Chapter Four

Nature vs. the Bible

Fatal Flaw #3: How Can the Bible Be the Word of Our Creator When It Has Such a Poor Understanding of Life?

“If you leave the Christian Bible outside, eventually the wind and the rain will destroy it. My bible is the wind and the rain.”
- Attributed to an unnamed Native American woman.

The previous chapter detailed the Bible’s primitive and faulty understanding of the cosmos. In this chapter, we’ll discover that the authors of these scriptures clearly didn’t understand some very basic things about life here on earth. This book has organized these biblical errors about nature into seven basic categories:

1. The Bible Doesn’t Understand Medicine

In the Old Testament, Yahweh afflicted people with handicaps.

Exodus 4:11 And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?

In the New Testament, we see that demons, not Yahweh, are to blame for a wide range of handicaps, mental illnesses and diseases, ranging from muteness to leprosy. Exorcism, prayer and faith healing (not professional medical attention) are the recommended cures.

Matthew 9:6-7 “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,” (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.” And he arose, and departed to his house.

Note on the above passage: The paralyzed man apparently was afflicted with paralysis because of his sins. Are all victims of paralysis simply suffering the wages of their sins? If someone gets sick or suffers an injury, is it because they somehow deserved it?

Matthew 9:32-33 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

Matthew 10:1-8 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease… (Jesus taught them to) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. [1]

Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw

Matthew 17:15-18 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. [2]

Mark 1:30-34 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. [3]

Mark 3:10-11 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

Mark 5:2-15 (verse 2-3) And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: … (verse 8) For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. (verse 15) And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Mark 9:17-29 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

Mark 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

By the light of the above passage, anyone can cast out demons and heal the sick by invoking the power of Jesus. Why don’t people seem to have this power today? It seems clear that certain Fundamentalists who believe in the power of laying on hands and casting out demons aren’t crazy. They simply believe in what the Bible says.

Mark 16:16-18 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

From reading the above passage, it seems that true believers, those who are saved, have the power not only to cast out devils and heal the sick but also gain immunity to poisons. Why don’t people seem to have these powers today?

Warning: Do NOT try to drink poison or handle deadly snakes as a test of faith!

Tragically, there are some Christians who take this passage of scripture too literally. The problem is so serious that the State of Kentucky apparently felt the need to make snake handling during a religious service illegal. Despite the law, some Christians still try to test their faith in this deadly manner. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported one fatality from the practice in 2006. [4]

Other passages that relate to faith healing:

Luke 6:17-19 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

Luke 7:21 And in that same hour he (Jesus) cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.

Luke 8:2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,

Luke 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.

These above verses fit in well with the ancient superstitious ideas that illness or handicaps were cause by demonic possession. They do not, however, fit in well with a book written by those instructed by God. Surely if the authors had spoken to God, they’d be better informed.

Perhaps the most curious story about faith healing, one which may be responsible for great misery today, is found in Mark (bold emphasis added):

Mark 5:25-34 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. (Verse 34) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Jesus says that it was her faith that in fact healed her. Medical science had been unable to do what her faith accomplished. No doubt this story is where some religious fanatics get the idea to reject the assistance of medical professionals and turn to faith (and sometimes exorcism rituals) to make them better. Faith can be hazardous to your health if it prevents you from seeking real medical care.

Examples of faith healing and assertions that illness is caused by demonic possession were not limited to the Gospels:

Acts 5:15-16 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Acts 8:7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Acts 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

James 5:14-16 Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The above passage implies that sins can cause illness. Confession and exorcism are both recommended cures. Today, we have a better understanding of what causes handicaps and illnesses.

2. The Bible Doesn’t Understand Animals

The Bible’s ignorance of the animal kingdom is demonstrated as early as the second chapter of Genesis in the story where Adam names all of the animals.

Genesis 2:19-20 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

What the people who wrote the Bible didn’t understand is just how many millions of species of animals there are. This plot hole crops up again in the story of Noah’s Ark:

Genesis 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

Genesis 7:2 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.

So did Noah take two of each kind or seven pairs each? Either way, that’s a lot of animals. The Ark was allegedly 450 feet long. [5] It must have been crowded to have several million species of animals aboard. How did he load them all in just seven days?

Some of these animals are endemic to certain regions, like the kangaroo of Australia, which Noah couldn’t have collected. Others are indigenous to specific climates, such as the camels, polar bears or penguins. Even if he had collected them all, how did they then migrate back to their respective climates, some of which were halfway around the world?

