How Global Was the Flood?

The Bibles Account
Genesis 7: 20-22 says, “The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Everything that lived on the earth perished-birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.” This account makes it abundantly clear that Noah’s flood was no local cloudburst. The mountains were covered in twenty feet of water. This means that there was no dry ground across the entire face of the earth. Also, every land dwelling animal and all the birds were killed. How could a local flood kill animals 4000 miles away? Many Christians now believe that the flood was only local to Noah’s neighborhood. But, I must be harsh and say, can you be a Christian and not believe your bible? The bible is the foundation of our faith. We can’t choose to ignore parts of it because of its inconvenience. But if you don’t believe the bible is true, here are two reasons you too should believe in a worldwide flood.

Flood stories
In his book, “Dinosaurs by Design”, Ph.D. Duane Gish states that there are “more than 270 flood stories and historic records found in many parts of the world”. Gish gives examples of flood stories from cultures as diverse as the ancient Babylonians, Toltec people, Chinese, and Hawaiians. Some of these stories are detailed enough to tell of Noah, his three sons, and the animals that were all saved from death in a boat. The since Noah and his Family were the sole survivors of the flood, every culture on earth would have inherited their own rendition of the flood story. Thousands of years of campfire stories would have distorted the exact details in most cases. In the end, these flood accounts are great proof for a worldwide flood. After all, what are the odds of 270 story tellers from all over the earth, create such similar accounts from out of nowhere.

The impact
Evidence for the worldwide flood also comes from examining the geological features of the earth. A flood of the proportions described in Genesis would have impacted the earth in a very noticeable way. Here are 2 different ways geology supports the global flood.

1: Plate Tectonics.
Scientists have found evidence that the continents are slowly drifting away from each other on giant sections of the earth’s crust. In fact, the continents used to form one single continent. Evolutionary scientists assume that the continents have been drifting at essentially the same speed since they began millions of years ago. But, since the earth could not possibly be that old, (See “The Young Earth” parts 1-6), another explanation is needed. A catastrophe like the flood could have easily created imbalance in the earth’s crust, breaking up the continents, pushing them around, and setting it in the motion we see today. This would have taken a very short time, as opposed to millions of years.

2: Fossil Graveyards.
Scientists have found numerous piles of jumbled up fossilized bones all over the world. These “graveyards” many times contain animals that are never found together today. Graveyards contain the remains of so many, and such diverse animals, that they pose a real threat to those who do not believe in a worldwide flood. You see, if fossils were formed over millions of years, as one layer of rock slowly formed on top of another, how do you explain fossil graveyards? You must assume that thousands of diverse animals from all over the world, came together, died, and were fossilized for no apparent reason. But if you believe in a worldwide flood, everything starts to make sense. Imagine powerful, muddy currents swirling around under water, picking up thousands of creatures not lucky enough to be on the ark. Eventually the currents would set them all down in very close proximity, and soon, they would be covered with mud. Go out to any river and you will see that the currents, in many places, create formations, and even piles of dead plant matter much like we would expect, (Although in a slightly smaller scale), from a worldwide flood.

Why a Local Flood?
So why do some Christians reject the idea of a worldwide flood? I think it's because we try to hard to fit in to our modern culture. Don’t get me wrong, we don’t have to dress in overalls and polka dots just to look weird so we don’t fit in. But sometimes, we need to put our foot down. Christians have slowly accepted the ideas like the local flood, the gap theory, and even macro-evolution, just so we don’t have to seem to “Judgmental” in this post-modern culture. Christians should love people, but hate lies. Why is the Issue of the flood so important? It’s a matter of biblical authority, if we Christians claim one part of the bible is wrong, how do we expect others to take the rest of it seriously?