Can science show that Noah’s flood was real? The archaeologist who discovered the Titanic thinks so.
Robert Ballard, famed for finding the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, has been working on evidence for the cataclysmic flood described in Genesis. His team claims to have found shells, pottery, and shipwrecks on an ancient shoreline 400 feet beneath the surface of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey. This evidence shows that the Black Sea was once a freshwater lake until it was transformed by an enormous wall of water from the Mediterranean 200 times more powerful than Niagara Falls. Carbon dating indicates that this event occurred around 5,000 B.C., the time when some experts believe Noah’s flood would have occurred.
Biblical archaeologist Eric Cline cites “the Epic of Gilgamesh” and other ancient literature which also tells the story of a flood and a man who builds a boat and survives. Such evidence points to the universal nature of this event. While Ballard believes that his discovery supports the Genesis record, he does not expect to find Noah’s ark.
Will his discovery convince our post-Christian culture that the Bible is true? Probably not. We can prove from ancient historians such as Tacitus, Suetonius, Mara bar Serapion, Pliny the Younger and Josephus that Jesus Christ lived and was crucified by Pontius Pilate, and that his followers believed he rose from the dead and worshiped him as God. Evidence for his resurrection is clear and compelling. And data from archaeology, ancient manuscripts, fulfilled prophecy and internal consistency demonstrates that the Scriptures are trustworthy and true.
In spite of such compelling evidence, more people today have rejected religion than ever before. Our culture believes the lie that truth is personal and subjective—there’s just “your truth” and “my truth.” There was a day when people thought that if a statement was right it must be relevant. Now people believe that if a statement is relevant, it might be right. They must see that Jesus makes a difference in our lives before they’ll consider his truth claims for themselves.
So, is Ballard’s discovery significant? Absolutely. It is further evidence that what Christians believe is based not on myth or tradition but fact. The Bible is indeed “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), written by men who “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). If you have chosen to make Jesus your Lord, know that your decision is reasonable and logical. Faith in Christ is not a leap into the dark, but into the light.
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