The Ark had only a crew of eight (Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives). [6] How did they care for millions of species of animals for 150 days? Most metropolitan zoos have a much larger staff with fewer animals to care for.

Not all animals have a male and female gender as we think of it. Some, as with the earthworms, are hermaphrodites. Some, such as the ants, require an entire nest to survive. Regardless, a single male and female do not carry sufficient genetic diversity to sustain a species (detailed later in this chapter).

Further discussion of the technical problems of the story of Noah’s Ark can be found at Talk Origins online. Go to http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html or simply visit talkorigins.org and enter “Noah’s Ark” into their website search engine.

Warning! Don’t Try This:

Jesus proclaims that serpents or scorpions can’t harm those with true faith:

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Jesus Isn’t Much of a Birdwatcher
Jesus thought that God fed the birds directly. One can only wonder how biologists have failed to notice this process.

Matthew 6:25-26 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Jesus is simply wrong here. God doesn’t feed the birds. They must go out and hunt for their food much the same way as other animals do. Perhaps they don’t have the sophisticated system of agriculture that humans enjoy. They don’t sow, reap or gather into barns, that much is true, but this is obviously due more to the fact they lack the required knowledge and the physical adaptation of the opposable thumb. Pointing out that they don’t farm is a moot point, as they must still work for their food much the same as the rest of us. They must worry about their lives, what they shall eat and what they shall drink.

Jesus asks us rhetorically if we are of more value than the birds. Are we to understand then that some sentient lives are of greater value than others? The Bible teaches that humans are of greater value in the eyes of God and we are given dominion over them.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The Bible doesn’t teach that humans should live responsibly on this earth or take care of the environment. Why should we care about this planet? Jesus is just going to take us to a much better place anyway.

3. The Bible Doesn’t Understand Plants

The people that wrote the Bible apparently didn’t understand that surface plants can’t survive underwater. In the story of Noah, he sent out a dove to find out if there was any part of the earth where the waters had abated. Never mind how he could communicate such a task to a dove (such Dr. Doolittle-style magic is discussed later), the dove returned with an olive leaf, indicating that it had discovered a patch of dry land:

Genesis 8:10-11 And he (Noah) stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

Of course, such a plant would be dead if it had been submerged in the ocean for 150 days.

According to the Bible, seeds have to be dead before they can grow.

1st Corinthians 15:35-36 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

Interesting analogy except that it’s totally wrong. Seeds that are dead won’t grow into anything. Only seeds that are alive will germinate.

4. The Bible Doesn’t Understand the Weather

The primitive authors of the Bible believed that rain was from the “waters” above the sky dome. As mentioned in a previous chapter, they thought there were waters below and above this dome. Bold emphasis added:

Genesis 1:6-7 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

This understanding of the universe is also reflected in the passages below where Yahweh opens windows in Heaven to make it rain or closes them up to cause a drought. The Genesis passage quoted above speaks of the “waters” in Heaven. Apparently, they felt that rain was from these Heavenly waters:

Genesis 7:11-12 …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.

1st Kings 8:35 When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee…

Of course, we know today that rain is part of the natural order of evaporation and condensation. There are no “waters in Heaven” that are occasionally released onto the earth when God opens a window. It’s all part of the same water that exists here on earth.

Unfortunately, some Christian leaders haven’t completely outgrown these superstitious beliefs about the weather being a sign of God’s wrath or their inclination to use tragedy as a tool to tighten their control of their flock. Even in what should be a more enlightened age, with our advanced understanding of meteorology, whenever a natural disaster happens we will often hear conservative Christians proclaim it a sign that God is angry about our “sinful ways”.

For example, in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, evangelist Franklin Graham told a gathering at Liberty University that the disaster could be used to bring about a Christian revival in New Orleans, adding that the city had been living in sin:

“There’s been satanic worship. There’s been sexual perversion. God is going to use that storm to bring revival. God has a plan. God has a purpose.” [7]
-Rev. Franklin Graham

So the “sin” in New Orleans caused the hurricane? Never mind how global warming may have aggravated the effects of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Never mind how the destruction of the wetlands around New Orleans may have eroded away a natural protection. Never mind that even if God were angry at certain people, surely God is capable of being more surgical than wiping out entire coastlines. It is easier and far more convenient for these religious leaders to speculate about the emotions of God rather than look to ways we mortals on earth may proactively improve our own situation.

