This article was originally authored by Dr. Hugh Ross and is republished here with permission from Reasons to Believe, a ministry dedicated to integrating science and faith. All rights reserved by the original publisher. To explore more resources, visit their website Reasons to Believe.
In his book, In Quest of the Historical Adam, distinguished Christian apologist William Lane Craig labels the Genesis accounts of Noah’s Flood, the Table of Nations, and the Tower of Babel as “fantastic elements.”[1] By this designation, Craig means that these Genesis accounts cannot be interpreted as literal history. He views them, rather, as what he refers to as “mytho-history,” partly historical and partly mythical. Concerning Genesis 6–9, Craig writes, “In the flood story we are dealing not just with exaggeration but with the genre of myth.”[2] He adds that mytho-history clearly “distinguishes Gen. 1–11 from Gen. 12–50.”[3]
Craig is not alone in his assessment of this portion of Scripture. In their book, The Lost World of the Flood, theologians Tremper Longman III and John Walton also claim that the author of Genesis 6–8 repeatedly used hyperbole to describe the extent of Noah’s Flood, as well as other elements of the story—the people and animals destroyed, the waters’ sources, and the dimensions of the ark.[4] Other Christian scholars also conclude that the descriptions in Genesis 6–11 must be hyperbolic, based on their assumption that the human population at the time of Noah had already geographically dispersed throughout most of Earth’s landmasses. If that were the case, they would have good reason to agree with geophysicists and geologists who are adamant that there is no physical evidence for a flood covering all or most of Earth’s continents and islands.
Unfortunately, these alternate views have led many Christian apologists and theologians to abandon the historical interpretation of Genesis 1–11. These individuals have become convinced that recent scientific findings require a reinterpretation. The sad irony, here, is that recent scientific findings go a long way toward affirming a literal, historical interpretation of Genesis 1–11.
Dispersal of Humanity
Genesis 9–11 records that after the Flood, humans remained in one region, refusing to obey God’s twice stated command to “spread out over the earth and multiply upon it” (Genesis 9:1, 7). In Genesis 11:4, we read that post-Flood people had a different plan, their own plan, not God’s: “Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.” Genesis 11:7–9 describes how God dealt with this bold rebellion. He forcibly scattered people across Earth’s continents and islands.
Evidence now shows that an aggressive, nearly simultaneous scattering of humanity from the region encompassing the Near and Middle East, and parts of Africa did, in fact, occur. Researchers use four means for determining when humans first colonized Europe, far-eastern Asia, and Australia, in particular. The four include (1) fossilized remains of anatomically modern humans, (2) archaeological artifacts associated with anatomically modern humans, (3) indicators of agriculture and food preparation, and (4) genetic analysis.
The earliest undisputed evidence for anatomically modern human fossil remains in Europe date to 44,000–39,000 years ago.[5] The earliest undisputed modern human archaeological artifacts in Europe date to 42,000–38,000 years ago.[6] The earliest evidence in Europe for harvesting grains and roasting and grinding of these grains to make bakery products dates back to 32,600 years ago.[7] Food preparation as evidenced by soaking, grinding, and charring of seeds has been dated (via carbon-14) to have occurred in Greece as early as 40,000 years ago.[8] The earliest genetic evidence for anatomically modern humans living in Europe dates to 45,000–39,000 years ago.[9] These four methods yield consistent dates indicating that anatomically modern humans migrated and began to colonize nearly all of Europe between 44,000 and 40,000 years ago.
The same four dating methods establish that anatomically modern humans began to colonize virtually all the land area of Asia between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago.[10] The first human colonization of Australia dates back to between 47,000 and 40,000 years ago.[11] The colonization of southeast Asia and Australia by modern humans was made possible, even facilitated, by the much lower sea levels known to have existed at that time.
The lower sea levels provided several essential land bridges. These land bridges connected most of the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines to the mainland of Asia, a region called Sunda. Present-day Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania were all one continent, called Sahul. The waters separating Sahul from Sunda were narrow enough that people could see one landmass from the other (see figure).
Figure: Sunda and Sahul during the Last Ice Age
Credit: Kanguole, Creative Commons Attribution–Share Alike
The best scientific dates for the arrival of anatomically modern humans to Europe, the far-eastern part of Asia, and Australia all coincide. Genesis 10–11 makes clear that Noah’s Flood predates— by at least several generations—humans’ first efforts to colonize regions beyond East Africa, the Near East, and the Middle East. On this basis, it seems likely that Noah’s Flood occurred prior to 40,000 years ago, most probably earlier than 45,000 years ago.
This early date for Noah’s Flood and the subsequent, near simultaneous dispersal of humanity throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Guinea appears consistent with a literal, historical interpretation of Genesis 1–11.[12] It also aligns with the most reliable scientific methods for dating the origin of anatomically modern humans.[13] Thus, the dispersal of humanity described in Genesis 10–11 need not be considered a fantastic element. The data provide no warrant, scientific or otherwise, to abandon or alter the traditional historical doctrine of biblical inerrancy. The doctrinal and hermeneutical affirmations and denials of the International Council of Biblical Inerrancy still stand.[14]
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