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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 sheds new light on our continuing attempts to understand this ancient primal myth.
List of contents
- 1.: Of Angels, Mangers, and Arks: Black Sea Flooding and Mountain Mania
- 2.: For the Bible Tells Me SO!: Competing Ways to Read Genesis
- 3.: Not as Seamless as It Seems: The Literalist's Lens
- 4.: Just after Breakfast on Sunday, October 23, 4004 B.C.: Fundamentalist Literalism and Creation "Science"
- 5.: From Sarcophagus to Ship: Traditional and Early Scientific Visions of the Flood
- 6.: Weather Reports? : Adopting the Mythic View
- 7.: Diverting the Stream of Tradition: Reinventing the Flood Myth
- 8.: Race, Sex, and the Cruse: When Myths Go Wrong
- 9.: Simone de Beauvoir aboard the Ark: Male Hero Fantasies and the Second Sex
- 10.: Can We Really Dig Up God? : Science, Myth, and the Flood Today
- Conclusion. Telling Many Stories
- Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
J. David Pleins is Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University
Summary
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.
Additional text
"This book is enjoyable and thought-provoking. One can recommend it to biblical scholars, archaeologists, theologians, and scientists-all who are interested in a lively discussion about human culture and religion."
