11 February 04

Dear Friends,

 Several have asked for a follow-up to my note regarding the Bible's use of the term "all."

 I would like to do the intuitive thing, interpreting the Bible as literally as possible. But I admit that even when we interpret a text very literally, we must still interpret.

 And when I read that "all" the Egyptian livestock were first destroyed by the pestilence, then "all" were destroyed by the hail, and finally the firstborn of "all" were victims of the tenth plague, my literal interpretation can run into trouble.

 Some, reading Genesis 1-2 and Exodus 20:11 very literally, conclude both that God accomplished his entire creation in six days, and that our earth is three days older than the rest of the universe. And many Christians wish to see the whole creation accomplished six thousand years ago, a time-span which is not taught or even mentioned in the Bible.

 When we lived in the Kingdom of Lesotho in 1987, it was our pleasure to look through binoculars to the Greater Magellanic Cloud, which was almost directly overhead. There we witnessed a bright new star, or rather the explosion of an old star. This is now labeled Supernova 1987a.

 The Greater Magellanic Cloud is a small "nearby" galaxy, about 169,000 light years away. This means that to the best of our knowledge, it took 169,000 years for the light from this explosion to reach us, arriving only in 1987. So if the earth is really only 6,000 years old, it must be much younger than the rest of the universe, ruling out an extremely literal interpretation of Genesis 1:16-19.

 The account of Noah's flood begs to be interpreted literally, including the detail that "all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered;" Genesis 7:19.

 Here on Guam this is easy to believe. We live near the top of a mountain two miles tall, adjacent to the Mariana Trench which is seven miles deep. And of our mountain, all but about 800 feet remains flooded to this day. But we don't have the many layers of sedimentary rock often attributed to Noah's flood. What we have is over 700 feet of solid limestone.

 We don't know why a seamount should be capped with limestone, except if limestone were created by coral reefs and foraminifera over a considerable period of time. Since coral doesn't grow in the dark, it must have grown under favorable conditions, and no deeper than about 200 feet, probably in a shallow lagoon. This would imply fringing reefs about the original volcano, which after erosion down to sea level became a central lagoon with barrier reefs.

 Of course to get this massive growth, conditions would have to be fairly peaceful, during gradual subsidence of the mountain and/or gradual rising of the ocean. I speak of northern Guam. Southern Guam is a more recent volcano, with no limestone cap, only fringing reefs and one lagoon. Yet an immediately adjacent active volcano might have created unfavorable conditions for coral growth on the eroded northern island.

 Then once the sedimentary limestone was formed, the mountain must have been again uplifted and/or the sea subsided until most of the limestone was high above sea level, allowing the formation of our limestone caves.

 Yes, there is world-wide evidence of catastrophic flooding. But how much of that can be blamed on Noah's flood, and how much has happened since? Those of you in the Pacific Northwest may survey the damage done by "recent" flooding from the glacial Lake Missoula. And to those who so request, I'd be happy to share something I wrote, entitled "When Did Mt. Mazama Blow?"

 I find it easy to believe both God's six-day creation and the biblical Flood. But I wish I better understood what happened before these events, and what has happened since.

 I conclude with two quotations I've found helpful, the first from a famous atheist, and the second from a famous believer.

 "But then, I could be wrong." --Carl Sagan.

 "I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." --Job (42:3, 6).

 Thanks for your responses, and I welcome your help. May God continue to bless our study.

 --R. Wresch, M.D.