Science and the Bible and Noah

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Science and the Bible and Noahs Ark By Pastor
Phil Layton credits picture slides, unless
otherwise noted, are from online presentations at
www.nwcreation.org or www.answersingenesis.org
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Species Estimates (www.Wikipedia.org)

• 5-10 million bacteria
• 74,000-120,000 fungi
• 1.6 million eukaryote (identified), including
• 297,326 plants, incl
• 15,000 mosses,
• 13,025 Ferns and horsetails,
• 980 gymnosperms,
• 258,650 angiosperms,
• 199,350 dicotyledons,
• 59,300 monocotyledons,
• 9,671 Red and green algae,

• 28,849 fungi other non-animals, including
• 10,000 lichens,
• 16,000 mushrooms,
• 2,849 brown algae,
• 1,250,000 animals, incl.
• 1,203,375 invertebrates
• 950,000 insects,
• 81,000 mollusks,
• 40,000 crustaceans,
• 2,175 corals,
• 130,200 others
• 59,811 vertebrates
• 29,300 fish,
• 6,199 amphibians,
• 8,240 reptiles,
• 9,956 birds,
• 5,416 mammals.

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How many of these species had to be on the ark?

• 5-10 million bacteria
• 74,000-120,000 fungi
• 1.6 million eukaryote (identified), including
• 297,326 plants, incl
• 15,000 mosses,
• 13,025 Ferns and horsetails,
• 980 gymnosperms,
• 258,650 angiosperms,
• 199,350 dicotyledons,
• 59,300 monocotyledons,
• 9,671 Red and green algae,

• 28,849 fungi other non-animals, including
• 10,000 lichens,
• 16,000 mushrooms,
• 2,849 brown algae,
• 1,250,000 animals, incl.
• 1,203,375 invertebrates
• 950,000 insects,
• 81,000 mollusks,
• 40,000 crustaceans,
• 2,175 corals,
• 130,200 others
• 59,811 vertebrates
• 29,300 fish,
• 6,199 amphibians,
• 8,240 reptiles,
• 9,956 birds,
• 5,416 mammals.

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How many of these species had to be on the ark?

• 5-10 million bacteria
• 74,000-120,000 fungi
• 1.6 million eukaryote (identified), including
• 297,326 plants, incl
• 15,000 mosses,
• 13,025 Ferns and horsetails,
• 980 gymnosperms,
• 258,650 angiosperms,
• 199,350 dicotyledons,
• 59,300 monocotyledons,
• 9,671 Red and green algae,

• 28,849 fungi other non-animals, including
• 10,000 lichens,
• 16,000 mushrooms,
• 2,849 brown algae,
• 1,250,000 animals, incl.
• 1,203,375 invertebrates
• 950,000 insects,
• 81,000 mollusks,
• 40,000 crustaceans,
• 2,175 corals,
• 130,200 others
• 59,811 vertebrates
• 29,300 fish,
• 6,199 amphibians (?),
• 8,240 reptiles,
• 9,956 birds,
• 5,416 mammals.

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So we have less than 30,000 species that would
fall under the creatures Genesis specifies as
boarding the ark. But the Bible doesnt use the
word species what is the word weve seen
repeated in those verses several times?
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So we have less than 30,000 species that would
fall under the creatures Genesis specifies as
boarding the ark. But the Bible doesnt use the
word species what is the word weve seen
repeated in those verses several times? Kinds
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• The biblical kind is more likely somewhere
  in here (genus / family?)
• Some speciation and variation can be genetically
  reproduced within some biblical kinds (ex
  types of cats, dogs, horses, etc.) but God has
  programmed DNA limits for reproduction according
  to its kind (Genesis 1, no macro-evolution,
  where new animal is birthed)

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• Biblical kinds would at least be many
  thousands less than species known to man
  (including species now extinct).
  Baraminologists (scientists who study this)
  have suggested the number of original kinds
  were somewhere between 2,000 and 16,000?

