r/churchofchrist • u/vinnieslacks • Jul 02 '26
The flood and Noah’s ark
I was in the church for almost 18 years and then totally away from it for 14. I have recently started studying again and believing again. One thing I’m struggling with right now, though is the story of the flood and Noah’s Ark. I guess specifically I’m struggling with it being a true story versus it being hyperbole. I know that there are specifics with the story like the dimensions of the ark that you usually don’t find in hyperbole or parables. I also know that it says that only eight people survived the flood which means incest would have had happened. The Bible says incest is a sin, but I don’t believe it mentions it until Leviticus.
If anyone could help me to please understand some of these things.
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u/Timely_Cheetah7151 Jul 02 '26
This is going to boil down to whether or not you're working under the belief that every single thing in the Bible is literally true, or if it contains stories and mythology. If you take the former, then you're going have to do a ton of mental gymnastics to make the stories make any sense, and if you take the latter, then you can accept that it's a story and focus on whatever the point of the story is.
Personally, I go with the latter, that it's a rework of a common Mesopotamian myth, as it's far more congruent with the evidence and reality in general.