Noah’s Ark Claims Spark Continued Debate
Pastor Jeremiah Johnston, a New Testament scholar who traces the Bible’s archaeological footprints, said he understands the fascination with Noah’s Ark but urged caution. “I *want* the Ark to be found. Every Christian does,” he posted. “But this isn’t it. It has never been it. And every time we share these stories before verifying them, we hand our skeptical neighbors a loaded weapon to use against the faith.”
Johnston, founder of the Christian Thinkers Society, then shared a thread debunking the claims made by Andrew Jones of Noah’s Ark Scans. “First, the site has a name and a history, and both should give you pause,” he wrote, adding that Ron Wyatt’s “claims have been rejected by every credentialed archaeologist—Christian and secular alike—who has examined them.”
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Scientists and scholars agree that the boat-shaped structure Johnson is studying is “a natural geological formation,” Johnston noted, and radar findings of features such as “right angles” are merely interpretive.
“Every geophysical survey requires human interpretation, and when you expect to find a ship, you will see a ship,” Johnston wrote. “It is the Rorschach test of biblical archaeology. The limestone of the region naturally forms joints and channels that can look startlingly architectural on a screen. That is not evidence.”
Johnston, like Wesley Huff, noted that Jones is “not an archaeologist” with a degree and peer-reviewed publications. “He may be sincere. He may be well-meaning,” Johnston wrote of Jones. “But sincerity is not scholarship, and press releases are not peer review.”
Joel Berry, formerly of The Babylon Bee, also chimed in about the debate. “I never understood the search for the ark,” he posted on Apr. 23. “Noah and his family would’ve almost certainly dismantled it and used the lumber to build their first settlements. Anything left would’ve rotted away. We don’t need this stuff, folks. ‘Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.’”
