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When the Great Abyss Opened: Classic and Contemporary Readings of Noah's Flood
The story of Noah's flood is one of the best-loved and most often retold biblical tales, the inspiration for numerous children's books and toys, novels, and even films. Whether as allusion, archetype, or literal presence--the American landscape is peppered with "recreations" of the ark--the story of Noah's animals and the ark resonates throughout American culture and the world.
While most think of Noah's ark as a dramatic myth, others are consumed by the quest for geological and archeological proof that the flood really occurred. Persistent rumors of a large vessel on the mountain of Ararat in Turkey, for instance, have led many pilgrims and explorers over the centuries to visit that fabled peak. Recent finds suggest that there may have been a catastrophic flood on the shores of the Black Sea some 7,600 years ago. Is this then the reality behind the ancient tale of Noah? More to the point, why does it matter?
What does the story of the Flood mean to us and why does it so stir the collective imagination? When the Great Abyss Opened examines the history of our attempts to understand the Flood, from medieval Jewish and Christian speculation about the physical details of the ark to contemporary efforts to link it to scientific findings. Unraveling the mythical dimensions of the parallel Mesopotamian flood stories and their deeper social and psychological significance, J. David Pleins also considers the story's positive uses in theology and moral instruction. Noah's tale, however, has also been invoked as a means of justifying exclusion, racism, and anti-homosexual views. Pro-slavery advocates, for example, used the story of Noah's Curse on Ham's son Canaan to rationalize the enslavement of Africans.
Throughout this expansive and lively book, Pleins sheds new light on our continuing attempts to understand this ancient primal myth. Noah's Flood, he contends, offers a unique case study that illuminates the timeless and timely question of how fact and faith relate.
While most think of Noah's ark as a dramatic myth, others are consumed by the quest for geological and archeological proof that the flood really occurred. Persistent rumors of a large vessel on the mountain of Ararat in Turkey, for instance, have led many pilgrims and explorers over the centuries to visit that fabled peak. Recent finds suggest that there may have been a catastrophic flood on the shores of the Black Sea some 7,600 years ago. Is this then the reality behind the ancient tale of Noah? More to the point, why does it matter?
What does the story of the Flood mean to us and why does it so stir the collective imagination? When the Great Abyss Opened examines the history of our attempts to understand the Flood, from medieval Jewish and Christian speculation about the physical details of the ark to contemporary efforts to link it to scientific findings. Unraveling the mythical dimensions of the parallel Mesopotamian flood stories and their deeper social and psychological significance, J. David Pleins also considers the story's positive uses in theology and moral instruction. Noah's tale, however, has also been invoked as a means of justifying exclusion, racism, and anti-homosexual views. Pro-slavery advocates, for example, used the story of Noah's Curse on Ham's son Canaan to rationalize the enslavement of Africans.
Throughout this expansive and lively book, Pleins sheds new light on our continuing attempts to understand this ancient primal myth. Noah's Flood, he contends, offers a unique case study that illuminates the timeless and timely question of how fact and faith relate.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2003
5 people want to read
About the author
J. David Pleins
7 books2 followersJ. David Pleins, Ph.D.
Professor
Pleins earned his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the University of Michigan in 1987. Having done archaeological work in Jordan, Pleins' research and teaching interests include the religious debates around Charles Darwin, mythology, biblical social ethics, and the problem of evil. He latest book brings to light the long-lost "Memorial Poem" penned by George Romanes, a prominent colleague of Darwin. His current research concerns the debates over the book of Genesis in the 19th century and the on-going creation-evolution controversies.
http://www.scu.edu/cas/religiousstudi...
Professor
Pleins earned his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the University of Michigan in 1987. Having done archaeological work in Jordan, Pleins' research and teaching interests include the religious debates around Charles Darwin, mythology, biblical social ethics, and the problem of evil. He latest book brings to light the long-lost "Memorial Poem" penned by George Romanes, a prominent colleague of Darwin. His current research concerns the debates over the book of Genesis in the 19th century and the on-going creation-evolution controversies.
http://www.scu.edu/cas/religiousstudi...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 16, 2020
For the most part when we think of science and religion in dialogue with each other, we tend to think of it as a shouting match. This obviously wasn't always the case, since many men of science were religious, at least ostensibly (since it's hard to measure someone's sincerity in a time when apostasy could get you burned at the stake or at least cost you some patrons). And if our greatest speculative writers are correct, and the future is anything like that posited by the likes of Arthur C. Clarke in his classic "Rendezvous with Rama," there will in fact one day be cosmonaut Christians.
Author J. David Pleins does some good faith work in trying to show how scientific advancement has undermined much of the literal power of the Abrahamic faiths in our world, but also conversely (and less conventionally) how science can and is in fact re-enchanting the world of myth. This is especially true of quantum mechanics.
This is all good and well, except it leads the author far afield of what his bailiwick was supposed to be in "Abyss," namely the story of Noah's Flood, and the previous myths from Assyrian and Babylonian lore that may have provided a partial outline for the Biblical tale. In fact, even when Pleins does deal with Noah, the majority of his study focuses on the truly bizarre post-Ark tale of Noah's nakedness being uncovered by his sons, and in the case of Ham, Noah's drunken buck-naked streaking. This tale, which incredibly has been used to justify everything from slavery in the antebellum South to Apartheid in Africa, is no doubt fascinating and worthy of treatment. But it's also undoubtedly a post-Flood story.
J. David Pleins has the knowledge and the skill to engage and enlighten the reader. But this time out, alas, he lacks focus. Others may enjoy his far-afield meanderings and see rich depths where I merely perceived a lack of focus. And despite my misgivings, it would be hard to read this book without learning something new.
Author J. David Pleins does some good faith work in trying to show how scientific advancement has undermined much of the literal power of the Abrahamic faiths in our world, but also conversely (and less conventionally) how science can and is in fact re-enchanting the world of myth. This is especially true of quantum mechanics.
This is all good and well, except it leads the author far afield of what his bailiwick was supposed to be in "Abyss," namely the story of Noah's Flood, and the previous myths from Assyrian and Babylonian lore that may have provided a partial outline for the Biblical tale. In fact, even when Pleins does deal with Noah, the majority of his study focuses on the truly bizarre post-Ark tale of Noah's nakedness being uncovered by his sons, and in the case of Ham, Noah's drunken buck-naked streaking. This tale, which incredibly has been used to justify everything from slavery in the antebellum South to Apartheid in Africa, is no doubt fascinating and worthy of treatment. But it's also undoubtedly a post-Flood story.
J. David Pleins has the knowledge and the skill to engage and enlighten the reader. But this time out, alas, he lacks focus. Others may enjoy his far-afield meanderings and see rich depths where I merely perceived a lack of focus. And despite my misgivings, it would be hard to read this book without learning something new.
Displaying 1 of 1 review