The Book of Genesis is an ancient document, written in a culture very different than ours. If we want to understand it, it helps (I would say is necessary) to research the culture, the ways that culture tended to write, and what message the author intended to convey.
Reading Genesis as if it were an eye witness account with an emphsis on details and science is a 21st century culture way of going about it and doesn't give the text credit for what it is.
If you notice, my first post mentioned that the Catholic Church doesn't take a dogmatic view on the flood one way or another.
Hebrew scholars say that Genesis is written in a narrative style thus is supposed to be considered factual by the writers. Also keep in mind that the starting point for atheism is attacking the first book of the Bible. Do that successfully and the rest follow. The Catholic Church is one of the most religiously conservative denominations. That by definition means they take the Bible more literally than many protestant denominations. For example the Lord's Supper. They believe that the elements literally turn into the blood and flesh of Jesus. That shoots down your assertion about the Catholic view of Genesis. I get regular emails from a Messianic Jew who discusses everything in the Bible from the perspective of the Jewish history with a working knowledge of all of the Biblical languages. He points out that the New Testament is written in Koine Greek not ancient Greek. When Jews use a language they bring in the phraseology of Hebrew and make it a somewhat different language. Yiddish is a modern example of this. It is a modified German. Here is his credentials. I go by what he says about the Biblical times!
Dr. Eli Lizorkin Eyzenberg
(Research Professor of Jewish and Christian Studies)
Discover the Hebrew Bible & The Jewish Background of the New Testament , Developer
A Few Words About Me:
Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg is an Israeli expert scholar in Early and Modern Church History. Dr. Lizorkin-Eyzenberg has received a fair amount of Jewish and Christian education, both religious and secular. Outside his expertise in the ancient languages – Biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, Syriac and Old Church Slovanic, he has a command of three other modern languages – English, Russian and Hebrew.. One of his greatest passions is building bridges of trust, respect and understanding between Christians and Jews, overcoming centuries of difficult, but almost always joined history. Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg strongly believes that both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament scriptures have much to teach both communities. He resides at Israel with his wife and children.
Education:
Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg holds an M.Div. degree in Christian Theology from the Reformed Theological Seminary (2000), and M.Phil. degree in Bible Interpretation (2008). He holds a Ph.D. in Ancient Cultures from Stellenbosch University (2011). Additional studies include doctoral and postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Leiden University, Princeton Theological Seminary and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Professional Experience:
Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg is a published author, an experienced lecturer and an educator. He is responsible for the developing of Biblical studies courses here at the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies. He has been teaching Biblical, Jewish and Christian studies at the Israel Theological Seminary, at the Haifa Theological Institute, in the Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary and in Spurgeon’s College which is located at the University of Wales. He has been a content developer and a teacher at the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies for many years.
