A Flood of Myths and Stories

Overview of 'We Believe in Dinosaurs'

  • Exploration of the scientific and historical veracity of the Bible

  • Construction of Noah’s Ark in Williamstown, Kentucky, known as "The Ark Encounter"

  • Theme park as a portrayal of the Judeo-Christian story of God's wrath, the great flood, and Earth’s repopulation

Common Themes in Flood Myths

  • Flood Stories Across Cultures

    • Many religions have stories of a catastrophic flood

    • Common motifs include:

    • An angry deity or God

    • A catastrophic water event

    • Survival of a chosen few

    • Variations in execution of the core narrative

Geomythology

  • Definition: Study of how flood myths and geological phenomena intersect

  • Potential explanations for geological phenomena such as:

    • Volcanoes

    • Earthquakes

    • Fossils

    • Other natural landscape features

The Judeo-Christian Flood Narrative

  • God's anger over mankind's sins

  • Command to Noah: Build an ark for his family and two of every creature

  • Entities on the Ark:

    • Eight people (Noah, his wife, three sons, their wives)

    • Two of every creature on Earth

  • The deluge kills all but those aboard the ark

  • Ark’s resting place after the flood: Top of a mountain

    • Symbolizes the depth of the flood

  • Aftermath: Noah's family as the origin of the current human race

Comparison with the Quran

  • Similar structure: Allah commands Noah, a flood occurs, leading to Earth’s repopulation

Ancient Mesopotamian Influence: The Epic of Gilgamesh

  • Oldest known flood story documented on 12 stone tablets

  • Gilgamesh: Sumerian king, reigned for 126 years

    • Methuselah's longevity (969 years) makes this timeframe appear shorter

  • Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality leads him to Utnapishtim

    • Utnapishtim survives a great flood similar to Noah’s story

    • Constructed a ship called "Preserver of Life"

    • Brought relatives and all species onto his ark

Cultural Variations of Flood Stories

Aztec Flood Story

  • Characters: Nata and Nena, warned by the deity Titlacauan

  • Unique elements:

    • They are sealed inside a hollowed-out cypress tree

    • During the flood, they are transformed into fish rather than dying

    • Incident of disobedience results in their transformation into dogs

Greek Flood Myth

  • Deucalion and Pyrrha: Sons/daughters of Prometheus

  • Tasked to construct an ark to survive Zeus's flood

  • After flooding, they use stones to repopulate the Earth

    • Stones thrown by Deucalion become men, stones from Pyrrha become women

Hindu Deluge Narrative

  • Manu: First man, guided by a fish (Vishnu)

  • Building of a boat tied to the fish to survive the flood

    • Ritual sacrifice after the flood results in the birth of a woman

    • Manu and his “daughter” repopulate the earth

Buddhist Flood Story (Samudda-vāṇija Jātaka)

  • 1000 families of dishonest carpenters

  • Flooding occurs because of their misbehavior

  • Spirits allow notice of impending flood, causing division between wise and foolish carpenters

  • Only the wise carpenter builds a ship and survives

Chinese Flood Stories

  • Farmer captures a thunder God; children release him

  • Thunder God warns of impending flood; survival ensured inside a gourd

  • Different versions deal with the incest taboo following survival

  • Conflicted stories about the repopulation process

Aboriginal Flood Story

  • No angry deity or ark; focuses on the frog causing floods

  • Prominent in children's literature, reflects cultural storytelling

Native American Flood Accounts

Ojibwe/Chippewa Tribe

  • Waynaboozhoo survives flood; learns he needs to rebuild the earth

  • Attempts to retrieve mud from underwater for land creation

  • Cooperation and moral lessons emphasized in the narrative

Reality Behind Flood Myths

  • Geologists' Theories

    • Connection to possible historical flood events in the Middle East at the end of the last Ice Age (about 7,000 years ago)

    • Evidence of a massive overflow from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea

    • Stone age structures found beneath the Black Sea Support theories of past catastrophic events

Future Implications

  • Concerns regarding additional catastrophic floods due to:

    • Deforestation

    • Climate change

    • Rising sea levels potentially creating a modern flood narrative