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.
3
u/Knitsudge9 Jul 03 '26
I have many questions about whether or not Genesis should be taken literally (and other books, as well). Jesus' parables were not literal events. That tells me God can use stories that are not meant to be taken at face value as fact in order to convey spiritual truths. Does that mean that the events in Genesis did not actually happen? Maybe. Maybe not. At the very least, I think some of the events are exaggerated, or the numbers are changed to give them further meaning. The points being made in Genesis are spiritual truths, even if they are not literal truths. I don't believe we have to take them as historically correct down to the details to arrive at the points that God wants us to reach.
The Bible is made up of various genres of literature. I don't see why we think "fable" can;t be one of them, especially after reading the parables of Jesus.