Rising waters, enduring faith: Investigating the historical & global reality of the biblical flood

Abstract

The Biblical story of Noah’s flood is a powerful demonstration of the consequences of sin, as well as God’s willingness and power to save us. Pictures of Noah and his family crammed into a wooden ark with a menagerie of animals are indelibly etched on the minds of people who attended Bible classes as a child. As we read this story, we are challenged by God’s divine judgment of human wickedness as well as encouraged by his commitment to give people an opportunity to be saved. We are also faced with the important question of whether the flood was a historical and global event. A number of standard scientific conclusions seem to question whether such an event occurred. On the other hand, if God has revealed in the Bible that he need to wipe out most of humanity at that time and that he could save Noah and his family when they put their faith in him, we would expect to find empirical evidence that supports this. In this book, a group of university-educated teachers, church leaders and academics team up to build enduring faith in the understanding that the biblical flood was a historical and global event which can lead us to a deeper trust in and dependence on Jesus.