Arkeology
July 24, 2006
Dear Friends
In the past few weeks, amazing claims that they have found Noah’s Ark have come from a Colorado- based group called the Biblical Archeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE). The president, Robert Cornuke, took a team to Iran in summer of 2005 to search for a site based on several clues. They found what looks like a normal rock formation on the side of Mount Suleiman. The story along with pictures and video is found online at the Christian Worldview Network.
Call me a skeptic, but to be honest, I don’t think they have found Noah’s Ark. This is not because I don’t believe in Noah’s Ark. I do. But the evidence points to the fact that this is not Noah’s Ark.
First, I do not believe that God would allow us to find Noah’s Ark in this dispensation. We live in an era of faith, not sight. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.†To be sure we have been given signs as a witness to God’s plan (the rebirth of the nation of Israel, the Jewish people as a whole, etc.), but these are things that only those who are searching can find. These are not things like Noah’s Ark or the Ark of the Covenant that you can touch, feel and carbon date to prove conclusively that the Bible is true. We also have archeological evidence that the Biblical accounts of things are true. They might prove the historical accuracy of the Bible, but they do not prove those things “not seenâ€, they are only evidence to that effect.
Second, the team that went to view this site consisted of business, law and religious leaders, not archeologists or geologists. Even if these guys are the best (and richest—one was the CEO of Avis and another of Baylor Medical Systems) in their fields, that is not the right team of experts for one of the most significant archeological expeditions in history (unless, that is, you want to rent a car or discuss HMO options). It seems to me that if you are going to go searching for Noah’s Ark, you might want to have a geologist and an archeologist on your team, but that’s just me.
Finally, the pictures look to me like an interesting rock formation similar to others in the picture (even if different in color). It also seems that if this were the remnants of Noah’s Ark, you would see evidence of joints, nails or some other building technique, not just what appears to be shale formations.
Look, I am not trying to be unfairly critical of these men. What a cool idea to go looking for Noah’s Ark. It existed, so why not search for it? I just don’t think they found anything more than a rock outcropping and a possible book deal. If they dig this up and find a boat with obvious building techniques and an incredible array of animal fibers petrified into the wood, no one will be happier than me to issue an apology for doubting their find.
So what is the point? Simply this—although it would be a massively significant vindication of the Bible, the worldwide flood and the rest of the message of God if we found Noah’s Ark, it is not the basis of what we believe nor should it be. It will probably be revealed in the future that this is not Noah’s Ark. If our faith in the Bible is based on such shaky ground, what will happen to us at that time? Will we discount God’s message because a group of unqualified men reached a wishful conclusion? Our faith needs to be built on the rock, not on the shifting sands of sensational reporting or speculative treasure hunting. The internal evidence of the Bible should be enough to convince any one who takes the time to search out the matter.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.†(Rom. 10:17)
Have a great week,
