Creation Science Book Review
The Answers Book, Chapter 13
How Did the Animals Fit on Noah's Ark?
By Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published 11 June 2003
This topic does not present much of an issue for old earth creationists. There are some errors that do need addressed, though.
How Many Types? (Page 179)
On page 180, the young earth creation science authors say that seeds and plants could have survived the flood on floating mats of tangled vegetation. Let’s visit our favorite article on ocean currents, by Baumgartner and Barnette. With ocean currents of 156 miles an hour, NOTHING would be floating for very long during the flood. Therefore, it is not reasonable to expect any plants to have survived this way.
What is a Kind? (Page 181)
For this, see my article on young-earth evolution.
Was The Ark Large Enough? (Page 183)
John Woodmorappe’s calculations for the volume of the ark are way off! He gives a figure of 1.52 million cubic feet as the volume, based on the 450 foot length, 75 foot width, and 45 foot height. However, this is based solely on these dimensions, and does not take into account the external walls, nor the internal floors, stairs, support beams, etc, that would diminish the usable volume of the ark considerably.
Not a critique, but a comment…God said to make the Ark with three decks. If common naval understanding is used, then the ark had two internal protected decks, and the third deck was the top surface of the ark.
Food Requirements (Page 184)
This is the biggie. The food requirement while on the ark is not in question…but afterwards. The land would be decimated, with no living plants. Noah would have to feed the herbivorous animals for months after they departed from the ark, so the ark would have to carry this food as well. In addition, the number of carnivorous animals would probably make the herbivores extinct in a matter of weeks…so then why do we have cows today? If we assume cows came from a common cow-kind, as the authors suggest, and there were seven pairs on the ark, then there were 14 cows. Even if you assume cats like lions and tigers came from a cat-kind, you also have dogs, and several species of dinosaurs, including T-Rex. The two T-Rex alone would probably make the cow-kind extinct after a month…and then you have the two Raptor-Kind also!
However, if it was a local flood, the animals simply migrated to areas that were not touched by the flood, and there would be food aplenty for them.
If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.
Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young earth creationism believer, click here.
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