This week I hope to post a few clips regarding Noah’s Ark, an enduring parable conveyed to billions over the years, and familiar to many Americans. Noah’s Ark has been a significant point within two interviews for Behold the Earth to date. I also touched on it in conversation with the scientist and author Carl Safina over this past weekend. Carl and the well-known pastor Ken Wilson from the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor have started a group called the Friendship Collaborative. What is the meaning of Noah’s Ark? I asked Carl. Earth is the ark, was his initial reply, and the rising water feels like today’s rising impact of people. I hope to pursue this further with him.

Tomorrow, I will post the reply of ecologist and evangelical leader Cal DeWitt. And then the reply of biologist E.O. Wilson. Collectively, these replies help convey a partial picture of American identity in the natural world.

The image at right was created in 1846 by the painter Edward Hicks, and can be viewed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Posted on June 15th, 2009 in Christians, Educators, Environmentalists, Parents