Free Republic

Students Surprised to Find Noah's Ark Feasible by Brian Thomas, M.S. * Advanced physics students at Leicester University were tasked with determining if the Biblical dimensions of Noah's ark—assuming it was properly constructed—could have supported the mass of 70,000 animals. Student Kayie Raymer told UK's The Telegraph that after other "more serious" assignments, this one was "something different."1 What did they find? The students used 48.2cm (almost 19 inches) as the length of a cubit to estimate the total dimensions of the ark. Using the density of water and Archimedes' principle of buoyancy, they calculated the total mass the ark...

As Darren Aronofsky and Russell Crowe unveil “Noah” in U.S. cinemas this week, British archaeologist Irving Finkel offers a new perspective on the story with his book “The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood.” In his book, published in the U.S. by Doubleday, Finkel tells the story of how he managed to get his hands on a cuneiform tablet, which was part of the flood story. As a curator for the British Museum, he relies on members of the public bringing artifacts to him for inspection. He was on duty one afternoon in 1985 when a man...

Ten Ways Noah’s Ark Prefigured the Church Stephen BealeWhen Catholics speak about the Church as the “barque of St. Peter,” two images usually come to mind—the actual fishing boat of St. Peter and the ark that saved Noah and his family from the Genesis flood.Indeed, since the time of the Fathers, Catholics have always seen the epic ark as a type of the Church. Just as the ark was the means by which Noah and his relatives were spared destruction, so also the Church is the instrument by which Christians are saved. The comparison between the two has an...

Expensive biblical epics haven’t been a staple of Hollywood for decades, but this week saw the release of the first trailer of Noah which will hit theaters in early 2014. Enter controversy. Some like J.W. Wartick have written on concerns over possible “divergence from the Biblical story.” Fair enough, but I don’t have a problem with divergence, if it is in the sense Brian Godawa describes: " …there is nothing wrong with engaging in creative license, whether it is magical seeds or six-armed Watchers, or even Noah as a warrior. I don’t even think there is a problem in using...

Maher began the monologue by declaring that America is “stupid” because 60 percent of the country reportedly believes the tale of Noah’s ark is literally true. He went on to slam the film Noah as “floating giraffe cr**,” but said it “must be doing something right” since it’s been condemned by both Muslims and Christians. And the fact that it might lose a lot of studio money, he joked, “may put it in hot water with the Jews too.”

Ken Ham of the Creation Museum has taken to Facebook to address criticism over Answers in Genesis' multimillion dollar project to build a life-sized replica of Noah's ark, explaining why the money isn't going to feed hungry people instead. "I haven't yet seen any articles/blogs/posts directed at Paramount about the $300 million dollars (over 4 times more than the Ark project), they spent on a fictional movie only for entertainment – why aren't they being told by the same people they should be spending this money on feeding the hungry," Ham wrote in a post on Monday, referring to the...

LONDON — It was a vast boat that saved two of each animal and a handful of humans from a catastrophic flood. But forget all those images of a long vessel with a pointy bow — the original Noah’s Ark, new research suggests, was round. A recently deciphered 4,000-year-old tablet from ancient Mesopotamia — modern-day Iraq — reveals striking new details about the roots of the Old Testament tale of Noah. It tells a similar story, complete with detailed instructions for building a giant round vessel known as a coracle — as well as the key instruction that animals should...

A newly translated Hebrew text claims to reveal where treasures from King Solomon's temple were hidden and discusses the fate of the Ark of the Covenant itself. But unlike the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the text leaves the exact location of the Ark unclear and states that it, and the other treasures, "shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David …" putting it out of reach of any would-be treasure seeker. King Solomon's Temple, also called the First Temple, was plundered and torched by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar...

A newly translated Hebrew text claims to reveal where treasures from King Solomon's temple were hidden and discusses the fate of the Ark of the Covenant itself. But unlike the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the text leaves the exact location of the Ark unclear and states that it, and the other treasures, "shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David …" putting it out of reach of any would-be treasure seeker. King Solomon's Temple, also called the First Temple, was plundered and torched by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar...

New evidence suggests that Noah's Ark was round, made from reeds and the length of six double-decker buses. For years, archaeologists have scoured the world for factual evidence for the Bible story of Noah's flood, but due to scant documentation, many believe the fable to be an Old Testament myth. Now, however, a new book claims that Noah's Ark was a round coracle and looked very different from its traditional image. In The Ark Before: Decoding the Story of the Flood by Irving Finkel, there are claims that the vessel had two decks with cabins for the animals. British Museum...