Such fear mongering belongs in the Dark Ages but just for the sake of argument let’s assume that a massive hurricane like Katrina might be because of God’s anger. Are we sure that God is angry because of the “sin” that goes on in New Orleans? Perhaps it’s a sign that God is angry with Bush. Didn’t Florida get hit with three hurricanes just before the 2004 election? Isn’t three a holy number to Christians? Didn’t Florida decide the 2000 election? It’s a sign! Didn’t Katrina hit the heart of the “red states” right after the 2004 election? Obviously, God was angry that we didn’t listen and sought to punish the red states. Quick, impeach Bush now before God really gets mad!

Obviously this example is tongue-in-cheek but no more silly than any other attempt to find metaphysical reasons why natural disasters happen. There are many different possible explanations for why a tornado struck such-and-such town at exactly this or that time. Why pick one over any other? Why assume that you know any better than anyone else?

Nature’s God and Natural Disasters

Are natural disasters a sign of God’s wrath? Unlikely. We can’t know to what extent, if at all, that God is involved in day-to-day events, never mind attempt to know with certainty God’s motives behind the intervention. However, we should have confidence that if God were angry with us that this same Creator who gave us reason and the capacity to communicate might find some more articulate method of letting us know than a thunder cloud.

Other Biblical “Facts” About the Weather:

The Bible says tsunamis can’t happen.

Jeremiah 5:22 Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

The Bible says that clouds aren’t wisps of condensation but rather Yahweh’s footprints.

Nahum 1:3 …the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

The Bible says that thunder is Yahweh’s voice.

Job 37:2-4 Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.

The Bible says that rainbows are a memory crutch for Yahweh.

Genesis 9:13-16 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Most people tie string around their fingers or write notes to remember things but Yahweh has to change the fundamental way that light interacts with water in order to remind himself not to slaughter everyone on the planet with another flood.

The Bible says that earthquakes and avalanches are the result of Yahweh’s anger.

Job 9:5 (Yahweh) removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger.

Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he (Yahweh) was wroth.

Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Clearly, the Bible was written not by our Creator but by superstitious primitive humans.

5. The Bible Doesn’t Understand Gender

The authors of the Bible thought that woman was created out of man:

Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

First Corinthians 11:8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

Nature’s God would seem to indicate the opposite, that men are alterations on the female design. The “y” chromosome contains the genetic data on which male characteristics are based. These male genes are a set of alterations on the basic human design. In the absence of these genes, a female will develop. Genetically speaking, female is the default gender. One online resource on developmental biology described what determines gender (bold emphasis added):

“Another gene known to reside on the Y chromosome is a key sex determination gene. For the first 40 days after conception, all human embryos develop in much the same way. Then, a sex-determining gene on the male’s Y chromosome called SRY (for “Sex-determining Region of the Y chromosome”), comes into play. The product of the SRY gene converts the gonad cells of the early human embryo into testes, which in turn triggers development of male sexual organs. If expression of SRY is blocked, the embryo’s gonad cells go on to become ovaries and female sexual organs develop. In other words, all human embryos will develop into females unless they are masculinized by the product of the SRY gene.” [8]
-George B. Johnson, Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis.

Why Else Would Men Have Nipples?

Of course, the primitive authors of the Bible couldn’t have known such things about genetics. However, the fact that men have nipples should really have been an obvious indication that males are alterations on the female design and not the other way around.

It seems that God in fact designed woman as the default gender. If so, this design choice makes sense, as the female is more crucial to the survival of a species, since she carries and bears the life of the next generation. Of course, the Bible, written by a paternalistic society, would never have admitted this.

6. The Adam and Eve Fallacy

A famous song by Sonny and Cher says, “It takes two, baby.” This may be true for love but when it comes to sustaining a species, it takes a great deal more genetic diversity than that.

According to the Bible, a single man and a single woman are sufficient to sustain a species and populate a planet. We read about this twice in the Book of Genesis. The first was after the creation of Adam and Even in Chapter 2 who are said to be the common ancestors of all of humanity. The second occasion was during the Noah’s Ark story in chapters 6 through 9 when Noah sustains the animal population by taking two of each kind aboard the ark. The eight humans who were aboard Noah’s Ark (Noah, his wife, their three sons and their sons’ wives) were also not sufficiently diverse genetically. The humans born after the flood would all at least be cousins to one another, sharing the same paternal grandmother and grandfather.

