Noah's Ark

One of the more charming myths in the Bible, in which God warned Noah that there would be a devastating flood and instructed him to build a vessel (called Noah's Ark) for the purpose of saving his family and representives of every animal species. Charming if one is willing to overlook the fact that the story maintains that God killed every man, woman and child on Earth, with the exception of Noah's family, and every animal that wasn't taken on board the Ark. A good example of Biblical propaganda designed to scare young children and gullible conservatives into believing in a vengeful God.

There is scientific evidence that a devastating local flood probably occured in the region the writers of the Bible would have considered "the world". Written works such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, as well as numerous oral traditions, also refer to a similar flood.

Vowing to interpret the Bible as literal historical truth, evangelical Christians and their ilk are forced to execute some of their wackier apologetic gymnastics when it comes to explaining the story of Noah's Ark. It is doubtful a wooden vessel of that size would have been seaworthy given the technology of the time, and more doubtful that Noah's family could have rounded up two of every species living at the time (the beetle and ant species would have been particularly difficult). Collecting and storing the amount of food required would have been equally difficult, and it is doubtful there would have been room for so many animals and their food. Then, of course, there is the matter of waste removal.

Young earth creationists insist that there were dinosaurs on the Ark, which may explain why certain species became extinct. One wonders what it was like to share a confined space with a Tyranosaurus Rex! They also make spurious claims as evidence of the story, such as the kooky idea that there happens to be a limestone layer on every mountain no matter the altitude. As the flood only lasted a year, a limestone layer would not have had time to accumulate. Finally, Noah's Flood is invoked by Young Earthers to explain such geological marvels as the Grand Canyon and fossil layers. If there hadn't been a flood, they would have had to invent one.