The Genesis Flood narrative and the story of Noah’s Ark in Genesis 6-9 is a controversial topic among Christians. Modern scientific discoveries have challenged the traditional interpretation of this narrative, which has raised many questions in the minds of Christians about what to do with this new information and how to reconcile new scientific discoveries with the Christian Faith. If God truly is the God of the truth, then God would want Christians to accept scientific truths. There is no archaeological evidence that a global flood ever happened, nor does modern science support the idea that all humans and animals are descendants of the occupants of Noah’s Ark. Layers of sedimentary rock in places around the world, such as the Grand Canyon, were formed in a process that took millions of years. The kind of erosion that caused these layers of sediment to solidify on top of each other could not have occurred in a period of time less than a year. It also couldn’t have occurred underwater. The science of genetics proves that it is not possible for all human beings on Earth to have descended from Noah. In Gen 8:11, a dove brings an olive branch with leaves on it back to Noah, and yet, an olive tree would not have survived being underwater for six months. These are just a few of the countless examples that pose a problem for literal interpretation of the Flood.
In light of these facts, Christians are faced with a few choices. We can choose to ignore the scientific evidence that a worldwide flood never happened, or we can accept science and reject the credibility of the Bible. Neither would do justice to the Christian faith, and neither are what God wants for us. There is a third option, however, and that is to abandon a literal interpretation of the flood narrative, and instead, try to understand what God is trying to show us, figuratively, through this story.
God is the God of everything—even science. Christians should never reject new scientific discoveries. In fact, they should embrace them as new discoveries about the universe that God created. A great example of this is the Big Bang Theory. The Big Bang Theory is the leading scientific theory for the creation of the universe. Albert Einstein himself believed this theory. Most Christians view this theory as being the antithesis of the Creation story, and therefore, the antithesis of a God centered origin for the creation of the universe. However, what most people don’t know is that the man behind the Big Bang Theory, Georges Lemaître, was not just an astronomer and physicist. First and foremost, he was a Catholic priest. He was also a professor of Physics at the Catholic University of Louvain. Clearly, as a priest, Lemaître did not believe his faith was at odds with science, and the Catholic university he taught at didn’t think so either. Lemaître went on to make important scientific advancements, such as the discovery of Hubble’s Law, the law that proves that the universe is infinitely expanding. Lemaître believed that God used the Big Bang in order to create the Universe. Lemaître remained in good standing with the Church despite these beliefs. Pope John XIII even gave him the esteemed title of honor, Domestic prelate. Pope Pius XII himself even believed in Lemaître’s theory. So much so, that he publicly announced that the Big Bang Theory was scientific evidence that validated the Catholic Faith. This is not to say that all Christians should start believing in the Big Bang Theory. However, it’s an excellent representation of how both religion and science compliment each other. There is a clear precedent for Church support of new scientific discoveries. Several Popes have shown their support of Lemaître, even giving him titles of honor. If Pope Pius XII, as leader of the global Catholic Church and the apostolic successor of St.Peter, can publicly declare his support for the Big Bang Theory, then lay Christians should not be afraid of scientific discoveries that challenge their interpretations of the Bible.
An important step in understanding the flood narrative in is understanding the history behind metaphorical use of flooding in ancient storytelling. The tradition of catastrophic flooding existed in many other Ancient North Eastern (ANE) civilizations. The Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh is one such example of this tradition. In the story, the hero, Ut-napishtim, is told by the God Ea to build a large wooden vessel in preparation for a cataclysmic flood that would wipe out all other life on Earth. Ut-napishtim fills the boat with his family members, some workers, and several animals. At the end of the story, Ut-napishtim and the others on the vessel are able to survive the flood. Another Mesopotamian flood story is the story of Atrahasis. In this story, the God Enlil is angered by humanity and decides to flood the Earth. The Gods Ea and Enki warn a man named Atrahasis about the flood, so that he can build a large wooden boat and survive. There are many different variations of the flood legends, Babylonian, Sumerian, Assyrian, etc., and all of them have aspects that are unique. However, all of the stories have certain elements in common. They all involve a god being angered by humanity, and choosing to flood the Earth and destroy all of creation. Then, the protagonist of the story builds a large wooden vessel in order to survive the flood. ANE civilizations associated deep waters and storms with chaos. This can be seen in Gen 1:2, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” In the Genesis Flood Narrative, God is angered by the sin of humanity, so God decides to start over, reverting the world back to a state like the on described in Gen 1:2. These civilizations also often used figurative storytelling to record their history instead of literal accounts of the events that occurred. This is likely the case for many of the accounts in Genesis.
There are several clues in the Genesis Flood Narrative about how it should be interpreted, and they can be found by looking at the way the story was written. It employs a literary device called “hyperbole”, which is the use of extreme exaggeration in order to make a point or show emphasis. The giant wooden ark, the all-consuming flood that is taller than mountains, gathering every single species of animal on Earth, Noah being over 600 years old, all of these are clear hyperbole, communicating to the reader that this is not a story to be taken literally, but one that is communicating a message. Genesis is full of figurative language, with stories that serve as the grandiose introduction to the Bible. The Flood Narrative is no different. Unlike the Mesopotamian flood narratives, the Genesis Flood Narrative has a clearer message. It’s a story that portrays both God’s capability for judgement upon humanity, and God’s capability for love and mercy. The overall message of the story is revealed in Gen 9:13, where it says that there is an “everlasting covenant betweenGod and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” This narrative is a little bit like the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. That story is told to make a point and to communicate a clear lesson or moral. It is not meant to be taken literally or viewed as a historical event. The Flood is just one of many epic stories that tell us who God is. Every detail about the story of the Flood may not be true, but that does not mean that the moral of the story isn’t true either. The truth is not in the details of the narrative, it’s in the overarching message.
Some may believe that none of this can be true, because the Bible is inerrant. However, it doesn’t actually say that anywhere in the Bible. Why make a claim about the Bible that the Bible doesn’t even make for itself. The verse that many point to for a supposed claim of inerrancy is 2 Tim 3:16, which says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” where it says that scripture is “God-breathed”. While “God-breathed” could be interpreted to mean inerrant, there are alternatives to this interpretation found elsewhere in Genesis itself. Gen 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” In this verse, human beings also seem to be “breathed” by God, and yet, humans are not perfect. Humans are good, and created by God, God even “breathed” life into them, but they’re still not perfect. Judging from how the word is used in other parts of the Bible, this is likely what “God-breathed” means when the word is applied to scripture.
How can Christians reconcile this knowledge about the flood narrative, and consequently, other stories in the Bible? Firstly, even if the Bible is not inerrant or completely “perfect” and “without error”, it doesn’t mean that God is no longer all of those things. The Bible was never meant to be read literally. It doesn’t need to be inerrant to accomplish its intended purpose. The Bible was never meant to be as perfect as God is, it was meant to be a book that teaches Christians what God is like. Like any great teacher, it’s filled with wisdom, knowledge, and truth—but it isn’t perfect.
Secondly, holding an inerrant view of the Bible erases any need for faith. Why would Christians need to have faith in God if the Bible was the be-all and end-all? Not everything in the Bible can be interpreted at face value or easily understood with human understanding. Inerrancy erases faith, the need to grapple with and engage with the text in a way that is beyond the surface level. We are meant to wrestle with scripture, to contemplate on it, and to read it worshipfully. This is one of God’s gifts to us. Literal reading of the Bible is a rejection of this gift. The story of the Flood and Noah’s Ark is still an inspired narrative that God gave us for a reason. Even if it isn’t literal, that doesn’t mean the story is not “true”. The Flood narrative conveys many truths about who God is, and those are the truths that are important. It isn’t about the flood itself, the animals, or the ark, those details are not what the Bible is asking us to pay attention to. This narrative is not a simple retelling of a historical event. Instead, it’s a powerful and timeless story about God’s love and God’s everlasting covenant with humanity fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
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