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Do you believe in the biblical flood? I was asked today....
The protohistory in Genesis 1-11 assumed that the older Babylonian and Sumerian creation myths were true (for instance the epic of Gilgamesh). There may have been some sort of localized black seas flood behind those ancient myths, but they are myths that should be demythologized
The writer of genesis took these ancient sources and redacted them to help understand how the second temple should be built in the post-exilic period (i.e. after ezra-nehemiah).
So the Noahic flood is important as it informs the intention of the temple, and because it has a universalist scope for all people in the world. It is essential to the biblical narrative, but it tells us nothing about science or geological history.
If you disagree, then go build another $100 million dollar ark in Kentucky that actually floats this time. #ArkEncounter
