For some time, searching for Noah’s ark on Mount Ararat went into remission, with the major apologetic organizations such as AiG, CMI, and CRI going quiet or taking the position that we should not expect the ark to be preserved once it served its purpose.
Well, the past couple of weeks have definitely rebooted interest. An group promoting itself as “Noah’s Ark Scans” has put together a fairly large scale team of organizational and research players to head to Turkey’s Mount Ararat to investigate a geological feature that has some resemblance to the ark of popular imagination. Their publicity effort has benefited from some well played free advertising from media coverage by Fox news, Daily Mail, and others.
As might be expected, this has created a lot of buzz in YEC circles, with some considering the preliminary results to be proof positive of the flood, case closed. Not so fast, cautions Ken Ham of AiG, who has put out a video aligning with their long held skepticism of Ark claims. That position has had a lot of push back from YEC advocates who seem to believe that as long as a claim validates their interpretation of scripture, expressing any doubts about authenticity places you on the wrong team.
Yep, seeing this a lot on Facebook, and lot of comments saying how wonderful it is, and wondering why some are so negative. Sad commentary on the state of people in general.
I guess it comes up on my feed a lot because i read the posts, which are ridiculous. My main question is how they are monetizing this. I am sure by donations and youtube ads etc. Of course, they really are not spending a lot a money, just got an old broken down drilling rig out there, and not much else.
I’ve been seeing it a bit on Twitter. I follow this one Christian art account and, on occasion, they’ll repost a few Jesus things. Twice now I have seen posts from this drilling project, and twice I have regretted seeing it. As are most things on social media, you only get the two ends of the spectrum: there are those people praising the project and declaring that “Darwinism is dead” and that science textbooks will need to be rewrote. Then there are those calling the project “stupid” and commenting evidence against Noah’s Ark ever occurring. Despite my agreement that Noah’s Ark not likely being a real event (because, as they point out, other civilizations were thriving during the time they were supposed to be annihilated), the hostility that they posited it was just cruel .
For one, I’m glad I had an opportunity to analyze my own faith and learn more about Genesis in the light of modern scientific knowledge prior to seeing posts like this, because had I still held my previously ironclad view on Noah’s Ark being a real event, I probably would have been very distressed by this. Regardless, I still feel upset seeing these posts simply due to the anger and hatred they show that people can have for one another.
I think it says a lot about people’s priorities when their first response to something like this is “Now those monsters who believe in evolution will be humiliated and disgraced!” It’s not about a search for truth or seeing what can be learned, it just presents a faith that understands little more than culture wars and, as we’ve all said, it’s very sad. And of course you get the Bible bashers who come out for things like this and insult everyone they can, regardless of whether those people believe in a 4000-year-old global flood or not.
It’s also sad seeing people just take some guy’s word as total evidence, when even Ken Ham thinks it’s not archaeologically viable. For a lot of people, the actual credibility of something doesn’t matter in the least. How do we approach people like that and advocate for a more rational faith without them writing us off as closet atheists?
As a kid, I recall reading expedition descriptions of the Ark near the summit of Ararat supposedly bound in ice. The site being promoted currently hardly qualifies as an intrepid expedition. The Durupinar Noah’s Ark visitor center has welcomed comers for years. Here it is on Google Maps, with plenty of photos by tourists showing what looks to be a pleasant pastoral setting with very typical rock formations. As one of the comments stated, “You need a bit of imagination, but that’s the point”.
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