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Size and Shape of the Ark
What did the Ark look like?
A
B
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Scale model of Noahs Ark
Model Ark by Rod Walsh, background image by Carol
Drew.
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Further Comparison in Scale
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Genesis 613-14
Then God said to Noah Make for yourself an
ark of gopher wood you shall make the ark with
rooms and shall cover it inside and out with
pitch.
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Model of ark being built in Netherlands
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How could a wooden boat survive such a flood?
First, the ark was made of a strong and flexible
material (gopherwood) that gives without
breaking. Second, the heavy load was an advantage
that gave the ark stability. Third, naval
architects inform us that a long box-shaped,
floating box-car, such as the ark was, is a very
stable craft in turbulent waters. Indeed, modern
ocean liners follow the same basic dimensions or
proportions of Noahs ark. - Normal Geisler, When
Critics Ask, p. 41.
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Genesis 615
This is how you shall make it the length of the
ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty
cubits, and its height, thirty cubits.
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Noahs Ark
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Epic of Gilgamesh

• The most popular non-biblical flood story is the
  Epic of Gilgamesh

Some Problems
The ark is a cube of 120x120x120 cubits Only
seven days of rain are recorded
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John MacArthur writes
What they learned by the time they built ship
after ship after ship through human history is
that it's critical that if a ship is to be stable
in the water it has a certain ratio.  And it's
still the standard for large ships.  And the
ratios are from 61 to 81, that is 61 or 81 in
length to width.  Modern ship-builders in the
19th century have discovered that provides the
best stability and even to this very day the 61
to 81 ratio is standard for building a ship. 
Well it's interesting that the ark was 61
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A scientist concluded that the ark would have had
to have been turned completely vertical before it
could be tipped over.  It was so stable.  It's
relative length six times greater than its width
would tend to keep it from being subjected to
wave forces because wave forces aren't that
long.  And even if it got sideways there was no
single wave force that would hit the total ship
it would be virtually impossible to turn it over. 
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• As a rectangle it had more stability than any
  other form of construction.  A ship has a rounded
  bottom to move it through the water but that
  makes it vulnerable.  A square bottom sunk down
  is almost impossible to overturn no matter how
  great the waves.  Also it gives it a third more
  cargo capacity than a similar ship with a sloping
  hull. Its internal space 100,000 square feet. 
  And its total volume 1.5 million cubic feet.

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• It has been calculated that the capacity of the
  ark is equivalent to 522 boxed cars. You watch
  the box cars go by on the train tracks 522.
• You can get 240 sheep in a boxed car.  So if you
  had 522 boxed cars with 240 sheep you'd have a
  total of 125,000 animals. So its estimated all
  the animals would take up less than half the
  space of the ark
• Sheep are larger than the average animal on the
  ark and they probably didn't take two full grown
  giraffes if you were wondering, or full grown
  hippos and elephants sorry no giraffe heads
  sticking out the top!
• John Woodmorappe writes that the median-sized
  animal (half were smaller than this and half
  larger) was about as big as a small rat, with
  only 11 being larger than a sheep  

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• Paul Taylor adds young adult animals, at the
  beginning of the reproductive capabilities would
  be the logical choice. No one would take senior
  citizens to repopulate the earth!

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• Paul Taylor adds young adult animals, at the
  beginning of the reproductive capabilities would
  be the logical choice. No one would take senior
  citizens to repopulate the earth!
• No offense to any human senior citizens
  present!!

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• Now only supernatural revelation would know
  how many animals there were, how much capacity
  was needed and what the best structure was for a
  floating box.  Only God would have the concept of
  building something so massive to float This to
  me is a wonderful evidence of and confidence
  building of the integrity of the inspired
  character of scripture.  If Moses had invented
  the flood story, if somebody else had invented
  the flood story they never would have imagined or
  designed a ship that never could have been
  conceived by anybody in the ancient world.
• John MacArthur, sermon 90-257 

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There was room for all the animals
There was room for more people
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I am the door if anyone enters by Me, he will be
saved...
John 109