Abstract
Some Christians claim Noah's Flood was local, and it doesn't really matter what we believe about it. Does this view hold water? Does it really matter what we believe about Noah's Flood? Isn't the message clear that God hates sin, whether the Flood was truly a global event, a local one, or even just a cautionary legend? Every year, I have the privilege of helping lead a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon for Christian leaders and professors so they can consider those questions. The canyon cuts through nearly a mile of sedimentary rock layers and provides powerful evidence corroborating the global catastrophic Flood. During our last trip, a philosophy professor told me, "I've been a young-earth creationist for many years, but I never realized until now that the Flood is absolutely critical to the young-earth view." Why is the Flood so important? The answer starts with the Bible's description of the Flood and the Ark.