Categories
World History

Results of Noah’s Flood

Noah's Ark

The Search for Noah’s Ark

Geological Changes

Humans After the Flood

Results of Noah’s Flood

The Search for Noah’s Ark

Mount Ararat has been the site of searches for Noah’s Ark especially during the last two hundred years.

The weather is hazardous there, making even scientific expeditions difficult, with snow and ice shifting over the suspected remains, and possibly shifting the remains downhill as well.

Dating wood proved unpredictable, with several different dates emerging, none of which tallied with Genesis.

All photographs of the remains show a ship, like the one pictured above. We have seen that the blueprints sketch an enclosed barge.

Some expedition results were later found to be hoaxes.

And, of course, the Bible never says the ark landed on Mount Ararat. It says the ark landed on the Mountains of Ararat.

In 2020, the Institute for Creation Research acknowledged that the ark had not been found, joining secular scientists who had reached that conclusion earlier.

Geological Changes

The story of the cataclysm fits with the shuffled and flipped and missing strata observed in many places. If there was only one continent, Pangea, which may be indicated in Genesis, a cataclysm of this enormity could explain the breaking off of smaller continents, in opposition to the theory of continental drift.

The highest of all peaks in nuclear decay (by a large margin), as well as other observations of RATE demand a recalibration of the geological table. It may even change to biblical proportions.

This, in turn, changes the dating of arts and cultures. After realizing what the cataclysm actually was, we are not surprised to find nothing of the actual first human civilization built by Cain’s descendants. It would have been near-miraculous to find identifiable remains!

When dating arts and cultures before the biblical time of the flood, one must consider if the specimen could have survived. It is so unlikely (especially cave paintings) that correct dating must be postdiluvian.

Humans After the Flood

Humans would not have dispersed as rapidly as before the flood if, as some cultural legends say, the earth’s geography was flat before the flood.

Whichever mountain the ark landed on, Noah and his family descended into the Turkey with which we are familiar. Eventually even all of Turkey would not be enough for them.

Genesis tells us that the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth wander away into different places. Japheth’s family is listed first. His descendants were mariners and therefore would have lived along the Mediterranean Sea.

Nimrod of Ham’s family was a great hunter. The sea held no interest for him. His kingdom centers were Babylonia, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in Shinar. That wasn’t enough, so he went to Assyria where he built Ninevah and three lesser cities. His prodigy would become the many tribes of Canaanites.

Shem loved the hills. Meshech’s family stayed in the hills and plateau of Turkey. Assur settled in the upper Tigris-Euphrates basin. Elam, more adventurous, travelled east of the Persian Gulf. Joktan settled in the hills of the southern Saudi Arabian peninsula near Yemen.

Not surprisingly, these are the areas where the most ancient civilization remains have been discovered.

Photo credit: photostockam on unsplash.com

Categories
World History

Noah’s Ark: a Story

hand rising from water

“How long is that crazy old coot going to stay shut up in that boat?” said Kenan.

“At least we don’t have to listen to his fanatical speeches anymore.” Javar laughed.

The friends drifted away, looking for new entertainment.

The three-story enclosed barge stood alone on the flat landscape, the only door shut.

The days passed uneventfully.

This day began with the perfect weather experienced every day. Crops grew in the field, watered by underground springs. People went about their business or pleasure.

“Kenan, look at that!” Javar pointed to the sky. “What do you reckon it is?”

A fluffy, translucent cloud stretched from horizon to horizon.

“Huh. Somethin’ new.” Jevar stared up, his hands on his hips. “Looks like it’s comin’ down from the sky.” He poked his friend in the ribs. “Gonna be interestin’ to be inside that, if it comes down this far.”

Curious. Unique. But silent, and soon forgotten.

Boom!

“What the–” Kenan jumped up from his dinner, knocking his plate to the ground. He had felt that sound vibrate wildly against his feet.

Boom!

Javar, also on his feet searched the sky, the origin of the second sound. All he saw was the gentle, fluffy cloud drifting lower, but still a long distance away.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sounding loudly from below the ground and above it, the sky and earth seemed to be answering each other.

Everything broke at once.

Earthquakes shook the ground and created great cracks. People screamed as they fell into the gaps.

Eruptions burst forth from underground.

A geyser’s spout spewed from the left of Javar. The people it caught unaware screamed as they were boiled alive.

Javar and Kenan ran in the opposite direction.

Boom! The cone of a volcano rose before them, spilling lava, scorching and roasting the humans in its way.

“Come on!” Coughing from the noxious fumes, Javar pulled Kenan at a right angle to the lava streaming toward them.

Young and fit, the men raced past most of the other people scrambling away from the volcano.

“Everything’s on fire!” shouted Kenan. His voice was lost in the booming and hissing and human screams.

The men didn’t stop at the river’s edge. Plunging into the water, they swam with strong but desperate strokes to the other side. A tall hill thrust up before them, newly made by the chaos. After a moment of shocked surprise, the men climbed to the top. From here they could watch the sea.

People racing to the river or sea did not find safety. The lava boiled the sea and evaporated much of the river. But the lava could not climb the hill. However, it set fire to the vegetation. The fire worked its way toward Kenan and Javar.

Some humans hid in their houses or caves, too crazy with fear to consider what wild animals had chosen that refuge as well. They found an unusually high tide lapping at their toes.

Suddenly a tidal wave sea reared then crashed over the land near the sea, sucking many people into the depths.

Jevan and Kenan were safe on the cliff. It was too high to be touched by the wave, but the sea sprayed over the cliff, extinguishing the fire that was reaching toward them.

But that was not the worst of the terrors.

The fluffy cloud turned dark and curled.

With the loudest sky boom yet, the cloud broke into enormous drops, deluging these people who had never experienced rain. It pelted them mercilessly. It beat them to the ground.

“The sky is falling!” They called to one another in horror.

Lightning flashed everywhere, and thunder answered like a bass drum.

In flashes of light, Kenan and Javar saw the ark begin to lift gently on the water. People near the ark slogged their way toward it, their desperate pleas for help snatched away by the wind.

