The reason I'm posting it here is because of the coverage by the Daily Mail, to offer a comparison from British to American press. First, the U.K. paper is covering the story, and without an obvious secular bias from the reporter(s); they let the scientists interviewed (who are clearly differentiated from the 'evangelical' discovering scientists) speak for themselves - which they do without much to back up their own claims.
Lastly, name a U.S. paper or news website in/on which you saw a pretty accurate reading of a Biblical story? In the Daily story they give an account of the Noah's Ark story from Genesis (see inserted pic below or go to the Daily page to see better) as a supplement to the story. They even state that God's motivation to send the flood was man's sin! I will give $20 to anyone who finds a U.S. story that mentions sin without scare quotes (as in, "Christians say it's because of 'sin;' " indicating that sin only exists in the minds of us judgmental Christians).
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'We've found Noah's Ark!'... claim evangelical explorers on mission to snow-capped Ararat (but British scientists say 'show us your evidence')
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 12:20 PM on 28th April 2010
As believers in the literal truth of the Bible, they knew it was there.
Even so, the explorers who say they found seven large wooden compartments beneath snow and volcanic debris near the peak of Mount Ararat can be forgiven their excitement.
'It's not 100 per cent that it is Noah's Ark, but we think it is 99.9 per cent that this is it,' said Yeung Wing-cheung, a filmmaker working with the 15-strong team of fundamentalist Christians exploring the Turkish mountain.
They said wood taken from the site, which is more than 13,000ft above sea level, dates to 2,800BC. If it is the ark, the discovery would be the greatest in the history of archaeology and bear out one of the most famous stories in the Bible.
The team of Turks and Chinese researchers from Noah's Ark Ministries International in Hong Kong say they made the discovery on Ararat - the biblical resting place of the ark - in October.
At a press conference yesterday to announce the discovery, another team member, Panda Lee, said: "I saw a structure built with plank-like timber. Each plank was about eight inches wide. I could see tenons, proof of ancient construction predating the use of metal nails. We walked about 100 metres to another site. I could see broken wood fragments embedded in a glacier, and some 20 metres long."The structure had several compartments, some with wooden beams, the team said.
The wooden walls of one compartment were smooth and curved while the video shown by the explorers revealed doors, staircases and nails. The team said the wood appeared to be cypress although, according to the Bible, the ark was built from gopher.
The group ruled out identifying the find as a human settlement, saying none had been found so high up in that area. They are keeping the exact location secret.
Four years ago and following a decade of research, U.S. national security analyst Porcher Taylor claimed a satellite image revealed a baffling 'anomaly' on the mountain's north-west corner that he believed to be the remains of the Ark.
But Mike Pitt, a British archaeologist, said the evangelical explorers had yet to produce compelling evidence. He added: "If there had been a flood capable of lifting a huge ship 4km up the side of a mountain 4,800 years ago, I think there would be substantial geological evidence for this flood around the world. And there isn't."
Nicholas Purcell, a lecturer in ancient history at Oxford University, said the claims were the 'usual nonsense'. He added: "If floodwaters covered Eurasia 12,000ft deep in 2,800BC, how did the complex societies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, already many centuries old, keep right on regardless?"
According to Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament, Noah was told to build the ark by God, who wanted to flood the world to punish sinners. The story was widely seen as fact until the 19th century, when scientists began to question the evidence for a worldwide flood.
To see the article in its original form, please visit this link on the Daily Mail website.
4 comments:
I have been waiting and waiting for them to find the Arc - its fascinated me since childhood - thats all I have time to say now... but I am going to re-read the Fox story and see what they say...
So you believe that as recently as the Bronze Age (when a boat could have been made) a pair of every species of kangaroo swam accross the Indian Ocean to the Middle East (taking food with them?) and then swam back again? No wonder religious fundamentalists are regarded with such contempt!
There is not a shred of geological evidence that there was a world-wide flood, but overwhelming incontrovertible evidence to prove that there wasn't.
Hey Estelle, please provide several links to your "incontrovertible evidence" that "proves" the flood didn't occur.
The Biblical story talks about 'types' of animals needing to be on the ark, not every single type of species.
No, the burden of proof is on you, as you are asserting that something existed when there is not a shred of evidence in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. I suggest you check out a Grade 1 geology text book.
As a matter of fact, Darwin set off on his epic Beagle voyage with the express intention of finding evidence of the biblical flood. Not only did he not find any, but instead found evidence to formulate his evolutionary theories which have subsequently been supported by every discipline in modern science.
The story of Noah's Ark is a charming piece of mythology, not to be taken seriously :-)
Regards. E.
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