Science and Creationism 21. The Flood © Colin Frayn,

© Colin Frayn, The Biblical Flood When was it? –Dates are usually given around 2500 BCE –Archbishop Usher’s chronology gives a date of 2348 BCE How long did it last? –Approximately one year See Genesis 7:11-13 and Genesis 8:13 How much water was released? –Enough to cover the highest mountains Over 8 km / 5 miles How many animals were on the Ark –Either 2 or 7 of every living thing –Plus Noah and his family

© Colin Frayn, Flood Timeline The flood was at roughly 2500 BC. –When the Egyptians were building pyramids –…that required thousands of men Isn’t it odd that they didn’t record it? And neither did any other culture –Flood myths are a common feature of primitive cultures –However, they rarely agree on anything –…and they never offer plausible chronologies

© Colin Frayn, Lack of Evidence There is no evidence for a flood –Historical –Geological –Ice cores –Genetics –Etc. All evidence Hovind provides is weak and circumstantial

© Colin Frayn, How many animals? The number of individuals required is enormous (millions!) What is a ‘kind’? Is it a species? Group? –The definition of this is obscure If ‘species’ then there must have been millions of individuals on the ark If ‘kind’ then the rate of evolutionary speciation since the Ark has been astronomical! Only bring nostrilled animals? –Hovind claims that Noah only brought animals with nostrils on the ark Though this isn’t what the bible says –This avoids trying to fit in several million pairs of insects –So how exactly did the insects survive?

© Colin Frayn, Building the Ark How hard is it to build an ark? Remember – Noah did this in the early bronze age –Before the invention of nails, for example One man in Maryland is trying to rebuild the Ark It has taken him 32 years (so far) 5 bulldozers 3,000 tons of cement 76 cement pillars 34 sway-brace pillars An extensive steel girder superstructure …and his doesn’t even have to float Source :

© Colin Frayn, Building the Ark (2) How big was the Ark? 137 x 23m (450 x 75 ft) The Wyoming (1909) –Largest wooden ship ever built –450ft long, but only 50 ft wide Tip to tip length, not hull length Only 350ft (110m) of hull length –Held together with 90 iron bracings! –Planks would twist and buckle in rough seas Even without elephants inside –It required a pump to remove water constantly The twisting hull let water in through cracks –It eventually collapsed and sank in 1924 All 14 crew died

© Colin Frayn, A Moon Pool This is essentially a hole in the boat hull –It absorbs some of the wave energy –Though it does weaken the entire hull Can this add stability to the ark? –To some extent –They are difficult to make and dangerous –A flawed design could easily have sunk the ark –It’s probably not enough to make the ark stable –It adds lots of complicated joints and fittings Why wasn’t it in the description? –This seems like an important omission

© Colin Frayn, Noah’s Ark found? Ron Wyatt’s discovery –This has been totally disproved –What he’s found is… a hill Even Answers in Genesis agrees: – More here: – There is no plausible archaeological evidence that this site contains any manmade artefacts.