In the Bible, Noah is said to have collected animals two by two, to fill the Ark and save them from the flood, so here’s my question: how did he catch them? Oh, sure, catching a sloth might not be too tough, but how did Noah catch pairs of more difficult animals, like hippos, rhinos, lions, cheetas, eagles, etc.? Even today, it would take an army of well-trained biologists to find and capture pairs of every species on our planet. How did Noah manage it with just his family? And what about the animals that existed only on the undiscovered continents of North and South America — animals such as buffalos, pronghorn antelopes, llamas, poison-dart frogs, etc.? Exactly how did Noah get *them* on board his Ark when he didn’t even know they existed?
So…how did Noah catch all those animals?
- Post author:grumpypilgrim
- Post published:October 25, 2007
- Post category:Uncategorized
- Post comments:6 Comments
grumpypilgrim
Grumpypilgrim is a writer and management consultant living in Madison, WI. He has several scientific degrees, including a recent master’s degree from MIT. He has also held several professional career positions, none of which has been in a field in which he ever took a university course. Grumps is an avid cyclist and, for many years now, has traveled more annual miles by bicycle than by car…and he wishes more people (for the health of both themselves and our planet) would do the same. Grumps is an enthusiastic advocate of life-long learning, healthy living and political awareness. He is single, and provides a loving home for abused and abandoned bicycles. Grumpy’s email: grumpypilgrim(AT)@gmail(DOT).com [Erich’s note: Grumpy asked that his email be encrypted this way to deter spam. If you want to write to him, drop out the parentheticals in the above address].
Haven't you seen the paintings? God made them do it! They walked willingly onto the boat in an orderly line two abreast while Noah greeted them like a concierge. Duh!
Grumpy: There's a new book written just for you, apparently: Noah’s Ark: Thinking Outside the Box. The book is by several authors, including one the ad describes as "apologist Ken Ham." Yes, it's THAT Ken Ham.
Great picture, gatomjp! I still wonder, though…how did animals from all over the planet get to the disembarkation point? Did those little poison-dart frogs in the Brazilian rainforest swim the Atlantic? Did Antarctic penguins take a tropical vacation to the Levant? And what about the tens of millions of insect species, including some that remain dormant for years at a stretch? How did they get onto the Ark? And wouldn't all those bugs have overloaded the Ark all by themselves? And what about the fact that many bugs have very short lifespans and, thus, would have required many breeding pairs to survive the duration of the Flood?
So many questions, so few answers….
How did Noah do it? Here's a backhanded vote for science: Click here.
The flood of Noah's time did not cover the whole planet. The word used is "erets" which means land. If you said you were going out to plow the land, everyone would understand that you were not intent on plowing the whole planet.
The water was said to cover the highest mountains. Again, not all the mountains on the whole planet, but the mountains in the area where the flood occured. The highest mountain on the planet is over 29,000 feet tall. If the flood was world wide {covered the whole planet} where did all that water go?
Once you get past the world-wide flood misinterpretation, some of this stuff will start to clear itself up. Catastrophes like Noah's flood have happened many times before. But we have a biblical record of this one. All the things mentioned could have happened locally, which fits with the record, and the fact that there are such a diverse set of people living on this planet.
To believe that all the variations of mankind developed since 2238 BC from the three sons of Noah makes one more of an evolutionist than any Darwinist. At least they give their process millions of years to take place.
The real issue is why did God decide to destroy the Adamites? The scriptures make it plain that they corrupted themselves by making "marriages" with something that was un-adamite.
The Creationist has no room in his paradigm for pre-adamites, therefore they do not exist. Evolutionists do not believe what they cannot measure and Creationists cannot measure what they do not believe.
Kudos, Larry. The only thing I would add–predictably, no doubt–is that "God" didn't do the destroying. He merely got the blame (or credit, depending on one's disposition) for a thoroughly natural disaster. That happens all the time, too–even today, from the mouths of pious idiots with public forums.