To Prevent Hijacking: Pre-Adamic Flood

[Dirtydawg]

I'm watching a program on the History Channel, " Mega Disasters: Comet Catastrophe." I didn't realize (because I've never done the research myself) that there are around 200 known "myths" of a huge flood, accompanied by a burst/ray of light (which would look supernatural to people at the time), all of which can be traced to the timeframe of 2000-3000 B.C.. The suggestion I see from many other sources is that the Noah accounts are centered at around 2400 B.C.

Is it surprising that there were in fact other accounts of this event? That indicates that there were other "survivors."

It would seem to me that a single supernatural event could instill a new religion/belief system. Once people have faith in something, how easy is it to dupe them into believing that other "supernatural" or "unexplainable" events are the work of a god, even to the extreme case of inventing stories/specific events to preserve their beliefs?

So if a huge comet in the Indian Ocean caused a huge flood (Noah's flood) and looked like it was "god-sent," where does that leave the rest of biblical accounts of supernatural events?

Actually, it would make sense that many different cultures would have this account without there having been other survivors. I know you will choose to not accept it, but the most common explanation is that the earth was repopulated by the 3 sons of Noah as the family of Noah was the only survivors. Therefore, as the history of the flood was passed down from generation to generation it passed from culture to culture and not uncommonly had a different twist added by each.

[randerizer]

Actually, it would make sense that many different cultures would have this account without there having been other survivors. I know you will choose to not accept it, but the most common explanation is that the earth was repopulated by the 3 sons of Noah as the family of Noah was the only survivors. Therefore, as the history of the flood was passed down from generation to generation it passed from culture to culture and not uncommonly had a different twist added by each.

Right, the "most common explanation." Also noteworthy from the piece on the history channel is that if you look at the myths, the specific stories told are apparently location dependent. So myths centered closer to the Indian Ocean suggest flooding in waves, as well as an intense light similar to the sun. Myths farther away suggest flooding in storms. Interestingly, the combined myth details are in agreement with models of the results of a comet strike in the Indian Ocean.

Keep in mind that the common date of the flood events is ~2000-3000B.C., yet the last "universal genetic ancestor" is closer to 100-200k years ago. That is, the genetic sequences found in Chinese, Mayan, Australian aboriginees, etc., would be modeled back to a common ancestor in that timeframe. Obviously, there's a huge range of dates, but its significantly longer ago than the flood history.

Also, I should point out that there is evidence of specific cultures (in China and in Central America, for example) predating the estimated time of the flood. Why did those cultures continue so soon afterward and in such close proximity to the locations of previous generations that were washed away?