Frankly, even the primitive authors of the Bible should have known better. Common sense indicates that it takes more than two to provide sufficient genetic material to maintain a species for more than a generation.

After all, who are their children supposed to breed with? Each other?

7. The Ridiculously Long Lives of the Old Testament

The staggering length of the life spans described in the Old Testament speak for themselves:

Seth, 912 years (Gen 5:8)
Enos, 905 years (Gen 5:11)
Cainan, 910 years (Gen 5:14)
Mahalaleel, 895 years (Gen 5:17)
Jared, 962 years (Gen 5:20)
Methuselah, 969 years (Gen 5:27)
Lamech, 777 years (Gen 5:31)
Noah, 950 years (Gen 9:29)

The Book of Genesis doesn’t explain why Noah’s father, Lemech, tragically died so young. He didn’t even make it to his 800th birthday when so many of the people from his time allegedly lived well into their 900s. It must have been very sad for Noah to lose his father so soon.

The Pre-Flood World Apology

One apology once offered for these lengthy life spans involves some fabulous pseudo-science to describe a “pre-flood world” in which humans could enjoy this kind of longevity. Dr. Kent Hovind, a lecturer on the pseudo-science known as “Creationism”, apparently attempted to explain the long lives in his video series “Creation Evangelism”.

According to one Evangelical website (chick.com) promoting this series:

“Hovind describes how such a water canopy of ice crystals and vapor would shield the earth from harmful solar x-rays and provide a greenhouse environment ideal for maximum plant and animal growth. There is evidence in samples of ancient amber that the atmosphere contained twice as much oxygen is it does today and that the atmospheric pressure was much greater.” [9]
-Jack Chick, “Battlecry”

“Twice as much oxygen”? The entire planet would be a combustion hazard! Haven’t these Evangelicals ever been to a hospital? Don’t they know that smoking is expressly forbidden around oxygen tanks for exactly this reason?

It’s left to the most overactive imaginations to figure out exactly how doubling the oxygen supply allows humans to live roughly twelve times the life expectancy that we enjoy today. One problem with this explanation is that, according to the Bible, the outlandishly long life spans didn’t end with the flood. For example:

Abraham, 175 years (Gen 25:7).
Ishmael, 137 years (Gen 25:17).
Isaac, 180 years (Gen 35:28).
Jacob, 147 years (Gen 47:28).

Granted, 175 or 180 years is a little closer to a realistic life expectancy than nearly a thousand years but such longevity would still be outlandish even in today’s era, never mind the Bronze Age. Most likely, these biblical figures are exaggerations. How can we trust that a book is truly the “Word of God” if it can’t even keep such basic facts straight?

Conclusion

As this chapter demonstrates, the authors of the Bible had a poor understanding of life, consistent with the limitations of primitive knowledge and inconsistent with those who supposedly had an audience with or guidance from the very Creator of life. The Bible is clearly their work and not God’s.

|| PREVIOUS CHAPTER || TABLE OF CONTENTS ||NEXT CHAPTER ||

[1] Roughly repeated in Mark 3:14-15, Luke 9:1-3.

[2] This story is roughly repeated in Luke 9:38-40.

[3] This story is roughly repeated in Luke 4:38-41

[4] “Woman Bitten by Snake at Church Dies”, Lexington Herald-Leader, November 7, 2006. Accessed at http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/15947481.htm?source=rss&channel=kentucky_news on November 9, 2006.

[5] See Genesis 6:15 (300 cubits is roughly 450 feet).

[6] See Genesis 7:7.

[7] Steve Szkotak, “Graham Sees ‘Revival’ for New Orleans, Franklin Graham Says Hurricane Katrina Could Lead to Spiritual Rebirth of Sinful New Orleans”, ABC News, Associated Press, October 4, 2005, accessed at http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/HurricaneKatrina/wireStory?id=1182851 on February 24, 2006.

[8] George B. Johnson, “The Y Chromosome: Men Really Are Different”, On Science, published online at http://www.txtwriter.com/onscience/Articles/ychromosome.html, accessed on March 6, 2006.

[9] Jack Chick, “Fossils Prove Pre-Flood Earth Was Ideal Environment”, Battle Cry, Jan-Feb 2001, p 1. Published online at http://www.chick.com/bc/2001/preflood.asp accessed on March 13, 2007 (Author's Warning: Some truly breathtakingly funny pseudo-science in this article; do not try to drink anything while following this link unless you enjoy cleaning off your monitor).