NO MORE WATER...

Believers in the lost Ark: Treating myth as fact misunderstands the meaning of religion (Karen Armstrong, August 9, 2003, The Guardian)

The explorer who discovered the Titanic beneath the Atlantic in 1985 is setting out on another underwater expedition to document Noah's flood. The Black Sea was originally a freshwater lake that in ancient times became inundated by the salty Mediterranean. Robert Ballard believes that this was a cataclysmic event that occurred about 7,500 years ago, and was possibly the deluge described in the Bible.

Ballard's critics are sceptical: they argue that the infiltration of the Black Sea was a gradual process that occurred much earlier and over a long period of time. They accuse Ballard of using Noah to sex up his material for maximum publicity.

Christian fundamentalists will expect great things of Ballard's expedition. American creationists, who believe that the book of Genesis gives a scientifically accurate account of the origins of life, have long discussed Noah's flood. Some have even led archaeological expeditions to Mount Ararat in Turkey, in the hope of unearthing the Ark, and proving the literal truth of scripture once and for all.

Other creationists are more cautious, pointing out that the Ark is unlikely to have survived the ravages of time. But all Christian fundamentalists are passionately convinced that the Bible describes a historical deluge that destroyed all life on earth.

Actually, only about four in ten Americans believe in quite that literal an account. Another four in ten believe in Creation, but assume there's some metaphorical license involved, including us. Meanwhile, one in ten agree with Ms Armstrong that it's all just a myth. We're a fundamentalist kind of people but our fundamentalism is separable from literalism. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 8, 2003 11:12 PM