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Noah's Ark discovery could be hoax, critic says
CNA ^ | 5/5/2010

Posted on 05/05/2010 1:54:13 AM PDT by markomalley

Boston, Mass., May 5, 2010 / 02:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Christian Science Monitor published an article last week which cast doubt on the recent alleged discovery of Noah's Ark by a Turkish – Chinese expedition, quoting one critic who warned that the team may be victims of an elaborate “hoax.”

In a press conference in Hong Kong on April 25, members of Noah's Ark Ministries International (NAMI) claimed that they discovered a wooden structure in the Turkish mountains, whose fragments allegedly date back 4,800 years. According to the Bible, after the earth was flooded and the waters receded, Noah's ark ran aground on a mountain, which many believe to be Mt. Ararat – the highest point in the region.

On April 28, however, the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) reported that Dr. Randall Price, a former member of the NAMI expedition, said that the recent discovery may not withstand closer observation.

“If the world wants to think this is a wonderful discovery, that’s fine,” Dr. Price said. “My problem is that, in the end, proper analysis may show this to be a hoax and negatively reflect how gullible Christians can be.”

Dr. Price, who currently heads the Center for Judaic Studies at Liberty University, said that he was an archeologist on the team in 2008 when the initial discovery was made. He told the Christian Science Monitor that he had “difficulties with a number of issues related to the evidence at hand” yet refrained from elaborating.

In leaked email from Dr. Price, CSM discovered that he had reason to believe that a group of local Kurdish men hauled the wood to the discovery site, staging a hoax for the NAMI team.

According to the doctor, the Kurdish workers “planted large wood beams taken from an old structure in the Black Sea area (where the photos were originally taken) at the Mt. Ararat site ...”

“During the summer of 2009 more wood was planted inside a cave at the site,” wrote the former team member in his email. “The Chinese team went in the late summer of 2009 (I was there at the time and knew about the hoax) and was shown the cave with the wood and made their film. As I said, I have the photos of the inside of the so-called Ark (that show cobwebs in the corners of rafters – something just not possible in these conditions)...”

Dr. Price, who confirmed that he wrote the email, has himself been a longtime searcher of Noah's Ark and had gone several expeditions to Mt. Ararat.

CSM reported last week that he was not the only one who withdrew from the NAMI team.

Current president for Dallas’ Institute for Creation Research, Dr. John D. Morris, has been a consultant for the team since 2005 but said that he declined to be at the NAMI press conference on April 25.

“I’m a scientist. I need to have good evidence,” he told CSM. “As of right now, there is not.” Although he doubts that Kurdish workers would have been able haul the wood to the site, he said the evidence remains inconclusive.


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: catastrophism; godsgravesglyphs; noahsark

1 posted on 05/05/2010 1:54:13 AM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley
“My problem is that, in the end, proper analysis may show this to be a hoax and negatively reflect how gullible Christians can be.”

Gee, do you really think (some) Christians could be that gullible? Really? (/sarc)

Oh wait. I just read a LDS post that sets the matter straight. Noah's Ark traveled from Missouri to the Holy Land in forty days and nights of tempest tossed waters. Guess that settles the matter. (//sarc)

2 posted on 05/05/2010 2:01:51 AM PDT by ARepublicanForAllReasons (President Zero, walking in the footsteps of Hugo Chavez)
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To: markomalley

It is a hoax, with no doubt. The Turks will not allow anyone to the region normally suggested for the Ark. The locals know this...so their guided “tours”...simply run through an area which is unrestricted. So at best, you have some naive religious folks who believe what they saw, and at worse...both groups cooperated and helped each other. Go figure the locals will give specially guided tours in the future....which would go into the tens of thousands to show you what you perceive as the Ark.


3 posted on 05/05/2010 2:02:13 AM PDT by pepsionice
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To: markomalley
Maybe at some point it slid down the mountain and by moving it back up they got it back to where it originally was located.
4 posted on 05/05/2010 2:18:52 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper (It Matters Not What You Fight But What You Fight For.)
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To: markomalley
Noah's Ark discovery could be hoax

Ya think?

5 posted on 05/05/2010 2:56:38 AM PDT by BfloGuy (It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect . . .)
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To: ARepublicanForAllReasons; markomalley

>>> I just read a LDS post that sets the matter straight. Noah’s Ark traveled from Missouri to the Holy Land in forty days and nights of tempest tossed waters. Guess that settles the matter. (//sarc)

Throwing mud at LDS faith doesn’t address the reality of the Ararat hoax, nor the series of threads breathlessly singing Hosannas over the rediscovered “Ark”. Get back to us when they claim to have dug up the actual timbers in Utah. No sarc at all.


6 posted on 05/05/2010 3:28:03 AM PDT by tlb
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To: markomalley

Check this out.

anchorstone.com


7 posted on 05/05/2010 6:19:23 AM PDT by Salvavida (The restoration of the U.S.A. starts with filling the pews at every Bible-believing church.)
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To: ARepublicanForAllReasons; Quix; TaraP; markomalley
You were saying ...

Gee, do you really think (some) Christians could be that gullible? Really?

Ummm..., you may not be aware of it, but the guy that they are quoting in the article, in that he is critical of this discovery -- was, at the same time, on Mt. Ararat looking for Noah's Ark, too... LOL ...

Let's make it clear here ... the issue that is being discussed here is not whether Christians are gullible enough to search for Noah's Ark -- but -- that some Christians are gullible enough to jump at any "hoax" that some con artist is putting forth that it has been found, without checking out all the facts, first.

