The Sad Search for the Ark

In case you've been living under a rock for the last few hundred years, people still cling to the believe that Noah's Ark is out there waiting to be discovered. Many people believe that it is currently overturned on the top of Mt. Ararat in Turkey (CNN article here. Yes, CNN). Overturned? Apparently Noah was also at the helm of the Exxon Valdez.

Religious beliefs aside.... really? Noah's Ark?

I know it is a cutesy story in a way but there is another side to this that people do not seem to be considering. If you think that this story even could be true, here are some other things to think about:

- Just about every major religion that pre-dated Christianity had a flood myth. The story of Noah's Ark greatly resembles the story of Gilgamesh. There was in fact a major flood in that area 3,000 years ago but there has never been a world-wide flood. We know this and science has proven it.

- The Bible said that Noah lived to be 950 years old and that he was fathering kids when he was well over 100. Enough said.

- The Bible is kind enough to list the exact dimensions of the alleged Ark. We did not have the technology or the science to build a boat that size until 1900. Also, it would have required trees that were hundreds of feet tall.

- The Bible says that the great flood wiped out everything and everyone on Earth. Somehow Noah managed to collect (and feed!) millions of species across several continents before it happened.

- If you start taking the Old Testmanet literally, where do you stop? It also says that the Earth is about 6,000 years old. Sadly, 44% of Americans believe this.

Anyway... if you think that maybe this Ark existed then you need to account for all of this.

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We started watching the History Channel series "The History of Us" last night. It is a quick look at the history of this country from start to finish.

It did give me some knowledge that I did not have. For example:

- Over 10% of Americans can trace their ancestry to the people that came over on the Mayflower
- There were free Africans in the original Jamestown settlement
- Jamestown flourished because the settlers started growing tobacco imported from Europe (I thought we got this from the natives)

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I've decided to start a new blog that is completely separate from this one. I've realized that I have a passion for promoting humanity and that passion sometimes (often) spills over into religion. I know that most people do not want to read about that stuff here and quite frankly I'm tired of watering down some of my thoughts. I'm not exactly sure what I am going to title the site. I'm kicking around the idea of "happyinfidel.com" or something like that. Any suggestions (humorous or serious) would be greatly appreciated.

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A quick pirate update. Amazingly, Rebecca BARELY looks pregnant. In fact, I'm starting to suspect another conspiracy (I still know that my alleged colorblindness is something that you all concocted). She went to the doctor's last week and they said that our little Bubba is hiding behind the placenta. Of course, I tell Rebecca that the boy doesn't like to hear her yelling at me.