The Fallen Ones (Part 1 of 3)

Setting the Stage: The Global Deluge

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” -Genesis 6:4, King James Version

               This will be a different type of blog than what I usually write, and I want to say that up front; different in both the subject matter and the presentation. First, the subject matter is not common in the terms of Christian discourse, it is controversial, and, quite frankly, it is a little creepy. Second, the presentation will be less formal, less evidential, and more speculative. I will still present from an academic position, using facts, information, logic, and reason. I will still build a rational case. But I recognize and freely admit that there are many unknowns and variables that require consideration regarding the conclusions I present.

               Don’t be surprised if you have never heard some of these things before. I believe my assertions to be correct, but I am not dogmatic regarding the necessity to agree with me in all points here. My logic is not infallible, nor do I claim to have all knowledge available regarding this topic. But, if you’re ready, let’s begin.

               I am going to start my presentation entitled, The Fallen Ones, with a story that is familiar to many people; the story of the Great Flood and Noah’s Ark from the Book of Genesis in the Bible. In telling the story, I am going to focus not on the flood itself, or on the ark, but on the beginning of the story, and the events that I believe led to the Great Flood (also known as the Global Deluge). Pay close attention to the situational background and the picture being painted in the following verses.

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he is also flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” –Genesis 6:1-9, King James Version

               A summary of the story is as follows: Noah and his wife had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God directed Noah to build a very large ship, which Noah did. Then, at the appointed time, God brought at least two (and in some cases, seven) of every kind of animal to Noah to preserve their species in the ship. Noah, and his wife, and his three sons, and their three wives, and the animals God brought to Noah went into the ark and God flooded the earth. For forty days and nights it rained continually, and God opened up the crust of the earth and water flowed out from under the ground. The entire earth flooded and all land and air dwelling life was extinguished, except for the species preserved on the ark. Then God caused the waters to recede back into the depths of the earth again and the continents (no doubt changed in form and shape dramatically) became exposed. Noah and his family and the animals left the ark and repopulated the planet.

According to some classical Biblical chronologists, all of this happened around 2350 BC/BCE, or approximately 4350 years ago. I will not spend time trying to date this event using our calendar, but of course, debate exists regarding the timing of the flood. For that matter, debate exists regarding the reality of the event itself, so I will just assert my acceptance of the reality of the event, and that it happened more than 4000 years ago, and we will continue.

               Giving the Bible the benefit of the doubt (assuming that there was a global flood and that Noah really lived and God really had him build an ark to save his family and the animals), some obvious questions arise:

• How could two (let alone seven, in some cases) of every animal and eight humans fit inside the ship?
• How could all those creatures live together for at least 40 days (let alone the full year implied in the Biblical text) in such a confined space without killing each other?
• What about dinosaurs?
• Where did all that water come from, and where did it all go?
• How could Noah’s three sons and their wives repopulate the earth, as it is today, considering the inherent genetic problems involved (lack of genetic diversity, inbreeding, etc.)?
• Why did this happen, and why was Noah’s family spared?

Here are my answers (kept very brief as this blog post is not really about the Great Flood):

