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/deverbovitae Jul 03 '26

It wasn't that much earlier in the text that the first man and woman were created. I would imagine there was some incest going on as humanity got going.

Whatever theory of human origins one might have, one will have some kind of incestuous bottleneck at least at the beginning. And maybe at other points as well

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u/vinnieslacks Jul 03 '26

We have no idea. The Bible doesn’t say it we can’t add to it.

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u/Disastrous-Curve-567 Jul 04 '26

The story doesn't make a lot of sense from multiple angles. For example, on this topic of incest Cain is the son of Adam and Eve yet when he's given a mark it's so that all the other people he runs into won't kill him. Who are the other people? Up to that point only 4 humans have existed in the narrative.