The Ark

 THE ARK

Now I'm sure you have all heard there is a replica of the Ark in Kentucky.  I've not seen it, but it is on my bucket list.  I was recently engaged in a discussion of the ark, more pointedly, was there such a thing as the great flood and Noah.  I will have to admit that I'm skeptical.  It seems rather far-fetched to me.

My understanding from reviewing the current literature on the subject, the earth was covered in water.  Now I know that Mt. Everest has been measured at 29,031.7 feet.  This is feet above sea level.  This means according to my calculations there would have to be 5 ½ miles of water in addition to what is already here.  That is a lot of water which raises several issues.

Where did this water come from?  Did it just appear?  And where did it go?  It didn't just subside.  5 ½ miles of water just doesn't subside; it has to go somewhere. Evaporation simply causes water to change form; it is still around.  It would be interesting to calculate what our air on this planet would be like with 5.5 miles of water having evaporated into it.  And just how long would it take 5.5 miles of water to evaporate?  Or, could air actually hold that much water?

Now there was also mention that it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.  True, that is a lot of rain - - but 5 ½ miles of it?  Not so fast Kemo Sabe.  This doesn't compute.  Also I've seen pictures of that boat and it does appear to have a partial roof.  But that is a lot of water gaining entry.  Who is going to be down in the hold with buckets?  I'm assuming the Ark didn't have a bilge pump.

Now from what I see in the available photos of the Kentucky Ark, there is no steering mechanism nor means of propulsion.  One would think these items to be necessary  on the way up and on the way down.  And the biblical passages are silent as to whether there was any wind associated with this storm of storms.  Maybe there was no wind; but one can't just assume  the Ark went straight up and came straight back down in the same spot and if it didn't, how did it get to where it ended up on land once again.  But in the photos I've seen, it did appear that there were considerable creature comforts and plenty of women folk to prepare meals. 

More questions come to mind.  For instance, once the Ark landed, what was there to eat.  There would have been only dead and rotten animals floating around and no vegetables, fruit, or grain.  Did Noah put plenty of apple (by then you could eat apples) and other fruit tree saplings in a cooler somewhere on board; did he provision the Ark with seeds?  We just don't know.  The biblical info is a little sparse in detail in this area.  Maybe they were going to live on fish, but I'm not sure cows and such would eat much fish.

There are some serious gaps in the story. It's all a big mystery and one that causes some hesitancy in giving it much credence.  But I would be happy to be better informed.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo