InvisibleBlack
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Joined: 7/24/2009
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BLoved
I am curious ... exactly what are we supposed to learn from the story of Noah's Flood?
God, the creator, all knowing and all loving, decides he hates humanity so much he not only wants to drown them all, but drown every living thing along with them ... butterflies, baby birds, snails ...
Exactly what did the butterflies do that God decided they have to go too?
And as for the manner of wiping out humanity: drowning ... has anyone thought of what it was like for all the newborns and toddlers? And what of their parents, struggling to keep their children alive?
And after all this destruction and misery, God the all-knowing feels bad and promises never to do it again.
Didn't God know he'd feel this way before he drowned everything?
Was there no more humane way for God to have wiped out humanity without causing suffering and without killing off the butterflies? Was God limited in imagination?
Considering this is the god of Jesus, I am curious as to how this incident fits within the paradigm that God is a loving god.
Let's play with this.
First - there is a theory that holds that there is a historical reference for the Flood - that there was originally a "land-bridge" between Gibraltar and Africa and that the Mediterranean basin was originally dry land and inhabited. When the Atlantic Ocean breached this bridge, it poured into the Mediterranean basin, creating the Mediterranean Ocean and wiping out several previously extant civilizations - possibly also giving rise to the "myth" of Atlantis.
Take this as you wish. I lend it some credence but obviously it's not like it can "proven".
Second - years ago I was discussing parts of Genesis with my uncle, who is a Jesuit and certain obscure verses came up. In particular I was curious about Genesis 6:1-4:
"1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."
What he told me was that based on certain of the Apocrypha, there is a school of thought that God removed Noah and his family and then flooded the Earth to remove these angel-human crossbreeds. The story of the Flood immediately follows this, starting at verse 5:
"5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."
The concept being that the angel-human hybrids were the source of this "great wickedness" and had to be expunged before Creation could continue on its "normal" course. Of course, supposedly, some of these types survived the Flood (maybe they could swim well) and supposedly Goliath, who David killed with a sling, was a descendent of one of them.
If you're really curious about this, you can do a web search on "Nephilim".
Take all that as you will.
Third - the Old Testament has a number of tales regarding God's obliteration of wickedness - the Tower of Babel, the Deluge and Sodom/Gomorrah being the prominent ones I can think of. The concept being that when humanity, as a whole, becomes too vile and corrupt - God strikes them down. Genesis 6:5 is pretty straightforward, after all "5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." This being a cautionary tale - that if you stray too far from the path of righteousness, God will sort you right out.
My own personal opinion is that the message is tailored to the audience. The Books of Moses were guidelines given to a nomadic tribal culture and as such are both strict and straightforward - "Don't do this or else!". The words of Christ are intended for a different culture entirely. In fact, in Acts 10:1-35 God grants Peter a vision letting him know that the restrictions and rules laid out for the Hebrews back in the Old Testament do not apply to Christ's followers - which would pretty much indicate a solid break from the role both God and his followers played in the past.
My question is - what's your point of view? Are you taking issue with Christianity? Or with the concept of a loving god? Or something else entirely?
_____________________________
Consider the daffodil. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here, looking through your stuff.
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RE: About the "Flood" ... - 
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