Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-30
THE GREAT DELUGE.
Evidence That the Entire Earth Was
Not Inundated.

John Gmeiner In the Catholic World Of April
Geological and archaeological reasons com.
bine to prove that geographically the deluge
was not universal. At the time assigned for
the deluge the surface Of the earth was SUBJ
stantially as it is now. If, then, some great
portion Of the dry land had been submerged,
proportionate rise Of land above the waters
would have been necessary in soma other part
OF the globe. For. as Professor Alexander
Winchen observes, ''the terrestrial globe, in
some Of Its behavior, may be compared to an
India-rubber ball filed with water. II indented
by pressure in one place there must be pro-
tuberance equal in volume in another place.
Hence. if all Asia had been submerged, a
proportionate amount of dry land would have
been lifted above the waters somewhere else.
That Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and Amer
lea were all submerged at the SAINT time seems
geologically impossible, and we have no evil
dence which would justify us to assume that
God wrought so stupendous wonder.
On the contrary, there are geological and
archaeological facts which evidently prove
that some portions Of the earth have not been
inundated by the Noachan deluge. For in
stance, IN Auvergne, France in the Eifel coun-
try OF the Prussian Rhine province; in New
Zealand and elsewhere, there are extinct vol
canoes, evidently older than Noe, that are
marked by cones of pumice-stone, ashes, and
such light substances as could not have resisted
the waters of the deluge."
Whereabout was the deluge? Indications
seem to point to western Central Asia. 1t is
quite probable that the leading descendants OF
Adam, the direct line of the ancestors of Gods
chosen people of old, continued to reside near
the former happy home Of If first parents-the
garden OF Paradise. Now, this was undoubtedly
situated in western Central Asia, as the Booi
OF Genesis unmistakably indicates by stating
that four rivers, the Prison the Gehon the
Ilgris and the Euphrates, had their source il
the region of the Paradise That really the I'll
girls and the Euphrates of to-day were mean
cannot be doubted In the first place, of tn,
Tlgris 1t is expressly stated that it is the sam,
that passeth along by the Assyrians Secondly
there Is no geological reason known why tn,
present Tigris and Euphrates should not hav
existed in the days of Adam, or even long be
fore.
Thus, for instance. our Missouri. Ohio, an,
Mississippi, the latter about as far south a
Tennessee, seem to have been in existence dur
ing the tertiary age, long before the appearance
OF man upon earth.
Moreover, it is not likely that the transien
nently changed the channels of these rivers
which it could not have done without changinI
the entire surface of the surrounding territories
And. finally, the Book of Genesis was writer
at time when no other rivers were known a
the IIgris and Euphrates than the rivers which
still bear these names.
For these reasons it cannot be doubted tina
| the Paradise was located somewhere near O.
about the sources of the present Tigris an,
Euphrates in Armenia. This is the opinion o
competent authorities