Co-Host: Are you still with us Susan?
Caller: Yup I am.
Co-Host: Okay. Susan is questioning the entire Creation and the Old Testament stories.
Pastor Doug: Some of the really incredible stories that uh - most of the world that embraces evolution really struggles with the issues with Noah, Jonah, and Adam and Eve and uh, some of the miraculous stories in the early days of history. And, you know Susan, I don't want you to feel bad or like it's a lack of faith. I think that God wants us to have evidence on which we hang our faith.
Co-Host: Absolutely.
Pastor Doug: I don't think you should accept these things just on my word or because I'm saying just believe. I do believe there is sufficient evidence. For one thing, you raised some questions about Noah and the flood. One of the things I thought was interesting is, as I've traveled around the world, I had heard this once and I wondered if it was true: Somebody told me that 145 different cultures in the world have a similar story to a universal flood when all the wicked were destroyed. Matter of fact, the Hawaiians have this tale about this faithful man named Noe who got into a canoe with several dogs and pigs and his family and the whole world was flooded and they escaped to the island of Hawaii and all the wicked were destroyed.
Co-Host: Right. That's right.
Pastor Doug: In Greek mythology they had a family that got in a big box and this man took two of all the animals and the gods destroyed all the wicked outside of the box. I could go right down the line - you've probably heard of the Gilgamish epic. They also have a similar story of the wicked all being destroyed with the flood but one family was preserved.
Co-Host: I kind of gathered what Susan was saying, and Susan correct me if I'm wrong, but she was kind of wondering how eight people could repopulate the whole world coming off the ark. Is that right?
Caller: Well that's not even, um, sort of, but I guess the biggest thing - and maybe it's silly - but the biggest hang-up I had is just, I mean if I can believe Adam and Eve, I don't have a problem imagining repopulating the world with Noah and his descendents. But um, the animal part - you know I just look around me and, being in Montana of course, we're pretty exposed to all the beautiful wildlife and I just imagine all the animals in the world and I just don't, I just can't quite....
Pastor Doug: See it's hard to comprehend how everything could fit in one boat. Well keep in mind that the dimensions of the ark tell us that there was enough room on there for millions of different animals. It was bigger than a train with like a thousand cars so there was a lot of volume. The other thing is people, when they think of animals, they're always thinking of how many elephants could you fit or buffalo. The average animals, especially mammals, are smaller than sheep. Most of them are very small. Then the other thing is people assume they're full grown animals. They could have taken eggs they could have taken little babies. So the idea that these were full grown animals and they were all big - and then the other thing is, though I do not believe in evolution, I do believe that species do develop and co-mingle and amalgamate as they interbreed.
Many of the species of cats that we see in the world today are the result of the interbreeding. I don't think Noah took 60,000 varieties of cats on the ark. He probably took a few different categories of cat and from those we have all the diversity we now enjoy. So there are a lot of assumptions that have confused people.
Caller: And animals are so regional too so here we have one part of the whole world and, you know, animals that may exist there wouldn't exist in parts of the world that Noah and his people had no idea of, or how those animals came.
Pastor Doug: Well even since America has been populated by the western civilizations, there has been a tremendous migration of different species to different places based on the cities.
Caller: I see. Uh-huh.
Pastor Doug: And certain species are just about extinct in one area and they've all gone to where they can thrive. So that's normal. When the world was repopulated from the plains of Sinar where the ark settled up there by Ararat, the animals dispersed and they thrived more in some places than others.
Co-Host: You know in the islands of Hawaii, there are no snakes and they guard that very carefully. The agriculture people - when you are coming in and going out of the islands of Hawaii, they guard the islands very carefully against certain animals. And uh, all over the world that takes place, and yet, they get in somehow. They get in somehow.
Caller: Well it's fascinating you know. It's sure a joy to be studying the Bible and have someone to talk to.
Pastor Doug: Let me make a suggestion. Susan, if you'll call our resource number - if you have a pen there in your car? I'm assuming you're in a car.
Caller: Yes.
Pastor Doug: If you call 1-800-835-6747, tell them you're interested in the Amazing Facts Bible Study Course. It's all free. We'll send it to you. We have some lessons that deal specifically with Creation and the scientific aspect of it that I think you would enjoy. All right?
Caller: Okay thanks so much for taking my call.
Pastor Doug: Thank you. Good call! Call us back again.
Caller: Okay thanks. Bye-bye.
Pastor Doug: Bye-bye.