That's the problem that is being discussed here by Dr. Randall Price.

He is currently looking for Noah's Ark ... just to make that point again ... :-)

8 posted on 05/05/2010 8:49:32 AM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: ARepublicanForAllReasons; Quix; TaraP; markomalley
Here is an interview from this expert on this expedition and why it's most likely a "hoax" ...

May 1, 2010 - Hour 1

Eric Barger sits in for Jan who needed a weekend off. His guest is Dr. Randall Price who addresses the alleged recent finding of "Noah's Ark." Why is this likely bogus? Will it ever be found? Price has upcoming expeditions planned for Mt. Ararat and has made numerous attempts to find the Ark which have all failed to date. He feels he is close, however, to an amazing discovery. Would this be an end-time sign that the Bible is accurate? Remember, the "last days" are compared to the days of Noah. Find the spring conference CDs and DVDs Eric referred to here. They will be ready to ship in about two weeks. We also carry several of Barger's products in our "store." www.ericbarger.com -- www.worldofthebible.com

I would pay attention to this guy as he's been there, has been associated with that very same group, and also has been associated with that very same guide, whom he thinks is perpetrating a hoax, apparently ...

9 posted on 05/05/2010 8:50:53 AM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: pepsionice; markomalley
You were saying ...

It is a hoax, with no doubt. The Turks will not allow anyone to the region normally suggested for the Ark. The locals know this...so their guided “tours”...simply run through an area which is unrestricted. So at best, you have some naive religious folks who believe what they saw, and at worse...both groups cooperated and helped each other. Go figure the locals will give specially guided tours in the future....which would go into the tens of thousands to show you what you perceive as the Ark.

Well, that's not true (about being allowed by the government), according to this same expert quoted in this article -- Dr. Randall Price. He's been on Mt. Ararat before, searching for Noah's Ark and was on the mountain at the same time as this other group (who is claiming success), and Dr. Randall Price, is going back again, to Mt. Ararat.

So, no... the government does let people do that... :-)

See Post #9 and listen to Dr. Randall Price give a very detailed interview of the situation.

10 posted on 05/05/2010 8:54:40 AM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: markomalley

Understatement of the Year.


11 posted on 05/05/2010 8:57:27 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator
You were saying ...

Understatement of the Year.

It pays to keep in mind... that this expert they are quoting in this article -- is also searching for Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat.

The search for Noah's Ark is not the item that is in question here ... but rather ... whether this particular group has actually found it... that's the "hoax" that is being talked about.

Noah's Ark -- itself -- is not considered to be a "hoax" by this expert in this article ...

I just thought that should be made clear, in case anyone was getting the wrong idea about it, and what this expert was saying ... :-)

12 posted on 05/05/2010 9:03:55 AM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: Star Traveler

TIME SHOULD TELL.

THX.


13 posted on 05/05/2010 9:04:13 AM PDT by Quix (BLOKES who got us where we R: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2130557/posts?page=81#81)
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To: markomalley
Noah's Ark links (recently here on Free Republic, including this thread) ...

Noah and the Missing Link

Noah’s Ark nestled on Mount Ararat

Noah’s Ark PaleoBabble Update (hoax?)

Evangelists claim Noahs Ark Found

Evangelical Explorers Claim To Have Found Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark discovery could be hoax, critic says


14 posted on 05/05/2010 9:23:37 AM PDT by Star Traveler (Remember to keep the Messiah of Israel in the One-World Government that we look forward to coming)
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To: markomalley

If Noah and his family landed on Mt. Ararat, I would think that it wouldn’t take long for the area to re-freeze after the flood waters subsided.

I don’t think it’s necessarily a stretch to think that the ark would still remain on the mountain. It’s not like Noah and his family could linger long there. They had lives to rebuild. I doubt they would have bothered with the labor of carrying the timber down the mountain, as one “expert” claimed was the case.

I would think they would make their dwelling in a cave or a tent of some sort, not a timber house. God reportedly provided an olive branch. It seems that he had planned resources for their landing.

I think it’s not a stretch to imagine them ditching the boat on the mountain.


15 posted on 05/06/2010 7:45:41 PM PDT by agrarianlady
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To: All

I always thought the ark would be found as one of God’s last visible warnings before his judgment on the earth would come. I think it’s been preserved by God for the time that he has chosen to reveal it to an unbelieving world.


16 posted on 05/12/2010 6:09:53 PM PDT by barnicus (http://jesuschristisgod.webs.com/index.htm)
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To: barnicus; null and void; Armageddon; sheik yerbouty
I always thought the ark would be found as one of God’s last visible warnings before his judgment on the earth would come. I think it’s been preserved by God for the time that he has chosen to reveal it to an unbelieving world.

When Noah actually built the thing, the only ones to pay attention were the "dumb" animals, Noah, and his immediate family. If the modern world hears not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

17 posted on 05/12/2010 6:20:37 PM PDT by Ezekiel (The Obama-nation began with the Inauguration of Desolation.)
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To: Ezekiel

Is this a bad time to mention the eXo Atmospheric Radiation Counter The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lost on the same mountain?

That’s right, on Mt Ararat you could find NOAA’s XARC...


18 posted on 05/12/2010 6:31:57 PM PDT by null and void (We are now in day 475 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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With modern power tools it took over 300 man-years of labor to build each of the Ark 'replicas'.

19 posted on 10/28/2018 11:18:05 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (and btw -- https://www.gofundme.com/for-rotator-cuff-repair-surgery)
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