Noahs Ark - Impossible Fiction or Biblical Truth

I intend to approach this debate in this manner: My opponent, in his opening argument, has raised a number of reasons why the Noah"s Ark couldn"t have existed or would be impossible. It is therefore my understanding that my opponent"s argument rests on his belief that the biblical account of Noah"s Ark and a worldwide flood is impossible. As such, I will first attempt to rebut his objections, thereby forcing my opponent to accept that the account was at least possible. I have left some objections to respond to in my second post, as I am limited by the number of words. Secondly, If I am successful, I will then move on to providing positive evidence to support the biblical account of Noah"s Ark and the Flood. My opponent challenged Noah"s ability to build the ark, as he was 600 years old at the time, and was a drunk. He further alleges that no tools were available, nor was any wood readily available in a desert. "Was Noah a 600 year old drunk when he built the ark and does that make him too feeble to take on such a project a. This was before any tools had been invented to help Noah build a giant boat in short notice. b. Noah lived in the dessert. Where did he get the wood and how did he take the time to craft each piece without the help from massive saws, cranes and conveyor belts. " I agree with my opponent, that Noah was 600 years old when he built the ark, but not that he was too feeble, nor that he was a drunk. I will examine these charges in reverse order, as Noah"s age is the most complicated and lengthy discussion. 1. ""Noah was a drunk"" My opponent has not provided any evidence to suggest that Noah was a drunk, nor is there any biblical account of him being a drunk. After leaving the Ark, Noah planted the first vineyards made wine and became drunk. OI know many people who have been drunk in their lives, this does not make them drunks. A person who is "a drunk", is someone who is regularly drunk, so I think my opponents objection is misleading and unfounded. Even "if" Noah was "a drunk", he planted the "first" vineyard after leaving the ark, so his sobriety wouldn"t have affected his ability to build. 2. There was no wood, as it was a desert, and there were no tools available. My opponent has made two charges here, which he has neither provided any factual basis for, nor are they supported by the evidence. An assessment of the likely level of technology in the pre-Flood world is possible from looking at the civilizations that sprang up quickly after the Flood"Egypt, Mesopotamia, etc. Noah would have had a lot of time and incentive to ensure that pre-Flood "knowhow" made it into the new world. Genesis indicates that metalworking was known well before Noah"s day, so it seems overwhelmingly likely that Noah had metal tools available to him. It should also be taken into account that the Ark was built over a period of around a 100 years, and Noah did not build is single handed. As for cranes and conveyor belts, the Egyptians built their pyramids *relatively* soon after this. With regards to wood being available, my opponent assumes that there were no trees available in the area, but again has provided no evidence, biblical or otherwise to support this claim. Even if there are no trees in that region now, this is most probably a result of the catastrophic worldwide flood, which would have drastically changed environments as well as vegetation. 3. Noah"s age: I will respond to this in my next post. "I was told the size of the boat. Although it is massive, it is hardly big enough to hold one of every animal let alone two. " This appears to be your opinion rather than the result of any type of empirical evidence. You provided no evidence to support this charge. Also, when you say "one of every animal", I think you are under the mistaken assumption that Noah had to take every sinlge species on board. I address this later on. "I saw a documentary where a physics professor, engineer, and ship builder describes the concept of the Ark as "impossible". He says that physics would topple the giant boat before the first wave hit it. Let alone tidal waves. " You"ve used an unknown, unreferenced source as evidence. I could quite easily argue that I had seen a documentary where a ship builder and physicist described the Ark as possible, and probable, and able to be extremely sea worthy. If you are arguing that the Ark would be unseaworthy, you need to then provide some sort of real evidence to " of every animal fits on a boat after traveling 3959 miles across oceans jungles and desserts. Protected from nature while on the treacherous journey. a. Were their 2 bears, or 2 brown bear, grizzly bear, black bears, poler bears, Kodiak bears. Etc b. what did the animals eat on the boat (Animals eat other animals) I don't want to even think of all the feces" This is an interesting point, although based on a somewhat misunderstood view. The bible claims, that Noah took two (except certain animals which I believe he took seven pairs) of every kind of animal, not every species or type. So for example Noah would only need to take two dogs or perhaps wolves, rather than two poodles, two greyhounds, two terriers and so on. Zebras, Donkeys and Horses were probably one biblical kind. Genetic variety and selective breeding are responsible for the multitude and variety of different species we see today. The large herbivoress could have eaten compressed hay, other dried plant material, seeds and grains, and the like. Carnivorous animals could have eaten dried meat, reconstituted dried meat, or slaughtered animals. Giant tortoises would have been ideal to use as food in this regard. They were large and needed little food to be maintained themselves, (merely as an example. ) Bearing in mind Noah had about a hundred years to prepare for this trip, and to gather food and supplies. With regards to the faeces, I don"t know exactly how it was dealt with but there are at least two possible solutions. In some parts of the world farmers today need to house their animals inside for many months during the winter, which is similar to Noah"s task. People in those countries have solved the problem in various ways. The farmer continuously adds straw (or peat or sawdust) on top of the existing layer when it is soiled by animal waste. By the end of the winter the layer "bedding" has grown as much as half a metre. Even though the waste builds up the environment remains clean, hygienic and sweet smelling. Similar stables also house cows and horses. Potstals were used a lot in the past and are still popular today with environmentally friendly farms. Another type of stable is the "grupstal" Many farmers where I grew up used to have stables like this, and they are still used in our country. In this stable the animals are housed on a floor with, for example, straw. A "gutter" (called "grup" in old Dutch) behind them collects the manure and urine. This type of stable is easy to clean"just push the manure into a collection tank. A relatively small amount of straw is needed. If Noah had used a system like this, then he could have discharged the waste to sea, using water (not in short supply! ) to flush the stable clean. It is also easy to feed the animals in these kinds of stables, by simply throwing the food into a gutter on the head side of the stable. "4. If Noah repopulated the earth where do different races come from? a. Did Noah have to commit incest? b. where does this fit into evolution? " Noah wasn"t the only person on the Ark, so why would he have to commit incest? Noah"s Wife accompanied Noah, as well as Noah"s three sons and their wives. I can only speculate about where the different races came from, although you are assuming they came about after the flood, which I would probably tend to agree with. It"s possible that Noah"s sons had wives of different races. It"s more likely though, that when God mixed up their languages after the tower of Babel, he also mixed up the races, or, different races are a product of genetic diversity, much more abundant in earlier man. As to where this fits in with evolution, I don"t see that it does, although evolution faces the same problem. If as evolutionary theory states, ewe all came from a common ancestor, where did the different races come from? "5 Do you believe the explanation for the existence of rainbows provided in the bible? a. Did rainbows not exist before the flood? b. how do you respond to sciences explanation for the existence of a rainbow? " Did rainbows exist? The theory is that before the flood, it did not rain, so rainbows wouldn"t have appeared. The great flood drastically altered the climatic conditions and weather cycles on the earth. The bible never claims that a rainbow is some sort of magic, merely that God used it as a sign or a reminder of his promise to Noah and his ancestors. "6. Do you believe that God suspends natural laws in order to fuel his plan? a. Wouldn't this divine intervention be more useful in the guidance of the "Gods Children" Instead of sending divine Wrath! " No, because then God would be interfering with peoples free will. God did not need to suspend the natural laws, any more than you do when you pick up a rock. When you pick up a rock you are defying gravity, not breaking the laws that describe gravity. You are injecting your energy into the environment and causing the rock to defy gravity. God, who has infinite power and energy is obviously able to do the same thing. That does not mean he is suspending the laws of physics.