The weak fell and could not get up, drowning in water or asphyxiating when those who were stronger trampled their faces into the mud.

Funnel clouds whirled over land and sea, ripping trees and houses, tossing them on the people frantic to escape.

Javar and Kenan crawled under bushes and clung to them in desperation.

The clouds of dirt and fumes from volcanos spread across the ground and were tossed upward by violent winds. The darkness grew from earth to sky, meeting the storms blocking out the friendly stars.

In the darkness, all sight of the ark was lost.

The people were lost.

Lost.

Photo credit: Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash

Categories
World History

Surviving Noah’s Flood

Noah's Ark illustration

Who Survived the Cataclysm?

How Did They Survive?

Description of an Ark

The Disappearance of Dinosaurs

Description of Noah’s Ark

What Noah’s Ark Was Not

What Happened During the Voyage?

Post-Cataclysm Changes

The Rainbow

Surviving Noah’s Flood

In almost all cultures, there were survivors of the cataclysm. When humans did not survive, a god would throw stones that turned into people or use other means to restart the human race.

Following the rule of the majority, we must ask who survived and how.

Who Survived the Cataclysm?

The most and oldest reports describe a Noah-like character who survives with his family. Some cultures even specify three sons.

The next most popular legend is that a brother and sister survive. After the flood they must get a special dispensation from the gods to marry. Otherwise, there will be no more humans.

The odd stories include the survival of two men (how does that work out?) or a group of people larger than one family.

How Did They Survive?

Legends describe a variety of survival strategies.

In legends that say one mountain peak remained above water, the survivors fled there.

There are a variety of escape crafts.

One legend says people escaped in wooden houses that floated on the flood. It sounds to me like they would not remain upright in a storm.

In two tales, people escaped sealed in a gourd. That sounds like asphyxiation to me.

Three times the survivors are described as escaping sealed in a tree or log. There’s little air there either.

Four times, people are described as escaping by raft. Can you imagine surviving many days in the storm we talked about last time? Maybe the raft would, but people would surely be washed overboard.

Now, let’s look at the more sensible ideas.

Two sources state the survivors escaped in a chest or box. As long as they have air holes and the box is made of wood, it’s possible. The size and shape of the box would be big factors in success.

Eleven tales say people escaped in a boat, ship, or canoe. Sorry, but a canoe is not going to make it through a cataclysm. A boat is a general term. A ship is large and made for traveling seas and oceans.

Surprisingly, four legends use the same word: ark.

Description of an Ark

I was sixty-nine years old and had heard the story of Noah’s Ark all of my life when I thought to ask myself, “Does the word ‘ark’ mean anything specific?”

To my surprise, it does!

An ark is a strongbox or sturdy chest in which one’s most precious treasures are protected.

Noah’s ark was a ship-sized treasure chest whose purpose was to protect God’s greatest treasures from the cataclysm. Those treasures were the righteous Noah and his family!

For the family’s survival after the flood, animals were invited onto the ship also.

I must admit that tales trying to be both “biblical” and “scientific” slip into ridiculousness, as is often the case. In one, the mammoth was too big to enter the ark so it sat on top. That’s not going to work.

In another story, the dinosaur swam behind. That was a very long swim.

The Disappearance of Dinosaurs

Let’s digress a moment and answer a question that has been nagging at us: What happened to dinosaurs?

Here’s a theory. Remember that Noah could only bring two of each kind of unclean animal into the ark. Whatever “kind” meant in Moses’ Egyptian classification of living things, it seems to be between species and family in ours. Therefore, not all species of dinosaurs would be included in the ark.

Reptiles are “unclean” animals, so one male and one female of each kind would be chosen.

Also, consider that most dinosaurs were smaller than today’s horse, even as small as a chicken. Wouldn’t it be logical to choose, say, the crocodile and Komodo dragon instead of Tyrannosaurus Rex?

The rest drowned with other animals we have never seen.

Description of Noah’s Ark

As an Egyptian prince, Moses surely was interested in building, architecture, and engineering. He probably studied those arts. His description of Noah’s Ark is specific.

  1. Make it of wood. (Wood floats easily.)
  2. Put rooms in it.
  3. Waterproof it with pitch inside and outside.
  4. The dimensions are to be 450 feet by 75 feet by 45 feet. (That’s half as long as the Titanic!)
  5. Three stories.
  6. One door in the side.
  7. One window at the top.

What Noah’s Ark Was Not

Noah’s Ark was not designed for navigation. It was designed only for floating.

It lacks these parts: a pointed bow, a pointed stern, an anchor, a propeller and rudder or oars, slanted sides, and one or more masts.

Those were invented for navigation and cruise efficiency. It’s not as stable as a flat bottomed craft. Also, any structure under the water line could be damaged by hidden aquatic dangers.

The picture above does not represent Noah’s ark.

The blueprint describes a three story enclosed barge. Because of the straight sides, the enclosed volume of Noah’s Ark was roughly the same as the Titanic! Who says there isn’t room for every “kind” (not species) of animal?

What Happened During the Voyage?

We don’t know.

That’s right. No legend tells us what happened on board during the flood. Neither does Genesis. Apparently, Moses didn’t think it important.

The next thing we know is that the cataclysm was over, the waters receded considerably, and Noah was at the window.

Is it just Moses’s minimalistic style, or is it fact that there was nothing on board but the humans and the animals? Noah was not commanded to bring food or any other supplies on board.

Could it be that in God’s mercy He put the passengers of the ark into suspended animation, saving them the trauma of the cataclysm?

That would be my choice!

The fact is, we don’t know. Period.

Post-Cataclysm Changes

The earth Noah saw when he left the ark was as bizarre and astonishing as if he had landed on the moon.

God told Noah there would be changes between humans and animals. The Dream Time was finished. First, animals would be afraid of people. Second, “every living thing that moves will be meat for you.”

Humans are no longer to be vegetarians. That’s a good reason for animals to be afraid!

But why the change? God doesn’t say. It’s logical, however, to suggest that the change is related to the vastly altered earth.

