Why are people so sceptical of the Global Flood?

Question

The whole world is covered in sedimentary rock, laid down by water, containing billions of dead creatures. The fossils were clearly buried quickly since they were not eaten and have not rotted.

If the land mass on earth were smoothed out then the earth would be covered by water to a depth of 1.7 miles, so there is ample water to cover the earth!

There are flood stories form dozens of nations all over the world, with many commonalities, all recalling this very real event.

Yet people claim there is no evidence for a global flood!

http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/cabook/chapter12.pdf

Answer 1

The strata were clearly laid down over billions of years, not in a single event. If a global flood had happened, there would be evidence of it. Since there is no evidence, there was no flood. Simple.

Answer 2

there are layers of sedimentary rock alternating with volcanic or metamorphic rock... the idea that one single event can account for this was disposed of by geologists as early as 1830 (good honest christians, many of them...). the situation has not improved for flood scenarios: it is simply ridiculous in light of modern scientific evidence.

fossils don't have to be buried rapidly. animals getting stuck in a bog produces fossils just as readily as a global flood would, and there is evidence for bogs (and none for global floods). also, the distribution of fossils in the various layers is inconsistent with a global flood. you would have the flowering plants outrunning the early mammals to higher ground, which doesn't seem quite right...

there is no evidence that the earth's surface was smoothed out more recently than about 4 billion years ago... when do you think the flood was exactly?

if there are flood stories from all nations, does this prove that all nations have local floods, or that there was a global flood?

"Yet people claim there is no evidence for a global flood!"

sure there is some evidence. it is just that it's always possible to interpret it in other ways that make far more sense overall. there is no unambiguous evidence for a global flood, certainly not since humans appeared on earth.

it is quite reasonable to think that the events depicted in genesis are extremely exaggerated if they happened at all.

Answer 3

News Flash!

Floods are not a culturally specific phenomenon. They happen all around the world with similar catastrophic effects, so it is to be expected that many different cultures have stories related to floods. Also, I global flood would cause a mass extinction. Most of all but the most minute life would be eradicated, as salt and fresh water mixed and land animals drowned or were suffocated by the huge amount of humidity in the air. It would take millions upon millions of years for the planet to be teeming with life again, and mankind would have never survived to tell the story. The Global Flood story is 100% bunk.

Answer 4

You propose that God flooded the earth by smoothing the surface. This does not concur with the Bible. The flood was due to rain and there was at least one mnt. left for Noah to hit.
Proposing a global flood which doesn't violate lots of scientific principles is difficult.
God could have just miracled the whole thing taking it into the realm of the supernatural.
But what fun is that.
Try again. It's a cool thought experiment.

Answer 5

The evidence you have is interpreted from a creationist point of view. You have a religious agenda behind you. Most contemporary scientists are tired of debating this subject. They view the evidence honestly. Creationists use science selectively.

Your thoughts and views have been reviewed and discounted many, many times.

This is precisely why people are so sceptical of the global flood.

But I'd imagine I am wasting my time here.

Chas, I have to admit, I've seen you on other forums here. Take this as an insult if you will, and I don't mean to, but despite the creationist ideas you seem to be an eloquent, intelligent and morally upright person.

What happened, man?

Answer 6

Because people assume Earth is a closed system...forgetting things fall from space all the time. They claim dinosaurs were destroyed by asteroids, but it's impossible for there to have been a global flood.

I'm sorry if a comet (which is made of what dust and ice) hit the Earth...burns up while entering the Earth's atmosphere...would that be enough water to satisfy skeptics? If the comet broke up into several pieces causing tsunamis of mass proportion...I think it possible.

As far as survivors? As one person has already mentioned there are flood stories passed from several different cultures that's no coincidence. It would make sense for me people living in low lying areas would know to seek higher ground. Caves are known to be as deep in relation to altitude of the mountains where they are found.

Is it such a stretch to believe mountain dwelling people would seal themselves in caves (with cave dwellers no less), expert sailors and navigators would take their chances in the water, if by chance some one noticed a rock in front of the sun break into pieces and grow larger everyday? Its been suggested we weren't idiots back then...we have to use our brains a little bit and assume self preservation was a common goal.

Answer 7

Your question may cause some people to fall out of their chairs, laughing. Are you actually trying to imply that at the time of the "great flood" the earth was "smoothed out?" And that all the continents and mountain ranges have risen in the last 6000 years? You guys are incredible. If the earth was "smoothed out", how could there have been a Mt Ararat high enough for Noahs boat to come to rest at the 14,000 foot level? You better not ask any more questions like this one, they are not a pretty sight.

Answer 8

Because science - legitimate science, that is - has proved it was impossible.

1. There is not enough water in the world for that to have happened. Where did all this so called water go?

2. If a man was to build an ark big enough to house two of every animal on earth, plus all their food, plus all their waste, AND somehow recreate their climates so the delicate ones wouldn't die and somehow keep the predators from eating the other animals, he'd need technology even we don't have yet and a boat about the size of Texas, in which case, it'd be too heavy to float.

3. There are stories about dragons in cultures all over the world. Are they real too? (Psst, Pat Fortam, they're real, don't worry. :) )

Of course, you'll probably ignore all this and just say "God made it possible!" But if that's the case, why are you even trying to prove this to us scientifically at all?

Answer 9

Of course there is enough water to cover the earth, except you'd need a really large natural imbalance to occur to cause the flood.

But folks say god swished and flicked his wand and TADA!! No thank you.

Answer 10

the knowledge of evidence of global flooding is currently becoming more widespread, however this evidence is also strongly disputed. there are very valid arguments based on depth of sediment versus height of land mass at time of flooding. in other words the "global flood" may not have happened all at one time.