Noah's Ark

[Craig]

Dear Ray,

Did Noah really carry two of every animal? I also have another question about the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve. Did God really create them directly from the dust? What about Homo erectus Homo heidelbergensis and other ancestors of humans. I have been struggling with my faith after learning more about science, the history of the earth and critiques about faith (like how prayer and faith healing offer no more benefit than placebo).

Thank you for your website it really has helped me,

With love,

Michael



Dear Michael:

Thank you for your interest in our site.  It is not possible for me to answer your questions
in a short email.  Hundreds of thousands of scientists have written many thousands of
books dealing with the subjects you bring up.  I will try to steer you in a direction, however,
which may help your faith rather than destroy it.

The first couple of chapters of Genesis are written in such a way that many of the major
concepts of biological evolution could be possible.  For example,

Gen. 1:9-10 present the earth in the same configuration as do many geological scientists.
The land was all in one mass, which answers to the theory of Pangaea.

Gen. 1:11, God says "Let the EARTH bring forth grass (vegetation, green, algae).

From. 1:12 to 25, all things produced "after their kind," an absolute law of biology.

In Gen. 1:20 God again says, "Let the WATERS bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that has life..."  He didn't say He "created," but let the "waters" do it.  Also
God didn't say He created "fish," but rather "moving creatures" which could indicate
extremely small or microscopic simple life.  Also notice that God didn't say He "created
birds," but rather "fowl."  Gen. 7:14 clearly shows that there must be a difference between
"fowls" and "birds."  This word "fowl" comes from a Hebrew word that simply means, "to
fly," and there are millions of "bugs" and things that can fly.

The point is, however, regardless of how or by what processes God used in creation, He
was behind all of it.  The sea would have never brought forth little swimming creatures
except that first God COMMANDED that the waters do so.

So did God use a process of creation that could be compared to some of the theories
of biological evolution?

From the description of the "male and female" that God created in Gen. 1:26, there is no
indication that they could speak and/or had any particular skills, other than to live off of
the land and stay alive.  It was "Adam" which God spoke to and who spoke back to God.
And it was Adam that had the ability to "cultivate" the Garden, as apparently the first
male and females did not know HOW to "till the ground" (Gen. 1:7). So maybe there was
an era in which humanity was not as developed as modern homo sapiens.  Etc.

If the flood of Noah was a regional rather than a global flood, then he would have taken
only parts of animals from that particular region of the country.  I cover much of this in
greater detail in my Nashville Conference three years ago.

It is absolutely FALSE that prayer offers no benefits above that of a placebo.  I have been
battling stage iv terminal prostate and bone cancer for going on four years. ALL of my
oncologists, doctors, and specialists said that I had no chance--ZERO, of ever improving
or even living beyond a few months.  I took no placebos, my supplements are real, highly
concentrated food, not sugar pills. Likewise the prayers presented on behalf are real, and
the effect on my life are real.  God keeps me humble, but I am able to carry on a rather
normal life with some restrictions due to bone pain, and I am still productive.  I don't have
the time to go into the answers to prayer that I can attest to, but they have been many.

I hope this helps your faith and understanding a little better.

God be with you,

Ray