Tags
bible, creationism, noah's ark, ricky gervais, science, skeptic
From his latest stand-up special, Out Of England 2, here’s comedian Ricky Gervais telling the story of Noah and his Ark, based off of a book he received as a child. I have already outlined my own reasoning for why a story like Noah and his ark is completely fatuous, but it is always nice to have a professional comedian help me make my point.
Ricky, since he was a child, has always had a love and fascination with science. He is an outspoken proponent of both science and atheism. And he is funny. Sometimes what can’t be conveyed through rational discussions can be more easily grasped through comedy, and I commend him for that.
If you think he is making the story sound ridiculous, that’s because it is.
Couldn’t agree more, in that this is a ridiculous story, recounted in a ridiculous (and very funny) manner, in true Gervais style. I was surprised that in the telling of it, Ricky appeared to overlook one of thos fundamental errors he loves so much. He says Noah was so relieved to have survived the deluge, that he made a sacrifice to God…so was this the first recorded deliberate act to wipe out a whole species? There were after all, only two of each species!
As there are so many flaws in the original, I guess Ricky could have extended the telling of it substantially, had he paused for thought at every quirk.
I agree, as any historical-critical reading of the Bible will show; Biblical logic is practically non-existent. But then again, you have to remember that these stories were written in a time when everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe etc, and their mistakes are understandable. The problem is when people today consider these stories, written in a period of no scientific knowledge, as absolute fact. Obviously Gervais has picked up on this, and that’s why it’s so funny to us.