The Rainbow

I was surprised how many legends included a rainbow at the end of the story as a sign of hope and peace. One story had four rainbows: one in each direction!

Of course, there are always outliers, such as the story with the Rainbow Serpent.

In Genesis, God says, “I will set my bow in the clouds” as a sign (think seal or signature) of the covenant between myself and the earth that I will never do this again.

This ceremony of the bow survives today in some places. When two tribes or clans have been warring but meet to create a peace treaty, each leader hangs his (war) bow on the wall, signifying he comes in peace and trusts not to be attacked.

The bows are always hung curved side up…just like the one in the sky.

Photo credit: Javiare_Art_Photography on Unsplash.com

Categories
World History

Welcome to Noah’s Real Worldwide Flood!

Noah's real worldwide flood

In Generalities, Unity

In Specifics, Diversity

Causes of the Flood

Four Recurring Ideas

How Enough Rain Fell to Cover the Earth

Forming Diamonds

And That’s Not All!

Geographical Changes Resulting From the Flood

Welcome to the Real Flood!

Welcome to Noah’s Real Worldwide Flood!

In Generalities, Unity

Nearly all of the worldwide flood stories agree on these things: the flood covered the planet to at least the tip of the highest mountain, there was an escape vehicle, and very few humans survived.

The fact that these agreements come from all times and cultures around the world establishes these as facts. No history book should ignore them.

In Specifics, Diversity

Often differing by geographical area, the legends generally become more fantastic the farther their origins are from Turkey and the near east in time and geography.

We would expect both of these effects for spoken legends. It verifies the location of the first human settlement.

Causes of the Flood of Water

Ancient Greece: The fountains of the deep opened and rain fell in torrents.

Celtic: The Giant named Earth was murdered and his blood caused the flood.

Assyria: The waters of the abyss rose up.

Chaldea: There was violent rain, and the rivers, lakes, and ocean burst forth from

beneath.

Hebrew (not Genesis): The male waters of sky met the female waters of the ground.

A hole in the sky was caused by the removal of two stars from the Pleiades.

Persia: The Angel Star (Sirius) descended three times.

Masai: There was a great long rain.

Tuvinian: The earth’s supporting frog (or turtle) moved.

Hindu: There was constant rain and ocean overflow

Lisu (China): There were torrents of rain and a huge wave.

China: A chief was defeated by a goddess. Angry that he had been defeated by a female,

the chief beat his head against the Heavenly Bamboo, knocking it down and

tearing a hole in the sky.

Victoria, Austrailia: The god Bunjul urinated into the ocean.

Lake Tyres, Austrailia: Frog swallowed all of earth’s water but Eel made him laugh and

spit it out.

Maori, New Zealand: A man worshipped as a god became angry. He stomped on the

floor of heaven, breaking it and releasing the Celestial Waters.

Innuit, Alaska: There was an unusually high tide.

Tinneh, Alaska: An unusually heavy snowfall one September melted.

Tinneh, Alaska: The Mariner rocked his canoe.

Bella Coola, Br. Columbia: The Creator stretched the rope connecting earth and sky.

The earth sank, allowing the waters to run over it.

Kato, California: The sky fell.

Cree, Canada: A monster lashed the sea with its tail.

Chippewa, Wisconsin: There was a great snowfall one September. Mouse nibbled a hole

in the leather bag containing the sun’s heat. The snow melted.

Mandan, N. Dakota: The earth is a large tortoise. A tribe digging for badgers cut a hole

in the shell. Tortoise began to sink and water rose through the knife wound.

Nahua, central Mexico: The heavens came crashing down in one day.

Jivaro, eastern Equador: A great cloud fell from heaven and turned to rain.

Canelos Quechua, Equador: The stars were crying.

Yamani, Tierra del Fuego: It snowed so much that ice covered the earth. A

rapid thaw caused the flooding.

Four Recurring Ideas

Although these explanations sound very different, there are four repeated ideas:

  1. Snow and ice
  2. Underground water thrusting upward
  3. Torrential rain falling downward
  4. Enormous wave(s)

The last idea includes The Mariner rocking his canoe and a monster thrashing its tail. Since neither of these could have been observed by anyone but Noah, we can omit the monster and Noah’s canoe as literary hyperbole.

That leaves us with this: repeated waves crashing over the land flooding it. Perhaps the waters were rising, but these waves, so striking that they have been remembered for millennia, were the first cause of flooding the land.

The Innuit report an unusually high tide. The Canelos Quechua specify that people were swept out to sea.

If we put all of this together, are the ancients talking about tidal waves?

Okay, this is more than we bargained for!

The idea of snow and ice is only reported by cultures from Alaska, Wisconsin, and Tierra del Fuego: all places that still see heavy snow. The Sek’hem of the southern tip of Argentina report ice floes seen during the flood. Remember, the Wisconsin story includes a sudden increase in heat from the sun.

I’m not sure what to make of this. There are hints of glaciers and icebergs. And what would cause the increased intensity of solar heat? Yet, it’s so precise and sounds so reasonable (except for Mouse) that it feels authentic.

I know. That’s not scientific. But sometimes a feeling or an intellectual nudge leads to a scientific discovery.

Reports of water thrusting upward from “the deep” into existing rivers, lakes, and the ocean are intriguing. Are we talking about geysers? If so, what is the sudden cause of sufficient force to result in these eruptions? Where was this water before the eruptions? In aquafers?

And what about the rain?

It is described as a deluge most frequently. Cultures also describe the rain as torrential, constant, and violent. Through various stories, the Cosmic Waters are described as dumping or gushing from heaven. Persians stated that “each rain drop was as big as a bowl.”

One gets the idea that the ancients are struggling to describe a unique event.

How Enough Rain Fell to Cover the Earth

Critics of the flood accounts ask, “How could enough rain fall to cover the mountains in the time allotted? What was the source of the rain?”

Three legends are of particular interest to me: the Jivaro description that “a great cloud fell from heaven and turned into rain.” The Nahua of Central Mexico state that “the heavens came down in one day.” The Kato report simply, “The sky fell.”

