I’m new here, so hello to start with.
I have returned to the flood following the suggestions that were made by Graham Hancock, that the flood was indeed a cataclysmic event that took place roughly 12000 years ago, and virtually wiped out existing cultures, and caused a restart with nomadic hunter-gatherer and shepherding peoples. Now, admittedly, Graham Hancock is not supporting any theological explanation of the flood, which seems to be specific to what culture reported it, but many people saw it as a retribution for bad behaviour.
I tend to believe in the Bible as an anthology of experiences that have religious interpretations, which individually are profound, but when we start to follow the narrative, we are building a picture of the world that history is unable to affirm. I also see no need, because we all interpret events from our perspective, which may be completely different to someone else’s perspective, and therefore objectivity becomes difficult to ascertain. Who interpreted it right?
I am also a believer in the progression of understanding God, which tends to undulate over time, but initially grew out of what Owen Barfield called immediate participation, a feeling of being caught up in a cosmic drama, which we also find in other cultures, and around the time of the prophets, a new paradigm gave people a new outlook. It was a step back from the previous experience of being caught up in a mythic journey, and provided a new vision of God.
This explains to me why the prophets were killed or incarcerated, and led to the rejection of Jesus, who quoted the prophets quite extensively, or at least that is what my NIV Bible with the Thompson Chain reference suggests. I tell you this so that you know where I’m coming from.
For this reason, the actual event of the flood has been used to express theological positions and thereby become something like a parable, because its interpretations go beyond the historical account, and its legend of Noah incorporates so much symbolism, that it is hard to take everything literally. That doesn’t mean that the interpretation isn’t profound.
Well, that’s my tuppence worth for the moment.