Flood Morality And Geology

How could a good God destroy most of humanity in a worldwide flood? How can modern Christians even believe that such a flood existed? What does the Bible actually say?

Flood Morality

Can atheists have any basis for a statement questioning the morality of God’s judgment? If there is no God and we are just purposeless cosmic dust, then morality is just an opinion and irrelevant.

Why then would a good God have chosen to end most human life in a great worldwide flood? There is an explanation.

“The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil… Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt.” (Genesis 6:5, 11–12 NLT)

Would a good God want people to continue hurting each other? Would He want children to grow up in constant danger? Words like “totally evil” and “filled with violence” picture homicide, abortion, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual violence, self-harm and collective violence like gang violence and war. Did God send a warning to that ancient world through a preacher? Did people listen?

“And during Noah’s time, God did not have pity on the ungodly people of the world. He destroyed them with a flood, though he did save eight people, including Noah, who preached the truth.” (2 Peter 2:5 CEV)

What about innocent adults and especially children of Noah’s time? We must understand that God has power over life, therefore death is only temporary, and God is perfectly just. We may not understand how or when He will deliver justice to the innocent, but we know that He will and must.

But how? There we enter the realm of pure speculation. Some theorize that either immediately after death or at a future resurrection, God will reveal Himself to such people, and give them space to choose. We really don’t know how God will provide fair treatment for the innocent, but we do know that God is perfect in justice, and therefore some righteous solution must exist.

Most people still ignore the warning given by faithful preachers. God will again judge the world, not by a flood, but something far more ominous.

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” (Matthew 25:31-32 NKJV)

What about scoffers who believe in uniformitarianism, that geological change is slow, continuing as things were from the beginning, and that no catastrophic changes like a worldwide flood have occurred?

“Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:3-7 NIV)

As physical salvation from the flood catastrophe was available to any who chose to believe and join Noah in an ancient barge, so too is salvation from eternal death available in Jesus.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ESV)

Flood Geology

Was the flood just local or worldwide? If it was only local, then God has broken His rainbow promise often (Genesis 9:12-17). Evidence for a worldwide flood is ubiquitous, if we have eyes to see that are not blinded by uninformed indoctrination and prejudice.

Sea fossils on high mountains are usually interpreted as being lifted up from the ocean by tectonic activity. Could they actually be evidence of a flood that covered the mountains?

Exposed rock such as in the Grand Canyon, reveals many layers that are usually interpreted as being deposited over millions of years. If indeed that were true we would expect abundant evidence of erosion between layers. Where is it? Could the lack of erosion evidence between layers actually indicate that they were laid down rapidly, by a great catastrophic flood?

What about sedimentary rock layers that exist over whole continents? The word sedimentary means that these rocks were once loose soil, sand and gravel in a flood. How could depositing such layers over whole continents have occurred except in a great catastrophic flood?