Some scientists who believe the Genesis account point to Genesis 1:6.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters

to separate water from water.” So God made expanse and

separated the water under the expanse from the water above

it. God called the expanse “sky.”

In the view of these scientists, this verse describes a layer of water above the sky which no longer exists. It came crashing down during the flood.

The legends now sound reasonable, don’t they?

Other scientists object, saying such a layer would create a greenhouse effect so intense that it would destroy life.

Meanwhile, it created the perfect worldwide climate described in Genesis. And while it may have had a negative effect (which we don’t know as fact), the canopy was only in place until the tenth human generation.

Forming Diamonds

An objection to the “short earth theory” is the formation of diamonds and other geological findings that are said to require billions of years under the pressure of the earth: today’s earth pressure is what the scientists mean.

But if the pressure is tremendously increased by the weight of a mountain-covering flood, then the equation demands an equal decrease in required time.

A mathematician calculated the time-pressure result of the biblical flood and found it to be more than sufficient to create diamonds.

And That’s Not All!

There’s more to the “flood” than rainfall and flooding. These are in the legends:

Mountains parted

Islands arose

Mountains rose

Earthquakes

It all began with a great booming above the earth and another below ground.

Storm

The day turned dark.

Violent winds

Mountains tumbled down

Hot subterranean waters gushed out

Black rain of resin (???)

Darkness ascending from earth to sky

Thunder

The sun and moon turned red, blue, and yellow

Volcanoes erupted.

(Now you understand why I insist on calling it the Great Cataclysm!)

Geographical Changes Resulting From the Flood

Three cultures (Lushai, Bunun, and Kiangan Ifugaro) state that the earth’s surface was flat before the flood. Interesting. No other culture describes the overall geography of the earth before this event, nor does Genesis.

The intense pressure from the water formed diamonds and other geographical findings.

The same disruptions by water from below, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions that altered mountains and islands easily explain the missing, inverted, and shuffled geologic layers as well as seashells atop mountains.

Welcome to the Real Flood!

Photo credit: Elen11 on Unsplash.com

Categories
World History

Cataclysm Journalism

writing in spiral bound journal

Why?

Who?

When?

Where?

Cataclysm Journalism

Just like we looked at the origin of humans, we will explore the journalistic questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Usually we would end with “why” because it wraps up everything we learn. This time we will begin with that question.

Why? Because Moses begins there so that what he tells us will make sense.

Why?

Unlike the comfortable comet theory which posits a huge asteroid crossing earth’s path and being sucked in by gravity, the event commonly called Noah’s Ark is always initiated by one or more gods who deign to punish humans.

The corrupt acts vary from a woman who drank from a stream during her menses to disrespect of the gods to complete wickedness. A few cultures say it wasn’t evil that triggered the event, but overpopulation.

How did humans disrespect the gods? Here are some examples: the gods were miffed by the King of Alba setting himself up as a god equal to Jupiter, general rudeness and lack of hospitality when a god came in the guise of a poor person, or outright disregard of required sacrifices and worship.

Here are some specific wicked behaviors listed by different cultures:

They didn’t know how to act as humans. (Lakota: indigenous American)

Imperious and depraved (Chaldean: ancient Mesopotamian)

Idleness, wantonness, rapacity (Hebrew legend, not from Genesis)

Wicked, lazy, and didn’t wash (Munda: India)

Wasted fish, polluted the pond until all of the fish were poisoned (Sui: China)

Genesis 6: 5 says that “every inclination of the thoughts of (man’s) heart was only evil all the time.”

Well! That covers it!

And since we know that according to Moses, God had already ejected Adam and Eve from the garden and prevented humans from returning, had allowed the DNA decay and defect processes to begin, and had cut human life time to 120years, we see that God is progressively angrier.

God wasn’t going to take it anymore! He was going to destroy everything on earth!

But then, he remembered Noah….

Who?

It is amazing how many cultures use “Noah” or a derivative for the protagonist of the story!

These cultures use Noah: Genesis (Hebrew Bible), Islam, Russian, the Hershel Island Eskimos (Canadian Yukon). The Zapotecs of ancient Mexico called him Noéh. 

Here are related names: Nama (Altaic: central Asia), Noj (Sagaive: eastern Siberia), Nol (Lifou: New Caledonia), Nu’u (Hawaii), Nanaboujou (Ottawa: indigenous American), and Nu-mohk-muck-a-nek (Ottawa).

Other cultures refer to the same protagonist by a descriptive name.

Several cultures refer to him as a son of a god, although he may have a different name. Ancient Greeks called him Deucalion, the son of Prometheus.

According to the ancient Chaldeans, he was the tenth king of Babylon. Well, Noah was the tenth generation from Adam. It seems the Babylonians considered the Genesis genealogy to be their king list!

The ancient Sumerians called him a priest-king, which is who ruled their culture. Is Noah where the idea came from?

Another popular title was “Long of Life.” This is the meaning of Ziusudra of Sumer, Utnapishtim of Assyria, and Xisudthrus of Chaldea: all of which were ancient civilizations. Tuvinian (Soyot, north of Mongolia) and Lifou call him the Old Man. According to Genesis, Noah lived 950 years. No later person’s age was worthy of comment.

Noah was known to the Vogul (western Siberia) as the Great Man, to the Maori (New Zealand) as Hero, and to the Cree (indigenous American) as the Old Magician (Wise One).

But to me, the description that is the most tantalizing is from Sumer: The Mariner. I’m interested for two reasons: because Sumer is the oldest scientifically proven civilization, and because “The Mariner” is that specific.

The synonyms closest to “mariner” are seaman, seafarer, navigator, and sailor.

Sailor is a more general word. A sailor can work on lakes or rivers as well as the sea.

A seaman, seafarer, or mariner specifically sails the sea, and by extension the ocean. Yet, there are differences.

A seaman is one who works as a sailor, especially below the rank of an officer. That’s not Noah. He was the highest ranking person on the ark.

