Number of Animals on the Ark, and How it Survived the Flood

As stated before, when comparing worldviews it is necessary to see if they are consistent within their own frameworks. Christians claim to believe that the Bible is the written Word of God. Biblical creationists go further by declaring that Genesis is a record of recent creation, so written details are accurate.

Many people know that the people at Answers in Genesis have the Ark Encounter, which is a theme park featuring a full-sized replica of Noah's Ark built according to biblical specifications. This raises questions about the Bible and the Ark itself.

AI-generated Noah's Ark image, Pixabay / dlsdkcgl

For the Ark Encounter, Answers in Genesis has conducted a great deal of research. In this first of two articles, the feasibility of the number of animals on the Ark is considered. They did not use the easiest or safest numbers. Mockers will say something like, "The Ark couldn't have held all those animals. Because atheism," or words to that effect. They don't even consider the size of the Ark, they just assert that it couldn't happen.

That is, they make claims about the number of species on Earth that are usually far in excess of how many critters have actually been catalogued today. They also include fish and insects. Don't forget that scientists argue about the definition of species even now. But that is misleading in the first place. For one thing, species is a relatively modern construct. Looking at the Genesis narrative, we find that Noah took the biblical kinds (representatives close to the family level in modern taxonomy), and there were few if any insects included. No, the biblical narrative withstands scrutiny.

One of the most important issues relating to the Bible’s flood account is the topic of animals on the ark. The estimated numbers, sizes, and types of ark animals impact nearly every aspect of the vessel’s interior operations, including time and labor expenditures, food and water needs, space and waste management, and enclosure design.

The subject of fitting the required animals on the ark is a significant point of contention between biblical creationists and skeptics. However, properly addressing these concerns is more complicated than a mere compilation of data about different animal species. First, we must answer some fundamental questions.

To read the rest, click on "How Could All the Animals Fit on the Ark?" Be sure to come back as we explore the seaworthiness of this huge wooden vessel.

Another area where biblical creationists are consistent is maintaining that ancient humans were intelligent. This opposes evolutionary views, as they claim that humans were stupid brutes who had not yet involved intelligence. Creationists are consistently vindicated by discoveries of technology and artifacts that were brilliant. Genesis records various skills developed early on, and you can be sure that those folks didn't keep them to themselves.

Technologies have been lost even in comparatively recent times, as seen in the television documentary series Wild West Tech. Also, there are "hacks" and skills from the Great Depression that are being rediscovered by survivalists and other people.

There are some fair questions asked about how Noah's Ark could survive the global Flood. After all, wouldn't the sea be a violent place?

Did you see the 1972 movie The Poseidon Adventure, Cowboy Bob? It was capsized by a tidal wave!

People had to suspend their disbelief on a large scale, or be ignorant of many facts, to like that movie. I don't care for movies killing off large numbers of people, anyway. One fact is that a tsunami (the term "tidal wave" was incorrectly used in the film) does not bother boats and ships in the sea, tsunamis are dangerous closer to land. The movie should not have happened, as a tsunami would pass under the Poseidon, just like the numerous tsunamis in Genesis Flood models in creation science.

Creationists believe that although there were miracles involved, the skills of Noah and others were necessary.

The question remains: How did a huge ship made out of wood make it through? There are scoffers who point to examples of other ships in the past that did not survive, but many of those are invalid comparisons. The Ark was only to last for a specified time, and also the shape was different. In addition, ancient accounts of sea vessels were rejected out of hand, but are being reconsidered. Yes, the Ark was entirely possible — and creationists believe the Bible in the first place, another area where we are consistent in our worldview.

There are many objections to the feasibility of a wooden ark surviving the flood. In this article, we take on several challenges regarding the limitations of wooden vessels.

You can read it all at "Could a Wooden Ark Survive the Flood?" For those interested in the physics and math, those are also covered in appendices to the article.