The last time I saw a first-run movie was in England, when we watched the final Harry Potter film. What this means is that I pay very little attention to news about upcoming movies. Since I’m not going to watch them, why pay attention?I was vaguely aware, though, that Hollywood was producing a Biblical epic about Noah, of Ark fame. Since it’s not a movie by a true believer — unlike The Passion of the Christ– I didn’t have high hopes for it, but I have to say that it apparently has succeeded in sinking below anybody’s lowest expectations.To understand...

PINE BLUFF (KATV - A stand-off on Saturday left one man dead. S.W.A.T. Officers shot and killed the suspect after a standoff at a Pine Bluff home. Lt. David Price told channel 7 that when officers arrived at the home they learned that an aggravated assault had occurred against two people. The suspect, Monroe Isadore, who authorities say is 107-year-old old, pointed a weapon at them. Authorities asked the two victims to leave the home and walked up to the bedroom door where Isadore was supposed to be. When officers identified themselves to the suspect he shot at them through...

8 Alleged Resting Places of the Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant is an artifact associated with Jewish, Islamic, and Christian faiths. Depending on the source, the Ark holds the Ten Commandments, a staff that once became a snake, a portion of the Torah, and more. After the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in the 6th Century B.C.E. (sic), the Ark of the Covenant disappeared from religious records. Where did it go? Here are eight incredible, conspiracy-minded theories. 1. The Tomb of King Tut A 1922 picture of the early excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun shows an...

WASHINGTON – During an appearance on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews, Al Gore revealed that prior to divorcing his wife Tipper, he was ordained a Catholic priest. He added that he plans to spend the rest of his life listening to confessions “before the impending global warming apocalypse kills everyone on the planet.” A surprised Chris Matthews asked the former vice president why he chose the priesthood. “I can’t really explain why,” Gore replied. “I guess a big part of it is that I really love wearing the priest suit and listening to people tell me their secrets. I first...

Taken from this tweet, where a dad posted his kids drawing of Obama and Noah on Twitter. It was suggested I do a version of it. Here it is.

They found the Ark of the Covenant where Moses placed the 10 Commandments, in a cave under Golgotha. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Who would have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 1 Tim 2:3-6 Rom 3:28-30 Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes of the...

*Leaking roof in Ethiopian chapel 'will lead to relic being revealed' *Ark contains Ten Commandments God 'gave' to Moses on Mount Sinai *One holy monk is the only person allowed to see the holy box... * ...but he'll need a hand carrying metre long wooden structure to new homeA very British problem of a leaky church roof could be about to give the world the chance to glimpse the legendary Ark of the Covenant. That's because the claimed home of the iconic relic - a small chapel in Ethiopia - has sprung a leak and so the Ark could now...

A very British problem of a leaky church roof could be about to give the world the chance to glimpse the legendary Ark of the Covenant. That's because the claimed home of the iconic relic - a small chapel in Ethiopia - has sprung a leak and so the Ark could now be on the move. The Ark - which The Bible says holds God's Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai - is said to have been kept in Aksum, in the Chapel of the Tablet, adjacent to St Mary of Zion Church, since the 1960s. According to...

Whether or not you read the Bible, Genesis is a fascinating part of ancient writings. Especially the chapters prior to Abraham as these seem to reach back into prehistory. The style and content indicates that we’re not getting a year-by-year history, but major highlights of a vast and largely undocumented period in man’s history. Hebrew scholars will confirm that the the genealogies in these chapters are unlikely to be complete. Genesis 6-8's talk of Nephilim, sons of God and a massive flood barely outline what was going on in this lost world. Wouldn’t it be interesting if someone went back...

From the conclusion: "Conclusion If the wooden remains of the Ark were to be found on Mt. Ararat, then samples of that wood would be expected to yield C-14 dates of between 20,000 years and 50,000 years, consistent with the C-14 dates of pre-Flood wood found fossilized in the geologic record of the Flood. Even though the true age of such fossilized pre-Flood wood should be only 4,500 years or so old, around the date for the biblical Flood, these grossly inflated C-14 dates obtained in conventional radiocarbon dating laboratories are due to those laboratories ignoring the very much less...