Expert: Marvin Howard - 7/26/2004

Question
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Followup To
Question - Can I ask you which religion you belong to..Thank You
Thank you for taking my question...I am 75 years old and by definition I would consider myself an Agnostic because I do not believe God had anything to do with writing the bible nor do I believe everything in it..but I would appreciate your opinion and please do not quote the bible but   tell me in your own words..my question pertains to Noah"s flood..now as I understand it the bible events that took place in the Mid East around the Mediterranean Sea...When God told Noah he was going to kill all the ppl on earth except Noah and his family why did he include the Asian culture the Euopeans and North America etc etc when they where never mentioned in the bible..in other words why did he kill so many innocent ppl..Thank You  George Pope ..Illinois
Answer -
Hi!

George, I sincerely wish you would reconsider your position. However, I will not preach it to you. I assume you are seeking historical and scientific answers. It isn't my strong suit, but I shall try. Since we are dealing with a Biblical event, of necessity, at some points, I will have to refer to Bible. This is only to overlay the two records of history to the point where they are in agreement.

I believe in a young earth; approximately 6,000 years. For more precise dates, please see:

http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962/BibleTimeline.html

and

http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962/ChurchHistory.html

It is scientifically proven that there was a flood. It is only the source that is in question. It is historically recorded in each of the major civilizations.

I believe this flood is responsible for the discrepancies in time between "old earth" and "young earth" persons. It is solar radiation which causes the aging which can be proven with carbon dating. If there was a barrier of water in the sky, which was sufficient to cover the earth, it would greatly diminish the radiation received below. Failing to account for this shield causes longer ages (possibly many thousands or millions of years), to be applied to mere days and weeks.

It has also been proven, mathmatically (though its process  is beyond my comprehension) that the orbits of planets used to be circular rather than eliptical. If, at the same time the axis was perpendicular, and the creating force changed it, suddenly, there is a place where the flood waters could recede and be captured: the polar, ice caps. Such change would also be able to explain the existence of tropical materials under the caps. Ice ages are necessarily theorized to explain this, for this shielding is not factored into the equation. Something happened. The question is, "What?" An orientation change to the axis would also make the amount of radiation received different, being closer to the sun at times.

This same shielding would allow men to live longer, and with less aging. This would throw the method of dating askew at and from this point. We can only experiment with circumstances which can be duplicated. This circumstance is one which cannot be. It can be extrapolated that such would act as a shield, but the precise amount of water, and therefore shielding, cannot be determined. The flood water came from somewhere, and I contend this was its location. Biblical, creation accounts refer to this as the "firmament."

This lessening of time before death would also increase the amount of layering, or strata, resting atop the flood material. This would force people not taking this shielding into account to add years in the timeline between the flood and now.

According to the most reliable records (I believe this to be scripture), there were only ten generations from Adam to Noah. The number of people destroyed by the flood was not as great as supposed.

This belief in the "young earth" also explains the various cultures. They were not extant before the flood. To this point, there was only one language, which I believe to be the ancient root language of Sanskrit. With only these ten generations, they hadn't yet spread. The different cultures were derived from the sons of Noah; Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The sons of Shem spread eastward, becoming Arabs, Jews, Orientals, Eskimos, and eventually Native Americans. This great number and diversity came predominately from the promise given to Abraham, only ten more generations from Noah. The sons of Japheth spread north and west, becoming Europeans, and the sons of Ham spread south, becoming Africans.

This spreading didn't begin to occur until Nimrod (traceable to all of the false gods, or his mother for the goddesses) caused the languages and cultures to be split by his endeavours; trying to reach heaven with a tower in order to become gods.

I contend that no innocent people were killed in the flood. You may not take the statement that it took 120 years to prepare the ark as literal. I do. In either case, think how long it must have taken, with the more primative tools, to build a ship of that size, with only four people. If Noah believed this strongly to build such a boat, of necessity, he got the word to the people, all of which were close by. It was a novelty to see a man, building a boat so far from water, when there had never even been any rain. Everyone, out of curiosity would have either come to see, or told others in derision at home. None believed. Neither did they obey. They all had their chance and their choice. They all chose doom by not trusting God.

It is far too lengthy a dissertation to produce in a format such as this, and what I have provided is only the slightest of examples. However, the short summary is that all of scientific fact proves the Bible, and the Bible proves all scientific fact, provided that all variables are included. If a different result occurs, not all of the factors have been included, from one side or the other.

If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I may not have the answers ready, but I can find little specifics when needed.

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
preacherman_1962@yahoo.com
preacherman_1962@bellsouth.net
http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962

P.S. Should you ever change your mind on your position, please, would you do me the honor of helping find someone to assist you?


Answer
Hi!

George, I am Christian; nothing more, nothing less. I am neither catholic nor protestant. Though there are a few religious names acceptable according to the Bible, not all practice accordingly. I am a member of the churches of Christ mentioned in Romans 16:16: yes, that body still exists even after the catholics left us.

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
preacherman_1962@yahoo.com
preacherman_1962@bellsouth.net
http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962