• The ship was very large. The dimensions provided in the King James Bible are 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. Some archaeologists have calculated that to be 520 feet long, 86 feet wide, and 52 feet high. Others have calculated that to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Even using the smaller interpretation, that ship was longer than a 40-story building, wider than a seven-story building, and higher than a four-story building. That is larger than most people realize when they think of Noah’s Ark. In addition to that, Noah didn’t need to have every breed of dog, every breed of horse, every breed of pig, etc. Using genetic coding in DNA combined with the process of natural and artificial selection, all species of dog could have a common ancestor, as could all species of horse, as could all species of pig, etc. Apply this rationale to all of the animals on earth, and the number of necessary pairs required is exponentially reduced. For those who might want to engage in a debate about natural selection, I tackled that subject, as well as the broader topic of evolution, in another blog. Let me just say here that I recognize the validity of the process of natural selection—the concept that the various animals we observe in different climates have adapted over time to a condition best suited to their environment. The science is real. It’s simple genetics. All the genetic code was there in the beginning, but animals with traits most suitable for a given climate were more fitted for survival and were able to reproduce, and over time the genetic traits that were essential for such climates became the dominant traits that were passed down. Thus we see diversity in place within species today, but all such diversity could have (and I assert, did) originate from the genetic code of a common source pair. Spontaneous generation is absurd and has long since been rejected by science. Development of new species via evolutionary mutation lacks observable evidence and defies certain other logical considerations that I won’t elaborate upon here.
• The ship was adequately supplied in advance with consumables, and the animals could have been separated with the carnivores confined. And that doesn’t even factor into consideration that God could have supernaturally pacified the aggressive animals during the time they were contained within the ship.
• I somewhat humorously included the dinosaur question here partially in jest, but also because it used by Biblical detractors to remove credibility from the Flood story. Honestly, I don’t know where the dinosaurs were or what happened to them. Perhaps the earth is millions of years old and the dinosaurs died out before God created man. Perhaps the earth is only thousands of years old and God chose not to include them on the ark. Perhaps baby dinosaurs were on the ark, but were unable to survive in the drastically altered climate conditions of the post-flood world. Perhaps some of them are still around, but we just don’t recognize them because they don’t live long enough to grow to sizes found in the fossil record; keep in mind that many reptiles continue to grow as long as they live, and also keep in mind that the Bible states that before the Flood people could live to be over nine hundred years old, but after the flood lifespans were drastically reduced. This is a strong indicator that living conditions on the earth were drastically altered after the flood. There are so many different possibilities, none of which can be demonstrated definitively at this point, that it would be irrational for me to assert the truth of one over the others. Besides, the viability of the event does not require an answer to this particular question, and to assert otherwise would be to engage a logical fallacy. My personal suspicion is that either God chose not to preserve dinosaurs on the ark or they were there in young form and could not survive in the post-flood world.
• There are many theories regarding where the water came from and where it went, some of which also relate to the possible climate change from the pre-flood to post-flood world. One theory is that a canopy, or sphere, of water in gas, or possible gas and ice, form encompassed the earth prior to the flood. This could have reduced cosmic radiation and increased oxygen content in the atmosphere. As a result of such conditions, the climate would have allowed for improved human and animal health and healing, increased lifespans, and resulted in larger vegetation. This canopy of water was either supernaturally destroyed or destroyed through natural means, which caused, or contributed to, the Flood. There is also a theory that a large comet, or perhaps multiple comets, collided with the earth and the ice contained by the comets melted in the atmosphere or upon impact and caused the flood. There is some observable evidence of comet impact and water canals on Mars. There is also some speculation about changes to the orbits of Earth and Mars in relation to one another, as well as speculation regarding the causality of the axis tilt of the Earth, some answers to which could be found in the force and gravitational consequences that such an impact event could cause. There is also a recent discovery by scientists that a vast body of water, possibly comparable to the volume found in the Earth’s oceans, might lie under the Earth’s crust. Check out this recent article for more information: http://news.yahoo.com/found-hidden-ocean-locked-deep-earths-mantle-181204475.html. This could explain what happened when “all the fountains of the great deep” were opened up during the flood in Genesis 7:11 (KJV), as well as where the water went when it receded from the Earth in Genesis 8:3 and 8:5. Again, the reliability of the Flood event isn’t necessarily predicated upon knowing which answer is correct, so long as we know that viable answers to this question exist. The question itself cannot be used to disprove the event as long as possible answers haven’t been disproven. Likewise, the possibility of answers doesn’t prove the event either.
• Regarding the repopulation of the earth, again I cannot provide a definitive Biblical or scientific explanation. The Bible says it happened, but it doesn’t explain how. The genetic abnormalities and imperfections present in the genes of human beings today, let alone the infirmities and mutations, may not have been pervasive to the same extent thousands of years ago, especially considering the possibility of climate change and the possibility that genetic drift wasn’t as much of a problem the closer a descendant is to the original source. I also address this in another blog.

The final question will be the subject of the remainder of this post. Why did this happen, and why was Noah’s family spared?

        In order to tackle that question, let me start first by drawing our attention back to the initial passage of Scripture I quoted before, Genesis 6:1-9. I am going to present two different translations of the passage and then focus on some key portions. Compare the earlier quoted King James Version with the following from the New American Standard Bible:

“Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he is also flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (NASB)

Now compare the same passage from the New International Version:

“When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.’ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” (NIV)

        I am going to sideline here into some historical and technical considerations. This passage comes from the Book of Genesis which is the first book of the Holy Bible. As such, it is the first book of the Christian Old Testament. It is also the first book of the Hebrew Torah. When it was originally written, it was in the Hebrew language. As with so many things, there is debate as to the time it was originally written. Some scholars place it as far back as 1450 BC/BCE, while others place it as recently as 1280 BC/BCE. Shortly after the time of Alexander the Great, during the reign of Ptolemy II, the Greek king of Egypt, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was commissioned for inclusion in the Library of Alexandria. This Greek translation is known as the Septuagint, and was completed within the third and second centuries BC/BCE.

        In addition to this information, there are two terms I want to define. The first is “translation” and the second is “transliteration.” According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, translation means “words that have been changed from one language into a different language” and transliteration means “to write words or letters in the characters of another alphabet.” It is important to note that when translating from one language to another, oftentimes words don’t have an exact match, therefore the translators must use a modicum of interpretation to get the meaning across. As a result, translations don’t always retain the same substance or intent of the original. Hence the phrase that something is “lost in translation.”

        If we examine verse 4 of the Biblical text quoted above, we see there were individuals alive at the time of the Great Flood who were called “Nephilim” in the New American Standard and New International translations, and “giants” in the King James Version. The actual Hebrew word in the original text is “Nephilim.” When it was translated into Greek for the Septuagint the word used was “gigantes.” You can probably guess what the Greek word gigantes means, but I’ll make it easy and tell you; it means “giants” in English. The Greek scholars used a bit of interpretation in their translation here. They weren’t necessarily incorrect, as we will see later, but a little something was lost in translation. When the King James Bible was translated, the Greek word gigantes was translated, or more properly transliterated, into the English word giants. The New American Standard and New International Bible translations, which came later, chose to retain the Hebrew word Nephilim in the form of a proper noun. Rather than the term giants, some scholars assert that a more accurate translation of the word Nephilim into English would be “the fallen ones.”

        So now we must ask, who were the “sons of God” mentioned in this passage in contrast to the “daughters of men?” For that matter, who were the “daughters of men?” And who were the Nephilim/giants/fallen ones?

We will continue this discussion in my next blog post. Thanks for reading!