Seafarer can be anyone who serves aboard a marine (sea-going) vessel, or a sea traveler, often an adventurer. Yes, that could be Noah.

Mariner is the oldest of the three synonyms, dating from Latin in which “mare” means “the sea.” Mariner then means “man of the sea” or “man from the sea.” It gives the feeling that the sea is not just a job to this man. Somehow, it has become his identity.

Isn’t that true of Noah? Whenever anyone says, “Noah” the usual response is to think of the ark on the sea.

A navigator, however, is a mariner who directs the route of the ship. That was not in Noah’s job description.

When?

Ussher dates the Genesis event 2349-2348 B.C.

Most cultural legends are vague: “in the time of the stone giants,” “after the dream time,” “in the time of the first men.”

The Greeks are more specific: “Zeus sent a flood to destroy the men of the Bronze Age.” Now, that’s odd. If this legend first arose before the ancient Greece civilization we think of, the Greek tribes existed during the Bronze Age! Why didn’t the speaker just refer to that? After all, a civilization ties everything to itself.

Could it be that this is corroboration of the first bronze age: the world that Tubal-Cain invented? That is exactly when the flood occurred according to Genesis! Wow!

Where?

We don’t know where Noah lived. Surely, there was still plenty of room in Turkey for everyone to live. But maybe some went exploring.

We do know that the whole earth would be affected by the event.

What and How?

Ah, that’s the story isn’t it? And it deserves its own post.

See you next time!

Photo credit: globalmoments on Unsplash.com

Categories
World History

The Original Climate Change

The History of Earth’s Weather

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

The Original Climate Change

Let’s talk about weather throughout early time. I promise not to be boring.

There are two theories. https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/entinctheory.html. This article divides theories between intrinsic (planetary causes) and extrinsic (extra planetary causes).

We can also look at theories in terms of ancient meteorology.

The History of Earth’s Weather

  1. Constant theory: Planet Earth has always had the weather it does now, including eras of severe chilling and warming known as Climate Change.

    This was the favorite view because it explained today’s weather (except for the very beginning of weather) and supported evolution, which required billions of years and no interruption in the process.

    However, it did not explain why dinosaurs disappeared. They should have evolved. It also did not explain a marine biological system collapse.
  2. Cataclysmic theory: Planet Earth’s original weather (whatever that was) was interrupted by a cataclysmic event. This is now the preferred view because it explains certain geological data and what happened to the dinosaurs.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Within the Cataclysmic theory are several hypotheses, each depending on the event envisioned. Let’s talk about the two favorite hypotheses.

  1. There was an enormous asteroid or comet. The earth’s original weather was variable, like it is now, when a comet slammed into the earth leaving certain identified markings. A frequently mentioned site is the crater of Chiczulub on the Yucatan Peninsula. The comet would have been the size of a mountain.

    According to this theory, the impact raised an enormous poisonous dust cloud that rose into the atmosphere and spread over the earth, blocking out much of the sunshine. This caused stunting of the size and amounts of plants. This killed off the enormous reptilian dinosaurs because they couldn’t get enough to eat. The smaller dinosaurs continued to evolve into fish and birds. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dinosaur-extinction.html#:~:text=Evidence%20suggests%20an%20asteroid%20impact,happened%20over%20millions%20of%20years.

    Questions: If the impact was disastrous, why wasn’t earth knocked off its orbit and why didn’t all life end in the flames of the sun or in the cold of deep space? Why didn’t the enormous reptiles just take all of the food and let the little guys starve, ending the smaller species, including humans?
  2. Earth’s weather was created by God to be perfect, but a cataclysmic event changed earth’s weather, not only temporarily during the event but for all time, requiring various kinds of animals to adapt quickly to the new environment or die.

    There was no evolution before this event, and there was certainly no time for interspecies evolution after it. This event happened in 2343 or 2345 B.C.

    News flash! People lived with dinosaurs.

    (Even one of the comet hypotheses dates the comet to only thousands of years, in which case people would be living with dinosaurs.) https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-an-asteroid-caused-extinction-of-dinosaurs.html

    The Genesis theory does not rule out one or more comets during or after the event.

Now, that wasn’t too bad, was it?

By now you have probably deduced that the last hypothesis is commonly referred to as Noah’s Flood: a misnomer if there ever was one.

Noah didn’t cause the flood. And it was much more than a flood. It was a cataclysm of meteorological events!

It was the end of the Dream Time.

And we will venture into those waters next time!

Photo credit: Photo by Jake Fagan on Unsplash

Categories
World History

Kings and Giants and Gods

giant shines flashlight on man

“Caveman” Culture

“Caveman” Life Span

“Caveman” Achievements

Kings and Giants and Gods

This is the period between 4008/4010 B.C. and 2343/2345 B.C. according to Genesis. Once again it is the only source to date the events and also the only one to record specifics.

Cultures around the world still refer to this period as some form of the Dream Time. During this time the gods and goddesses existed and sometimes walked the earth. They are also called Kings or Giants (possibly for physical stature, strength, or achievements).

Genesis calls some of them the Nephilim. “They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”

They were gigantic in size and strength. Perhaps they were the original Hercules and other demigods of ancient cultures.

Nephilim means “to fall.” This can be interpreted as either the Nephilim are “the fallen” or they “cause others to fall.” Considering their stature and the fact that all other remarks about them are laudable, I lean toward the latter interpretation, but it’s shaky either way.

Are all of these humans? This is a hot theological topic, but they certainly could all have been human.

We know from recorded time that even then a human could attain god status by doing something seemingly supernatural in the eyes of the people. It also explains why a certain god/king/giant was associated with specific attributes. The original person had them.

Eventually the humanity disappeared altogether except in character, and only a supernatural god/goddess remained in the cultures.

“Caveman” Culture

In general, what were these people like? They were superior models of today’s humans.  

We can hypothesize from what we learned about the judgement on Adam and Eve that nature, including human nature, was going downhill, but not necessarily rapidly. Although the specific curses took hold, accumulating DNA defects would have taken longer.

