Have you ever wondered where the story of Noah’s flood came from, and if it has any basis in historical reality?
In this episode of Eastern Oregon on Fire, Cade and Matt find some common ground, and also a few flaws with a recent presentation on the Noah’s flood account published on Harvard University’s Youtube channel.
The presentation is called, “Faith in Nature: Noah’s Flood and the Development of Geology,” and it is presented by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, which is a sub-institute within Harvard University. The speaker is David Montgomery, who is a geologist at University of Washington. We’ll link to the full presentation below.
Montgomery recaps the various flood stories that exist throughout the world, then he discusses the similarities and differences to the biblical text regarding the flood. He then dives into a synopsis of different views regarding geology and geomorphology throughout modern history, and how different theologians, scientists, and other experts have dealt with the scientific evidence for the flood and how a global or regional flood may or may not fit in with their understanding of geology.
It’s a fascinating presentation because he is able to bring in evidence from long slow processes to explain the geologic record, while also acknowledging the role that catastrophes can play in shaping the modern landscape.
We were able to find a good deal of common ground with David, but also noticed some elementary flaws in the logic that was used to explain away the young-earth creationist viewpoint.
Quite surprising for a professor of his rank.
Want to learn more about what modern geology thinks about the biblical flood account? Give a listen to our episode, and also check out the full presentation from David Montgomery. Then, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Full Presentation from Harvard:
