The Ark of Noah and Water Stress

First, a look behind the scenes. I did not title this using the singular possessive because of the way titles and certain other things are rendered. In this case, Noah's Ark.

When challenging a position someone holds, rational people try to understand the opponent's point of view. The material should be examined to see if it is internally consistent and not chock full o' arbitrary assertions. Scoffers presuppose atheism, naturalism, deep time, evolution, and so on. To them, Noah's Ark and the Genesis Flood are just stories and not historical narratives. 

Noah's Ark at Answers in Genesis, Unsplash / Elias Null

Misotheists do not honestly examine what biblical creationists say for consistency and plausibility, instead writing it off because they filter what they say through their own worldview. Essentially, a straw man argument. They like to put Christians on the defensive and expect us to defend views we don't hold. We don't have to. You savvy that, Pilgrim?

All that being said, there are some fair questions about these unique and miraculous events several thousand years ago. While the Bible is a reliable historical document, there are some details that modern folks would like to know. Some creationists use reasonable speculations. They examine the science involved with the structure and stresses on the Ark.

F'rinstance, how did the Ark get to the water?

"Maybe Noah built a slipway, broke a bottle of champagne on the bow, and it slipped into the water stern-first, Cowboy Bob!"

I'm sure deep-fake videos for that will exist, but it's not plausible.

It's reasonable to think that he built the Ark expecting the floodwaters to eventually raise it up to float away, but where would it be built?

Heavy rain, continental scale flooding, earthquakes, desperate mobs—not your everyday conditions for launching a ship. How did Noah’s ark go from the construction site to floating in the floodwaters? Creation researcher John Baumgardner theorized:

You can read the first of these two features by clicking on "How Did Noah’s Ark Get in the Water?" Be sure to come back right after launch for the second part.

Creationists have discussed the effects of the global Flood, often going into minute details. People who work in occupations that deal with water know how powerful rising and flowing water can be. For example, propellers and dams become seriously damaged through cavitation from tiny but powerful bubbles. Earthquakes, forty days and nights of rain, tsunamis, storms, and more were happening — and the Ark had to support eight people and the critters for a year! God thought through many details when he had Noah get the Ark built.

The keel of the ark had to survive an unusual launching. During the rise of the floodwaters, the ark was probably buffeted by earthquakes, particularly in a catastrophic plate tectonic scenario. This was something it should have handled, provided it didn’t end up sliding down a hill or rattling around on a rock. Next, it was lifted by the flood, a dangerous situation if there was a fair current. Worse still, it was beached during a global wind, which was almost certainly a sea with waves, even on the lee side of an island. It had to remain intact during the beaching too, or else the animals would be stuck in the mud.

To finish reading, visit "How Could the Ark Have Survived the Stresses of the Flood?" There are other articles on the Ark gathered together if'n y'all have a notion to dig deeper, found at "Thinking Outside the Box."