>Stephen wrote of mycalculation of the time to fill the Mediterranean:
>>>
>Even "8 months" is enough to prove Glenn's theory wrong! First, the
>Bible says the fountains flowed for only took "a hundred and fifty
>days" (Gn 7:24) and secondly, a flood that took "8 months" to fill up
>would be too slow. The deepest part of the the Mediterranean is 4,900
>metres (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1984, 11:854). To fill that in "8
>months" would be an average rate of 0.85 metres per hour. That seems
>far too slow to catch all humans and animals unawares.<<
>
>You are reaching, really reaching here. If I said the sky was blue you would
>doubt me. If the water were rising at 2.7 meters per hour, how far do you
>think you could run in the next hour? Go down to the sea shore, wade out to
>a depth of 2.7 feet and start running. Especially if you were on a the very
>flat abyssal portion. You might just have to run a hundred miles to gain
>five feet of elevation. You are most likely to run for the local topographic
>high, which you can see and hope to wait it out. But if the water inexoribly
>keeps rising, covering your position, then you have to swim. It would be
>quite sufficient to drown a lot of people especially if they had the
>misconception that local hills would save them.
It seems to me another factor makes Stephen's objection moot: Stephen has
calculated the rate of rise assuming that the depth of the Mediterranean is
a uniform 4900 meters. No objections, Stephen, I just checked your
calculations here, and that's what you did :-). The deepest part of the
Mediterranean does not likely cover more than a small percentage of the
area covered by the Mediterranean. Suppose for example that it covers 10
percent of the area. Then the rate of rise at the bottom would be 8.5
meters per hour. And those trying to escape would have not only to climb
continuously at more than 8.5 m/hour for several thousand meters
vertically, they would also have to climb against the force of the
downflowing torrent causing the filling.
>
The discussion about springs seems like nitpicking to me. Noah described
what he saw in terms which could be rendered in the language he spoke. He
undoubtedly saw huge torrents of water flowing down the mountainsides[1] --
perhaps attaining a depth of 15 cubits (Gen 7:20). Not knowing that the
Atlantic Ocean was supplying water from only a few hundred miles away,
perhaps he concluded that the very fountains of the deep under the earth
had opened up. It certainly may have appeared that the water was gushing
out of the mountains[1] themselves.
[1] I am assuming that the sides of the valley Noah lived in were
considered mountainsides by Noah.
Bill Hamilton | Vehicle Systems Research
GM R&D Center | Warren, MI 48090-9055
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX)
hamilton@gmr.com (office) | whamilto@mich.com (home)