Gregory Wrightstone (modified and inspired by Alistair Riddoch)

THE STORY OF NOAH AND THE GREAT FLOOD

According to the Bible, there occurred a worldwide flood a little more than 4,000 years ago that wiped out nearly all of a human population that had become thoroughly sinful. Only one man, Noah, was found to be sufficiently righteous. The people of Earth had been warned time and again to forsake their evil ways but continued with the worshiping of idols and worse.

Now, God would punish humankind for their transgressions. What was to come were severe storms, heavy rains, rising seas and flooded lands on a scale never seen before. God told Noah “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”

God instructed Noah to build a huge ark in order to spare him, his family and the creatures of the Earth. And so it came to pass that the storms came and the water rose and the people became “climate refugees” fleeing from the catastrophic weather, but they could not find safety and perished. But Noah survived, having heeded God’s warning.

For a number of devout, mostly evangelical Christians, this is much more than just a Bible story. They believe it to be a literal description of God’s retribution upon a sinful humanity. Some of them will allow no discourse that calls into question their fervently-held beliefs.

For others, the story of the Great Flood is a tall tale that could not have actually happened. Ironically, many who dismiss this ancient story swallow whole a modern-day yarn of man’s iniquities and the predicted consequences.

THE STORY OF NOAA AND THE GREAT FLOOD

This modern tale comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as NOAA (pronounced NO-ah), which claims that the greedy and sinful ways of humans are causing CO2 to increase and temperature to rise to dangerous, unprecedented levels. NOAA was deemed to be truthful and without flaw, able to accurately forecast the temperature, the sea-level and the alkalinity of the oceans 50 years and more into the future. The people of Earth were warned time and again that they needed to forsake their sins of emission and abandon their greedy use of fossil fuels or face a climate apocalypse.

But the people of Earth continued their transgressions and humanity was told by the high priests of climate change that the Earth (Gaia) would punish humankind. Man-made temperature increases would cause severe storms, heavy rains, rising seas and flooded lands. Mass death and tens of millions of climate refugees fleeing coastlines were predicted.

For a fairly large number of ardent believers, man’s ability to control the uncontrollable — a climate driven entirely by natural forces since the dawn of time — cannot be questioned. For them, any doubts of the science supporting NOAA’s story, no matter how questionable the methods, must not be tolerated. Critics must be stifled with religious fervor through shaming, denial of research funding and refusal of access to media and journals.

The climate alarmists will claim that those who believe the story of Noah’s Flood are nothing more than religious fanatics. Yet a clear-eyed review of the modern NOAA story and the science that disputes it may reveal that the true fanatics are those worshiping their new religion of radical environmentalism.

An all-important difference between the two is that Noah’s story is promoted through speech that may be accepted or rejected in a free society. NOAA’s is advanced with government force.

First published 7/10/18 at Clash Daily