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Here is the thread for all things Flood related. 
I think it would be fun and enlightening to discuss things we’ve learned about the Flood story, lessons it teaches, historical beliefs, and how the flood stories from other cultures play into our perception. I hope you will add any of your personal insights and beliefs for our edification.
I’ll start by saying that I love the symbolism of the earth being baptised by water. I think the symbolism is true. I do not believe that it means it is literally, historically true. But, even if it turned out to be, it would have been a natural phenomenon and not God’s punishment. I don’t think the ark and 8 survivors is literally correct. But I’m sure that it is hold symbolic meaning.
The fact that sooo many cultures have a flood story tell me that it carries an important message.
I read somewhere that the Flood and Noah story is another creation story. IOW, the creation story is repeated. These stories are all about us, as individuals. They teach us how we are spiritually created. We have to liken all scriptures unto us. I think that is where the message lies.
Thanks Just Me, you are very brave and I think this is a good topic to chew on for awhile. This wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_(prehistoric) ) gives a background on the major catastrophic floods that we’ve been able to sort out since the end of the ice age. I certainly don’t mind such a massive flood as suggested by this process as the basis for the flood. Since just about all the Near Eastern regions seem to have a flood story it is clear that at least that area suffered a major event at some point. The rational news, however, is that it looks like there is no evidence for a time when the entire planet was covered with water (for its baptism which I agree is wonderful symbolism that reinforces the sacredness of the Earth itself and implicitly asserts that the earth has a “spirit” of some kind which could lead into all sorts of theological debates) within the last many hundreds of thousands of years. My vote is for the Black Sea flood simply because it is the right area and more or less the right time frame.Perversely I have a faith and hope that there was a real prophet Noah who did survive that flood. I don’t think all of mankind was killed at the time, nor all of animal kind, but it was certainly a complete disruption of the village life that had begun to develop.
At this point I am working on the Documentary Hypothesis quite a bit and I will post after the weekend (I have to go and move my niece and her husband over this weekend) what the academics see as the two versions of the flood story that the Bible contains and which have been mushed together. It makes for interesting reading to see them on their own.
Again, thanks for starting this thread.
I have never able to saddle up to the idea that the ark contained examples of all life on earth. I just don’t think it is physically possible. I do like the metaphor.
If you believe what Paul Johnson has to say in “History of the Jews”, there was no jewish written history until sometime after Moses came to lead the Jews, therefore everything prior to that was oral tradition passed from generation to generation. I think that leaves room to take a non-literal interpretation of early Old Testament events.
Quote:there was no jewish written history until sometime after Moses came to lead the Jews, therefore everything prior to that was oral tradition passed from generation to generation. I think that leaves room to take a non-literal interpretation of early Old Testament events.
SS – agreed, and I would add that much of what IS written history is also bunk.
I have always accepted that people’s view of “the world” was limited to their understanding … which was mostly Jerusalem and that Middle East geography (which makes sense that many later refer to the western hemisphere as a “new world”). The idea works for me that many animals in Noah’s part of the world were saved from a massive flood that may have been a flood for that part of the world, even if it doesn’t cover the entire earth and animals globally. The idea the earth needed to be baptized has always puzzled me. I know MormonHeretic talked about Jewish history of baptism or washings, not exactly baptism as we think of it today…but when I have heard people talk of the great flood as a baptismal need for the earth…it is being portrayed as comparing our baptismal ordinance to something similar the earth needed, as the earth is a living creation of God also. Yes I know the D&C mentions the earth will be glorified like our bodies…so there are teachings that allude to this, but it seems strange to me. I don’t see every living thing needs baptisms (earth, animals, trees, etc)…I don’t see they need that nor can then enter into that covenant. I’ve always wondered where that teaching originated.
One other thing I’ve always pondered is how they specifically mention the animals go 2 by 2, not multiple females to propogate the species again. Sometimes I hear that polygamy was needed to grow the faithful nation quicker…but I think polygamy has more to do with something else besides reproduction needs, and I think the fact it is specifically mentioned that way in Noah’s story means something to me regarding that.
Everyone has brought up wonderful points! I wanted to link to a site that lists all of the known flood stories of the world. I think it is pretty neat.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html I accept it as a wonderful allegory – and as a one-upmanship version of the local flood narratives on steroids. After all, if you are going to be God’s chosen people, your mythology ought to put other mythologies to shame. 
I want to endorse that Yale University course that Valoel posted on a few weeks ago. Dr Hayes goes into depth on the flood story. There are 2 flood stories in Genesis–one says the animals came 2 x 2, the other says 7×7 of clean animals, so there is a bit of a contradiction between the 2 versions (probably attributable to the Documentary Hypothesis that Bill has mentioned.) I remember teaching the Noah story about 4 yrs ago in Gospel Doctrine, and comparing the length of the boat to BYU’s Cougar stadium. While a ship that size is certainly big, it is nothing compared to the mammoth cruise ships built today. I really don’t think we could get all animals (especially 7 of clean ones) on board even the Queen Mary, let alone Noah’s ship. So, I take this as a large localized flood. I know National Geographic did a show on Noah’s Flood, and I have a documentary on it which deserves a future post. But suffice it to say, I don’t think the flood covered the whole earth. The idea of baptizing the earth was obviously a Christian idea–Jews don’t hold the same significance of baptism Christians do, though here is that article about Mikvah that Heber mentioned.
http://www.mormonheretic.org/2008/07/17/history-of-baptismmikvah/ MH, thanks for the reminder that we have Christianized the OT. I think that is why we run into so many problems. We (LDS) believe that all the prophets and patriarchs were these righteous temple recommend holding Melchezidek priesthood holders and that slants how we look at everything they did. This type of misunderstanding leads to not truly being able to understand the personality of God. I may do another thread on that topic.
Great stuff and I would add to MH’s reference to the Yale course that the flood story is also an “origins” story (these stories explain some natural phenomenon, in the Greek a god drives the sun across the sky in his chariot each day for example) and the flood is the explanation for the rainbow. I assure you that the refraction of light through water droplets in the the air has been going on since there was a world so they didn’t just appear after this flood of whatever nature it may have been but here was the Hebrew explanation for its origin. But note that it has now been harnessed for religious purposes, from then on every Hebrew who viewed a rainbow would be reminded of the Noahide covenanant with God and just perphaps decide to live more righteously. Thanks Justme for the link to the flood myths, much appreciated.
I think the evidence of so many catastrophe (flood) stories, and a general sense that something is going to happen in the future is interesting. It is a powerful and almost instinctual concept. I think it likely that some great catastrophe happened in pre-history, and it was probably really terrible. I don’t know what it was, when it happened or what caused it, but we seem to have a profound ancestral memory of this continuing today. There sure have been a lot of movies from Hollywood on apocalyptic endings lately. With CGI, people seem to like to see the “what if” scenarios.
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