Posted by dr. justin on October 31, 2002, at 14:33:23
In reply to Flood Myth in Plato's Timaeus, posted by fachad on October 30, 2002, at 23:34:43
Fachad,
Plato's Timaeus is not alone in its inclusion of a flood story. In fact, almost every religion or mythology includes a global flood story.
There is a recent paper in "Geology" that proposed the Mediterranean Sea was an empty, fertile basin until ~6000 years ago, when post-Ice Age sea levels rose enough to inundate the gigantic basin. The scientist's evidence was very good. If this basin was the cradle of civilization and the nexus of western civilization, than a flood into the Mediterranean basin would seem like the world was being flooded!
That paper was recently refuted, but not in such a way that their hypothesis can be dismissed. Personally, I always thought the reason every religion had a flood story was sea shells. At the top of every mountain I've ever climbed, I can always find fossil shells, usually lying around like pebbles. Since we didn't figure out plate tectonics (also known as "continental drift", which is a really misleading term) until the 1960's, I figured the flood stories were used to explain how the shells could get on top of mountains. But I really like the Mediterranean Sea flooding theory; I think the authors will come back with more evidence and refute their critics.
Interesting stuff.
Best regards,
Justin
poster:dr. justin
thread:1190
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20021001/msgs/1194.html