The story of Noah’s Ark continues on through the next chapter. It describes the horrific flood that wiped out all life on earth, with the exception of the beasts and people on the Ark itself. With the great flood around the corner, Noah makes his final preparations for the apocalypse.

Excuse Me, Is That Sacrifice Kosher?

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Genesis 7:1, 7:2, 7:3

Remember, we’re supposed to believe that every single person on the face of the earth is deserving of death, except, of course, Noah’s family. God is essentially decimating the entire population in order to retain control over and loyalty from his followers.

He commands Noah to bring only one pair of each “unclean” animal and seven pairs of each of the clean animals onto the ark – clean referring to the religious notion that while some animals, God approves of eating or sacrifice, while others do not. Note that God is indifferent here to the lives of the so called “clean animals”. His intention isn’t to protect them. It’s to preserve them until they are to be sacrificed. To him.

For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.

And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

Genesis 7:4, 7:5, 7:6

Proponents of this flood myth care very little about the actual facts behind this story. Why? Because it’s so obviously untrue. Aron Ra, a well-known atheism activist from Texas, made an entire YouTube series debunking the flood from numerous scientific perspectives that is definitley worth a watch.

The Great Big Bloody Do-Over

And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.

Genesis 7:7, 7:8, 7:9, 7:10

It rains – a lot. Forty days straight, actually. So the earth is covered with water, killing everything that was not aboard the ark. When compared to the largest recorded flood in earth’s history, an around 10-year lasting flooding process of an astounding 2084 cubic kilometres (500 cubic miles) of water, the great flood doesn’t make much sense. Not only was this prehistoric flood highly localised, but it was a direct result of glacial phenomenon. Had humans been alive at the time, maybe we could have even predicted it.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

Genesis 7:11, 7:12, 7:13, 7:14

It’s really interesting how much the Bible repeats itself in this chapter. It seems to really want to hammer in the idea that this flood actually happened. Regardless of what christians say about the flood today, the original intention of the author of this chapter was to convince you that this was the truth.

Unfortunatley, this is simply impossible and unreasonable by any standards. The fact that this is just a story should come as a relief. Anyone who reads the tale of the ark and looks up to Noah, or even to God, hasn’t thought about it beyond the way it’s presented.

Noah is admirably loyal to God, yes, but at the same time, infuriatingly dismissive of mankind. If we begin to look at Noah as an agent of God, infinitley devoted to him and therefore his human plaything, we recognise something. Just like in the story of Cain and Abel, or in the story of Adam and Eve, the true crime here is disobeying God. The only qualifier Yaweh is interested in is devotion. Everyone else can – quite literally – go to hell.

One Flood to Kill Them All

And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

Genesis 7:15, 7:16

Yaweh is the one to shut the door of the ark, not Noah. It’s described as the Lord shutting Noah in – but in reality, it was much more brutal than that. In one fell swoop, God shuts out the rest of his creation. The act of closing this door is the official death sentence to any and all who still walked the earth.

There’s metaphorical value to this act as well. In the christian faith, God closing the door is tangential to his promise of protection over those he saves. To me, however, it just sounds like God is making clear once again that the choice is simple. Revere, fear and obey him – or die. Die in the most gruesome, terrible way he can think of. Suffer for your insolence.

It’s moments like these where I struggle to see the loving, caring God that proponents of the Bible seem to find within these pages.

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

Genesis 7:17, 7:18, 7:19, 7:20

Does this feel like an empowering story to you? Do you feel inspired? If a human had the powers of God, and sent a global flood with waters as deep as the mountains are high to flush out all life on earth, would you revere them? Praise them? Worship them?

What about those who do? The people who hold them in high regard, not despite their act of gruesome violence, but because of it? Would you feel the need to respect their beliefs? Would you cast anyone who critiques their perspective as a bigot?

On the Brink of Extinction

And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 7:21, 7:22, 7:23, 7:24

The great flood was more than just unnecessary. The events described in this chapter of Genesis were nothing short of useless. Even within the story of the Bible, Noah’s flood does not eliminate sin in the world. His “cleansing” of the earth results in a world still littered with all kinds of atrocities. What purpose did the great flood have if the end result is a world full of hate, rape, murder and oppression?

What made Noah and his family so exceptional? Why did the animals have to pay the ultimate price too? Did God not know of a better way? The number of questions that remain after reading this story show why christian apologetics exist. The Bible raises many more questions than it answers, and unless you’re willing to fill in the massive gaps and ignore its glaring flaws, this story makes no sense.