In short, the perfect human form and brain created for Adam and Eve began to deteriorate. It’s quite possible that earliest humans used the “dark neurons” that seem to have no purpose today. They may have processed new information more quickly. It’s possible that everyone had the potential to be a genius in every subject.

Caveman fashion was clothes made of animal skins according to Genesis.

These people may have chosen to sleep in the open. Perhaps they used handy caves.

Caves were a much better choice than building a shelter. A cave with one entrance was an excellent choice because it was easily defended, it didn’t have to be constructed, and it was sturdier that wood or dirt structures. Also, if one goes into a cave far enough, the temperature is constant.

“Caveman” Life Span

Following the genealogical line of Adam’s son Seth in Genesis, we see consecutive life spans of 950, 912, 905, 910, 895, 962, 365 (“and then God took him away”), 969, 777, and 950 years old when they died. Besides having amazing bodies, they must have lived in a fairly safe environment.

Mesopotamian culture recorded this list minus Adam in one of their Kings Lists. That’s probably because when Adam was crowned king by God, there were no other humans to rule, not even in a family sense. Or maybe it was because later people were angry that he wrecked the good times. Perhaps it’s because Adam lived in the perfect Dream Time. We just don’t know.

Interestingly, the length of life spans does not mesh—until you remember that Mesopotamia used Base 60 and Moses writes in Base 10. A mathematician calculated the Genesis list into Base 60 and discovered that his results matched the King List almost to the exact year!

Think what a millennium life span meant! Even with a brain like ours, you could have learned everything known by humans and still have had plenty of time to contribute to your field of interest.

However, as people became more and more wicked, God limited the life span of “men” (probably all humans) to 120 years. God may have accelerated DNA mutation to do this.

Interestingly, some scientists today have estimated that today’s man could last about 120 years if illness and accidental injury were controlled!

“Caveman” Achievements

Genesis traces the family lines of two of Adam and Eve’s sons.

Seth’s line were “sons of God,” which Judaism interprets as “the righteous.” Their life spans are listed above. Nothing else is known about them.

Cain’s family were the movers and shakers of Caveman Culture.

Cain, after murdering his brother Abel, was forced to give up farming. He traveled east into the land of Nod and built a city. Look at that! Architecture is the first named art! And it’s quite a complex art for a farmer.

This indicates that Cain learned or invented 4 of the 7 simple tools from which all tools and machines are made even today! He probably used the inclined plane (ramp), lever, wedge, and possibly the wheel.

Four generations later, Cain’s family exploded with creativity! Jabal didn’t like the city. He invented tent life and began domesticating livestock instead of following animals. His brother Jubal, the musician of the family, invented the harp and flute and probably established musical composition.

Their step-brother Tubal-Cain forged bronze and iron. One man brought everyone out of the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age, and into the Iron Age! That’s how smart these “cavemen” were.

No wonder later civilizations called these men gods!

Read it yourself: Genesis chapters 4 and 5 and 6:1-4.

Photo credit: fotolia.com

Categories
World History

Snake in the Grass

snake (close up of head)

O Adam, Where Art Thou?

Busted!

The Beginning of Dragons?

Kings, and Giants, and Gods. Oh, my!

Snake in the Grass

Enter the Villain.

It’s a serpent. That does not mean a snake. A snake is a serpent, but not all serpents are snakes.

A serpent has the lithe mobility of a snake. An eel can be called a serpent: a water serpent. It is usually described as serpentine.

We will see later that this serpent has legs. It is a wild animal, not livestock.

The serpent was the wiliest wild animal God had created.

It wound its way through the garden’s grove of amazingly beautiful trees that were bearing various delicious fruits. It looped between them until he saw his targets: Adam and Eve.

The serpent moved alongside.

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”

The question drips with feigned innocence.

O Adam, Where Art Thou?

Adam says nothing, and that is his first mistake.

In fact, Moses, writing in his signature extreme minimalistic style, doesn’t even mention Adam until Adam takes action much later in the story!

Eve speaks and the more she talks, the deeper she gets into trouble. But the first thing strange to us is that speaking to the serpent seems normal to her!

Eve says, “We may eat the fruit of the trees except for the tree in the middle of the garden. He says if we touch that tree we will die.”

Oh, Eve! It’s plain that the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil has been dominating your thoughts. There is another tree in the middle of the garden: the Tree of Life. But Eve doesn’t mention that. She also adds a prohibition of not touching the forbidden tree. It’s not smart to add to God’s words.

Still, Adam says nothing.

The serpent zeros in on Eve, the weaker prey. “You shall not certainly die. (emphasis mine)” The serpent follows Eve’s lead and inserts doubt by adding to God’s instructions.

Adam remains silent.

“God knows that when you eat the fruit of that tree, you will be like God (by) knowing good and evil.” The serpent appeals directly to pride in the guise of wisdom.

Now we are at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Have we been strolling there while Eve and the serpent were talking? Or has Eve already been there admiring the tree?

Eve ticks off the virtue of the tree’s fruit. Good for food. Check. Pleasing to look at. Check. Desirable for gaining wisdom. Check.

She reaches for the fruit and—Adam says nothing. He does nothing.

Feeling very brave, she picks the fruit. She notes triumphantly that she hasn’t “died” from touching it (whatever dying means). Therefore, there is no harm in eating it. (Terrible logic!)

She eats it. Adam sees all of this and does nothing.

Eve is still living. She gives some fruit to Adam, and he eats it. (This is the first time Moses mentions Adam: “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Moses doesn’t even deign to name Adam!)

Then BAM! Their brains are barraged with all kinds of new thoughts. They have the knowledge of evil. They know how to cheat, how to steal, how to murder, how to wreck their relationship of perfect partnership. They feel shame and guilt and hate.

Their brains were not created to endure this knowledge. The pain! The stress! They want to die. No, not that! Dying sounds like something really awful.

If you logically accept what Genesis says, you have just learned the source of all mental illness. And you see that mental illness can never be cured, only contained and alleviated.

Is mental illness sin? No, Moses doesn’t say that. Mental illness is the result of Adam and Eve’s sin.

