The Genesis Cataclysm

Proposing a Noahic Global Flood within an Old-Earth Scriptural Paradigm

W. Joseph Stallings

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781725270350, 9781725270367
• eBook ISBN: 9781725270374
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Are there sufficient evidences to plausibly warrant positing a global Noahic Flood within the auspices of a specific Old-Earth biblical paradigm? If so, what are they? It is our firm conviction that God has allowed the passage of time to cover the blatant earthen signs of the Noahic Flood in such a way, and just enough, as to require earnest seekers of truth to use their eyes of faith and their vision of the kingdom metanarrative--along with their empirical sight and senses--to view and interpret the richness of the evidence. Prerequisites in this quest include a great respect for the authority of Holy Scripture, a pure heart with a simple desire for God's truth, and a relentless willingness to look for both "the forest and the trees" (viz., to see the multitudes of seemingly unrelated small scenes always in light of the big picture). The negation of any of these necessities will completely nullify the veracity of one's conclusions. However, we strongly aver that the totality of these necessities can bring the historical truth of the mystery of the Noahic Flood into a much, much greater clarity.

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The Evidence of Nature

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves.123

It is important to now look at the fallen natural order to discern what evidence, if any, can be found to substantiate anything concerning the Noahic Flood event. Despite the murkiness and the blur of the decayed and decaying natural order, we will search for some sort of blemished empirical footprint, regardless of just how distinct or faint it may be, in the earthen record. Even with the preeminence of the evidence of Scripture, we believe that this is still a necessary task in order to complete a whole and unabridged investigation. According to Young:

No study of the relationship between Scripture and earth history would be complete without a consideration of the role of Noah’s flood in geological history. . . . The story is not only very impressive as an account of God’s judgment upon the sin of a wicked world but also as a description of an apparently significant geological phenomenon. . . . The report of Noah’s flood has, perhaps more than any other story in the Bible, exercised men’s imaginations. The flood story has, of course, been regarded as pure myth but generally is seen as having roots in some historical event. In the Bible-believing world the flood story has always been accepted as a true account of a real, historical phenomenon.124

The search for the evidence of nature will be attempted both from a broad and from a narrow perspective.

A word of caution. As we begin to examine the natural order, may we do so, not with arrogance or haste, but with great humility, deep patience, and earnest truth seeking. We would all be quite wise to tread lightly as we explore. For in our striving to see and to understand just what God’s creation still has to tell us about something so seemingly impenetrable and (even) cryptic as the Noahic Flood, we must realize at the onset that there are many things in the evidence of nature concerning this occurrence that do not now remain patently clear, overtly neat, and easily discernable. In reality, only the ardent and intensely focused student of the event—and one truly following Christ, who is the Lord of truth himself, as well as one truly seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness—will likely see more than some sort of an indiscriminate mixture in the natural order. Like us, the mixture itself is fallen and marred (see Rom 8:19–23a; described here variously by Paul as being “subjected to futility,” as being in “bondage to decay,” and “groaning in travail”) and requires the clarifying lens of heaven. Thus, parsing out the variant elements of this mixture as tarnished nature presents it will demand much effort and divine leadership. It is one investigative task that requires its sleuths to have the eyes of an eagle (to see), the heart of a lion (to persevere), the light of the Scriptures (to stay veridical), and most importantly of all, the guiding wisdom of the Holy Spirit (to illumine and confirm seemingly disparate connections). Yet, as it always is concerning the mysterious things of God, the treasure trove of truth can be great for those who are willing to carry on humbly, but steadily, in the seeking and in the finding. We encourage all such researchers to stay the course.

Moving forward, it is important to note that our primary intention is not to devise a new theory of Flood mechanics or to justify any particular existing Flood theory. Our purpose is to search for and to study extant evidence of a potential diluvial nature in order to determine whether or not a global Flood can be empirically justified within a particular Old-Earth scriptural paradigm. Certainly, the Noahic Flood, as presented in Genesis, is fraught with elements of both supernatural primary causation (the initiating proclamation of God: “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth”—Gen 6:17) and natural secondary causation (the responsive action within the created order: “all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened”—Gen 7:11). However, it is our contention that the most important thing for a Christian apologist is to be able to show the reasonable plausibility of its historical occurrence (not to devise or speculate on a mechanistic explanation of secondary causation). We say this with the strong scriptural understanding that God is indeed the direct primary causation (see Gen 6:6–7, 17; 7:16; 8:1–3), regardless of the natural secondary mechanism used. With the Flood being an act of God, it is even possible—we believe probable—that the natural inducing mechanism itself may no longer be extant or identifiable. We will, however, briefly survey the major mechanistic models to show the direction of scholarly thought in this area.

The Overview of Prominent Global Flood Models

There are many Christian scholars who seek detailed explanations for the mechanism that was the secondary causation of the Flood. The theorists typically come to the matter from the differing perspectives of meteorology, hydrology, geology, astronomy, tectonics, or some combination. Over the years, many theories have been posited,125 including the following four basic global Flood models126 that are probably the most currently prominent (each of which has multiple sub-variation...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Foreword
• Introduction
• The Issue Proper
• The Evidence of Scripture
• The Evidence of Nature
• The Evidence of Tradition
• The Final Thoughts
• Bibliography