”The flood myth motif is widespread among many cultures as seen in the Mesopotamian flood stories, the Puranas, Deucalion in Greek mythology, the Genesis flood narrative, and in the lore of the K'iche' and Maya peoples of Central America, the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa tribe of Native Americans in North America, and the Muisca people in South America." - Wikipedia.
Could not easily find sources that indicated the Noah story as historical but do remember seeing a documentary theorizing a regional event in the Mediterranean. It proposed a series of events caused by a tsunami affecting the entire shoreline. Even so - was there a Noah and or an Ark?
As I read the bible it makes more since to be viewed as examples of leadership. Examples of tribal leaders from Israelite's history that transition into a fulfilled leadership style in Christ. It contains examples of men and women experiencing life and how they influenced the Jewish people through their work and spiritual reflections.
When the Church recently updated biblical translations with current linguistic studies, they began to look into a more gender neutral approach. It was soon realized that these prior stories of men and women developed a leadership style that was handed down through the cultural traditions. Eliminating the references to gender would remove the observed fulfilled links to Jesus and Mary.
People come together as families forming culture with leaders emerging who resolve issues in a complex human dynamic. If you look at the subject matter of the separate biblical books, this is the commonality. They then begin to reveal an even more interesting story - a story of hope, inspiration and solidarity.
I see Noah as an early leader who was driven to become a savior. He possessed an internal knowledge that he decided to act upon. To me it is a beautiful metaphor and includes the cultural thinking during the time it was composed and popularized. His knowledge is described in a supernatural way but his family trusted him and his knowledge skills.
However, others did not. His knowledge, either as a real person or if only a story showing a desire by his people, was extensive and seems almost impossible. Engineering and animal conservation - of course these are modern equivalents. These great skills would seem highly unlikely if not for the more recent example of European Renaissance history. Where, as in the past, knowledge was seen as coming from God and there was a struggle with its power.
The Noah story is a favorite and I can't wait to see it. Sounds like the director had a life long desire to put it to film. I like the concept of the ark as a metaphor bringing together diverse sources of information (social and conservation) into a functional representation allowing for good leadership decisions. Its obvious that "my ark" is spelled with a "C".
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