Was it easier for people to believe in absurd stories like Noah’s Ark before modern science?

Question

I’m going out on a limb here; I think it was. Does this prove that the gaining of knowledge is weakening religion? Like sandcastles on a beach eroding as a tide of new knowledge comes in?

Answer 1

Yes, I think the story of a great flood was the best explanation they had for finding fossils of ocean life on desert mountain tops. It was likely the best and most scientific answer they could figure out at the time. It is quite remarkable how recently geologists developed a better theory. The idea of crustal movement of the Earth is quite new in terms of history.(late 1960s)
Yet before plate tectonics was presented as a theory nobody had any solid explanation for mountain building or for earthquakes.

Yes, the more we learn the further religion gets from the truth.
The eroding sandcastle is a good analogy.

http://www.wellingtongrey.net/miscellanea/archive/2007-01-15%20--%20science%20vs%20faith.html

Answer 2

The Noah story is absurd.

The mere existence of countries like Australia and New Zealand make it absurd.
There is no geological evidence of a world wide flood, despite the often repeated lies of the creationists.
The build time for a 300 cubit ark by four or five men is thousands of years.
The remains of the ark have been "found" on a mountain in Turkey, and on another mountain also in Turkey, and it is also supposed to have finally beached in several other places. Which story you push depends on which place you think you can make the most money out of by taking tourists there.

What about fish? Sea fish can't handle fresh water, fresh water fish can't handle sea water. The flood water was either salt or fresh.
What happens to plants after a year under water? What did the herbivores eat when they got off the ark? What did the carnivores eat when they got off the ark?

By the way, if the world was created in 4004BCE, the flood happened after the great pyramids of Egypt were built, but those careless Egyptians didn't notice that they had all been drowned.

It does not take science, all it takes is general knowledge and common sense.

http://www.skepticfiles.org/evo2/latnoah1.htm

Answer 3

You proceed from the false assumption that the conclusions of science are A) the only and best explanation of things, and B) that any of it can be considered knowledge. I have said before, and say again, that evolution CANNOT be scientifically proven. There is EVIDENCE only, and science has come up with ONE explanation of that evidence, and even they don't all agree on it. Other explanations are possible, but most people don't bother to examine other explanations. We cannot recreate the events of "evolution" any more than we can explain them. That's why it remains, and always will remain, until some better explanation comes along, at least, a THEORY. Theories are not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Knowledge is the BEGINNING of wisdom, not the destination. True knowledge doesn't weaken religion, but belief in lies and false truths certainly weakens not only religion, but everything else. We will all, someday, have perfect knowledge. The question is who will be the fool then?

Answer 4

I really think it was much harder then.

Everyone lived in small communities, and rumors would spread like wildfire there. Imagine being Noah...known as the crazy guy on Bizarre Drive, building the ark.
It was such a ridicule for people back then to do something out of the ordinary in the community. They were shunned, they were refused by merchants, they were outcasts. Word of mouth would travel from town to town, imagine moving your whole family 300 miles, only to find those people were expecting you and knew of your "dreams," and oddities.

It was a risk in believing. Not only was your sanity questioned, but also your reputation and your family's reputation and welfare would be in jeopardy.
Very dangerous and unforgiving times back then.

At least here, we can be anonymous sometimes and say what we want and nobody really cares.

Answer 5

I believe that we are given information at a level that we can understand ... hence the many stories in the bible that science conflicts with (evolution vs creationism for a start).. therefore, as the human race advances through knowledge, so does our understanding of stories ... and also, new stories are written for the next generation to embrace. I truly hate this great debate because anyone who is honest knows that no one living knows the ultimate answer! All we can do is find faith in something ... and go from there.

Thats why I believe in "Harm ye none"! Respect what we have and each other ... try every day to find a way to be kind to yourself and others. No matter what your "religion" is .. you can't go wrong with kindness.

Answer 6

I am not so sure.

I think you had to be pretty much ready for the men in white coats at any time in history to take Noah and some of the other stories literally. They are so patently absurd and outside what could be real.

Answer 7

For those who so willingly believe in the impossible, science probably doesn't make a difference.

I do believe that as science raises our level of understanding, more and more people will find religion unsupportable.

Perhaps because they were indoctrinated into religion as children, and were unable to understand the concepts they were taught; many "religious" people don't even understand their own religion -- much less science. There's a certain number of people who may forever be lost to reason. It's unfortunate.

Answer 8

Will you believe it if I tell you that you can find whale skeletons in sahara desert far far away from coast? (I saw it on NatGeo)

Will you believe if Jesus learnt everything from Buddhists (see the link)

Will you believe if its told to you that most of all deserts were created by salty sea waters flooding lands.

What will a person see when he is out of his body (after death)

There are many many astonishing things for us to make discoveries.

Answer 9

Yes, but even the Ancient Greeks were pretty savvy so it's been going on for millennia. Knowledge and rational thinking will always tend to dispel religious belief.

Answer 10

Yes, plus people who didn't believe were killed by the church. Commoners couldn't read the Bible, so they were taught to just go along with whatever preachers told them.

The internet and cable/satellite television are helping to educate millions who previously had to rely on church propaganda for information about their religion, and others.