At The God Question, we are committed to examining faith, evidence, and skepticism through structured discussions. But religion isn’t just an abstract debate—it’s happening all around us, shaping lives, influencing culture, and making bold claims that deserve scrutiny.
That’s why we offer Sunday Special Features—a weekly series where we critically analyze real-world religious messages, sermons, and events as they unfold.
✔ Did a local pastor misrepresent science?
✔ Is a faith-based organization making questionable claims?
✔ Did a religious leader say something that needs to be fact-checked?
📌 Sunday Special Features will respond to these moments in real-time, helping readers think critically about the religious narratives they encounter in everyday life.
For this week’s Sunday Special Feature, we examine Pastor Tony Holcomb’s recent statements on the Beulah Bible Broadcast about the Noah’s Ark flood narrative. His central claim? That the biblical flood actually happened, that it was worldwide, and that modern science confirms it.
This post explores why that claim is completely false—and what it would say about God if it were true.
1️⃣ Pastor Tony’s Claims vs. Reality
In his sermon, Pastor Tony makes several bold claims about Noah’s flood, history, and science. Let’s break them down.
📌 CLAIM #1: The Flood Was a Real, Worldwide Event
Pastor Tony’s Claim: “The flood happened. It was worldwide. Noah was a real man. He did build an ark. These things happened. Why? Because God’s Word tells us they happened.”
This is a textbook example of circular reasoning:
- The Bible is true because the Bible says it’s true.
- The flood happened because Genesis says it did.
📌 The Reality: ✔ No independent historical records confirm a global flood.
✔ No geological evidence supports a worldwide deluge.
✔ No archaeological findings confirm the existence of Noah’s Ark.
🔹 The flood narrative is not history—it’s mythology.
📌 CLAIM #2: Jesus Confirmed That the Flood Was Real
Pastor Tony’s Claim: “Jesus reflects back on the flood as a historic worldwide flood, as a judgment of God upon the world.”
📌 The Reality:
- If Jesus referenced Noah’s flood, that doesn’t confirm it happened.
- People in the first century believed the flood was real—but belief doesn’t equal truth.
- Using a story as an analogy doesn’t make it history.
✔ If Jesus had referenced Zeus, would that mean Zeus is real?
✔ If he mentioned the Tower of Babel, does that confirm its historicity?
📌 Quoting the Bible to prove the Bible is circular reasoning.
📌 CLAIM #3: The Grand Canyon Was Formed by Flood Runoff
Pastor Tony’s Claim: “Scientists and geologists, paleontologists, I mean, have looked at these things and have demonstrated through computer technology that the runoff of the flood is what created the Grand Canyon.”
📌 The Reality:
✔ Geologists have extensively studied the Grand Canyon—its rock layers span nearly 2 billion years of Earth’s history.
✔ The Colorado River carved the canyon gradually over the last 5 to 6 million years through erosion—not a single flood event.
✔ If the canyon were caused by a global flood, we would see a single uniform layer of sediment—not distinct geological formations spanning vast timescales.
🔹 The Grand Canyon was not formed by Noah’s Flood—it’s a geological masterpiece shaped over millions of years.
📌 CLAIM #4: Noah’s Ark Has Been Found
Pastor Tony’s Claim: “They found what they believe is the Ark. Well, they have. And I don’t know. There’s a lot of different questions about that. But regardless of that, there’s so much evidence.”
📌 The Reality:
✔ Every “discovery” of Noah’s Ark has turned out to be a hoax or a misinterpretation.
✔ There is zero verified evidence that Noah’s Ark existed.
✔ Many expeditions have claimed to find it—but none have stood up to scrutiny.
🔹 There is no ark. There never was. It’s a story—not a historical event.
2️⃣ Hypothetical: What If the Flood DID Happen?
But let’s set aside the evidence for a moment.
Let’s assume Pastor Tony is 100% correct—that the flood actually happened as described in Genesis.
What would that say about God?
📌 1. God Is Willing to Commit Global Genocide
✔ If the flood happened, then God deliberately killed nearly every human being—men, women, children, and even unborn babies—through drowning.
✔ If a human dictator wiped out an entire population, we would call it an atrocity.
✔ If Satan had done this, Christians would call him the ultimate villain.
📌 Key Question: If killing billions in a flood is “justice,” what would injustice look like?
📌 2. God Created Humans—Then Regretted It?
Genesis 6:6 says:
📌 “And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”
✔ Omniscience Problem → If God is all-knowing, why did He create humans knowing in advance that they would become wicked?
✔ Omnipotence Problem → If God is all-powerful, why was genocide His only solution?
📌 Key Question: Why would a perfect, all-knowing God create a world He would later regret?
📌 3. The Flood Solved Nothing—Sin Still Exists
✔ Sin still exists.
✔ People are still corrupt.
✔ Evil still thrives in the world.
If the flood didn’t work, does that mean God’s plan failed?
📌 Key Question: If the flood was meant to “cleanse the world of sin,” why did it fail?
📌 3️⃣ Conclusion: The Flood Is a Myth, and That’s Okay
✔ There is no scientific evidence of a global flood.
✔ There is no historical or geological evidence of Noah’s Ark.
✔ The Grand Canyon was not formed by a flood.
✔ Jesus referencing the flood does not prove it happened.
✔ The flood story exists to instill fear, not to reveal truth.
📌 Final Thought: Even if we grant every single one of Pastor Tony’s claims, the moral implications of the flood story should trouble any thinking person.
✔ If the flood is just a myth, it’s a dangerous myth.
✔ If the flood is real, then God is not loving, just, or merciful.
Either way, this isn’t a story of divine love or justice—it’s a warning about blind faith in cruel doctrines.
God or Delusion? 