaks of the tallest homes and businesses. Many other communities in the region suffered a great deal of property loss during this event. I can't recall whether there was also loss of life but I'd say there almost certainly was. This disaster along the Clinch River found its way into local lore, but I'd be willing to bet that very few people outside of the region ever heard of it even though it happened in modern times during the television and radio age. The story probably made the national news at the time, but have you ever heard of the Clinchport flood? Unless you're from my neck of the woods, I'm willing to bet you haven't. Thousands of years from now you won't find legends cropping up about the Clinchport flood. You won't find that the story of the Clinchport flood has grown from a regional disaster into a worldwide catastrophe myth. Why then should we believe that a local flood in Noah's time would have turned into a story of such great proportions? It wouldn't have. It didn't.
If you have the time, try googling something like "evidence for Noah's flood" and you will find articles that support a worldwide flood and articles that scoff at the idea, but it's some worthwhile reading and there is too much material online that backs up the story of Noah's flood for me to include here in our study. For the most part, the more we learn about biology and archaeology and geology, the more we find evidence supporting the stories included in the Bible. The Bible is about real people, real places, and real events. Most of all, the Bible is about a real God who is personally involved in all of our lives---a God who wants to know us and be known by us.
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