Busted!

God walked in the garden in the cool of the day. No humans came running to meet Him. “Where are you?” (As if He didn’t know!)

Adam: I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.

God: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the forbidden tree?

Adam: The woman you put here with me gave me some fruit, and I ate it.

Here is the original blame shifter! It’s God’s fault because he made the woman. It’s her fault for giving the fruit to Adam. Okay, he admits, he did eat it. But he doesn’t admit which tree grew the fruit.

God to Eve: What is this you’ve done?

Eve learns fast. “It’s the serpent’s fault! He deceived me! (This translates to “It’s not my fault. I didn’t know any better!)

God doesn’t give the serpent a chance to answer the charges. God is now the judge handing out justice.

God to Serpent: You are cursed above all animals, wild and livestock. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust for the rest of your life. Your offspring and the woman’s will be at war forever. (This refers to Jesus.) You will damage Him, but He will crush you!

God to Woman: Your childbirth pains will be extremely severe. Your desire will be for your husband (there is no agreement on what this means) and he will rule over you.

The equal partnership is destroyed.

Since that time, any relationship will have times of honest disagreement, and someone will have to make the decision. This is not a demotion to housemaid. But it is a demotion from co-president to vice president.

Interestingly, each person will be confronted with his or her weakness.

To Adam, who was never deceived by the serpent: Step up! Take responsibility!

For the woman: If a tie vote is broken in the direction you don’t like, step back and get with the program!

It is important to recognize that this hierarchy is specifically within marriage. It does not relate to professional relationships, for instance. And it in no way negates the brains or skills of women.

Women, if you don’t choose to be Vice-President, do the man a favor and don’t marry him. Marry someone else you do trust, or stay single.

God judges Adam: The command to subdue the earth stands, but it will no longer be a joyous walk in the garden. Thorns and thistles will thwart you (whatever they are). Gardening now becomes hard work. You will sweat to grow your food. In the end, “you will return to the dust from which you came.”

And then God threw them out of the garden and placed an angel with a sword to prevent them from returning and eating from the Tree of Life.

Now, that sounds petty. But, actually it was love. If they ate from the Tree of Life now, they would live forever in the miserable, stressful, guilt- and shame-ridden lives we all find ourselves in. That’s hell, not heaven.

But never fear. God has a plan.

The Beginning of Dragons?

Although this whole incidence of loss of innocence is ignored in cultural legends, the “serpent” is part of worldwide consciousness. Sometimes it is legless and wingless. Sometimes it has multiple heads and/or horns. It may have legs but no wings. It may have a beard. Some do have wings. Some breathe fire. And in Mesoamerica, it has feathers but not wings.

These are all forms of what we refer to as a dragon. In all cultures, serpents/dragons are supernaturally powerful and clever.

But there is a difference of opinion about character. In China, dragons are benevolent and wise. In European civilizations, they are destructive and evil.

Interestingly, ancient Mesopotamia, the earliest literate culture, describes both benevolent and destructive dragons! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon

May I share my personal hypothesis? Mesopotamia is closest to the truth as told by Genesis because the serpent presented itself as benevolent and wise, but it was really destructive and crafty. Its intent was evil.

Some cultures emphasize the dragon/serpent as it was created, but some describe it after its punishment.

Kings, and Giants, and Gods. Oh, my!

And now, we continue to the time when these beings existed. Guess what? They were all humans!

Read it for yourself: Genesis chapter 3

Photo credit: Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Categories
World History

The First Humans

God and Adam touch - from Sistine Chapel

The Biblical Adam and Eve

Going to Work

Humans in God’s Image

We Agree!

How Humans Differ from Apes

What Was Life like in the Garden of Eden?

The First Humans

We have examined the evolutionary explanation of the first human. Now it’s time to look to Genesis.

The Biblical Adam and Eve

Adam was made from dust. God breathed into his nostrils “the breath of life.”

God said, “It’s not good for man to live alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

He brought all of the birds and wild animals to Adam to see what he would call them. Adam named them. (Try that. I bet you can’t do it!) But Adam did not find a suitable helper.

So, God performed the first surgery. It was orthopedic! He took a rib from Adam’s side and used it to create the woman.

Adam said, “She shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.”

It has been noted that Eve was not taken from Adam’s head so she would be the boss. She was not taken from Adam’s feet so he could trample on her. She was taken from his side to partner with him in the work God gave them to do.

Going to Work

What was that work? “…rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” They were to be king and queen of planet Earth!

God also commanded, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”

“Be fruitful and multiply” is the only command that humans have always enthusiastically obeyed!

The earth refers to the geological earth: the ground. It does not refer to subduing anything living. Humans were to rule non-human creatures, not subdue them. Also, humans were not commanded to rule over each other.

To subdue the earth means to bring it under control for the good of themselves and the creatures they kindly rule.

The diet of every living thing was to be all of the green plants. The diet of humans was also vegetarian: every seed-bearing plant and every tree with fruit containing seed(s).

I know. This brings up questions such as, “Then why did predators have teeth.” Or, “Didn’t this mess up the gastrointestinal systems of predators?”

Hey, I didn’t say Biblical theories don’t raise questions. And we may never know the answers. Moses writes on a need to know basis and this is something we apparently don’t need to know.

Humans in God’s Image

How could they accomplish all of this? Because man and woman were created in God’s image. At the very least, that means that people are in a different category from animals.

Therefore, there are three biological kingdoms: plants, animals, and humans.

We Agree!

All historians I have heard of agree on some things. In the earliest preliterate days, humans were smarter than apes. We just don’t agree by how much.

Let’s look at apes!

Apes have instincts. All animals do. This built-in action helps the apes survive.

You have instincts too. If your hand gets too close to fire, it jerks back. You don’t think about it at all.

Apes are intelligent. They solve problems using tools. An ape might use a rock to crush nut shells. A branch lying on the ground could be used to reach fruit. This is using nature as it is found.

Apes are even smarter than that. If there is no branch lying around, an ape can break one off of a tree. The ape might make it shorter. Maybe the twigs need to be removed. This is changing nature to make a tool.

