The Biblical Flood: A Case Study of the Church's Response to Extrabiblical Evidence

Using the biblical flood as an example, Young contends that the church has not always handled evidence well in grappling with scientific matters and issues a call to biblical scholars to interpret the Genesis text more rigorously in light of current scientific knowledge.

In recent years, the search for the remains of Noah's Ark as archeological and historical evidence of the biblical flood has been a popular preoccupation among many Christians. Yet, ironically, ever since the pathbreaking scientific discoveries of Darwin and Lyell, many of these same Christians have been reluctant to look deeply into the extrabiblical evidence offered by paleobiology, geology and paleontology. Young, who teaches geology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., engages in a rather exhaustive survey of attitudes about the flood, from ancient Near Eastern history to recent theories and commentaries on the story of the deluge, to demonstrate the ambivalence toward extrabiblical evidence that has always existed in the Christian community. The great value of the text is in its interdisciplinary nature, for Young here examines not only theological materials about the Genesis account but also explores the history of science. In short, this is a brilliant book that offers a fine starting point for anyone wishing to go beyond the superficiality of the current crop of books on Noah and the flood.
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