They also remember this invention the next time the need arises.

However, that’s as far as apes go.

How Humans Differ From Apes

Apes are usually presented as being very close to humans, something like a second cousin. Are they?

  1. The National Library of Medicine says that there is a 4% difference between ape and human DNA. In fact, there are “35 single nucleotide differences” and “approxiamately 90 Mb of insertions and deletions” in the DNA. Read it here:. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16339373/#:~:text=Humans%20and%20chimpanzees%20shared%20a,Mb%20of%20insertions%20and%20deletions. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound close at all to me.
  2. Humans focus on the future. We are always thinking what we will do tomorrow. In fact, since “tomorrow” is not yet in existence within our world, it is actually the first part of eternity. Because we live in the future, always thinking about tomorrow, we invent tools to help us do our work easier, faster, or better next time.
  3. Humans also create the arts. Create means “to make out of nothing.” We can’t quite do that, but what humans can do is the next best thing. We can create out of our imagination. We don’t only modify and improve existing objects. We actually can create new objects, tools, toys, machines, shelters, clothing, weapons, and works of art.

This is different from problem solving.

You see, painting can’t feed you (unless you sell it). A drum can’t help you sleep. Quite the opposite! There is no reason for the arts…except they are fun!

Yet, humans in all times and places have produced art.

  • Humans have free will. We aren’t bound by instincts and survival problem solving. We can choose to act against instinct and survival. And we do—frequently.

What Was Life like in the Garden of Eden?

Dream Time is remembered in the human collective consciousness. Amazing!

There is a universal longing to return to that time. You see it at every zoo. You see it 24 hours a day on Animal Planet channel. People long to rule animals with love and be loved in return. Just think of all of the pets in the United States alone!

The Bible says those days will return. Prophecy is poetic language, which you may recognize in the description below. This scene is not an actual scene, but a description of the Peaceful Kingdom, as it has been called.

“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child shall lead them.

“The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

“The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.” Isaiah chapter 11, verses 6-8.

Don’t you long for a world like that? I do!

Read it for yourself: Genesis 1:27-31 and 2:18-25

Photo credit: Vieriu Adrian

Categories
World History

Treasure Hunt: the Garden of Eden

garden of eden

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Dream Time

Treasure Hunt for Eden

Hunting the Pishon and Gihon Rivers

Finding the Treasure: the Location of the Garden of Eden

Treasure Hunt: the Garden of Eden

We will have to take Moses’ word for it.

We have seen that cultural legends, evolution, and radiographic dating have serious flaws. Moses’ Genesis is the only authority that remains.

Just the Facts, Ma’am

Let me remind you that Moses is writing in Hebraic narrative style. It’s like he is writing a military report to the pharaoh. Just…the…facts. No metaphors. No similes. No literary license.

Dream Time

Some cultural legends call this period of man the Dream Time.

I love that name. It evokes your best dreams when everything is beautiful. Events make you happy. Exciting things are happening. People are known as Great Kings or Giants or Gods by the people telling the legends. Animals can talk with you and they all love you. And everyone’s a vegetarian—and I don’t just mean humans!

According to Moses, the Dream Time for humans began with a garden created especially for the first human (a male) in 4008 or 4010 B.C. Moses even tells us where it was!

Unfortunately, he describes it in ancient Egyptian geographical terms and possibly some terms that trace back to the Dream Time itself.

We have to solve puzzles to follow the map to the treasure! What fun!

Treasure Hunt for Eden

There are seven clues in Genesis chapter 3, verses 8-14.

  1. The Garden of Eden was east, in Eden.
  2. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden.
  3. From there, the river separated into four headwaters.
  4. First river: Pishon. It ran through the land of Havilah, where there was gold.
  5. Second river: Gihon. It ran through Cush.
  6. Third river: Tigris. It ran along the east side of Asshur.
  7. Fourth river: Euphrates.

The first thing I see is that many place names have changed since Genesis was written. The clues start in Eden. But we don’t know where Eden is.

Let’s look at the names that are the same today. We know the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. We’ll work backward.

Find the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Well, they don’t exactly come together, but it’s close. They joined when the directions were written. Time changes geology.

Surprise! It’s in the country of Turkey!

The two rivers are in a ring of mountains. Mountains! Many cultural legends tell of one or more mountains! Maybe Eden is inside the ring of mountains: the plateau.

The garden is “in the east, in Eden” and a river flowed through there to the source of the four rivers.

So that means that Eden is the area of the Turkish plateau north of the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates! Bingo!

But where are the other rivers?

Hunting the Pishon and Gihon Rivers

We know by satellite imaging that Turkey used to be a lush environment. Ancient dry riverbeds would have been flowing with water. Some may have connected.

The ancient gold mines were in the Gediz Basin. And, as Moses notes, “the gold there was good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.”

Doesn’t that sound like an Egyptian prince? Gold and the precious stone onyx for décor. Aromatic resin for, among other things, mummification.

The Gediz Basin is on the western edge of Turkey. Maybe the Gediz River used to be the mouth of the Pishon River. It may have connected to Lake Tuz and then connected to the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates.

The Gihon River flowed through Cush.

Cush meant “black” in Ancient Egyptian.  The Nubian Kingdom south of Egypt was sometimes referred to as Cush because the Cush (black skinned) people lived there.

All cultures have known the 4 directions, sometimes called the 4 pillars. We call them north, south, east, and west.

In the time of Genesis, Egyptians named the directions with colors. Black was the color for north.

The Karasu River flows north to the Black (North) Sea! This was the far north of civilization.

Finding the Treasure: the Location of the Garden of Eden

Now we know the four rivers that flowed out of the Garden. Their headwaters were probably where the Tigris and Euphrates are closest together.

Is there a river that flows into that spot, creating the headwaters of the rivers? Yes! It’s the Murat River!

The Garden of Eden was along the Murat River!

Read it for yourself in Genesis 3:8-14 (chapter 3, verses 8-14).

Photo credit: Bkamprath