- Hello there. Do you like stories? I certainly do. And if you do too, I invite you to join me as we visit one of the
world's most famous stories, the story of a great
flood (thunder rumbling) and of the man who survived it. A mean named Noah. Flood stories appear in a
great many ancient myths. We're going to look at the story as told in two sacred scriptures that you may have heard of. One is the Bible, the other is the Qur'an. Jews and Christians who read the Bible don't always know that there
is a Noah story in the Qur'an. Muslims, who know the Noah story from the Qur'an sometimes forget that a Noah story is
also told in the Bible. Which version is correct? Muslims favor the Qur'an's version, Jews and Christians
favor the Bible's version but why fight about it? Both versions are interesting and it's fun to compare them. So let's get started. Both stories begin with God. And God is angry. In the Bible, God is angry that the human race,
which he himself created, has grown wicked. In the Qur'an, God is
angry that Noah's nation is worshiping false gods instead of him. In both the Bible and the Qur'an, God intends to send an annihilating flood against the humans who
have so offended him. But here the differences begin. In the Bible, Noah never says a word. All he does is silently build the boat that the world now calls Noah's ark. In the Qur'an, Noah does
a great deal of talking. He warns his people that if they continue
their idolatrous ways, God will surely destroy them. But if they repent and
beginning worshiping Him alone, He will not only spare them but also enrich them with many blessing. In the Qur'an, just as in the Bible, Noah builds an ark. But in the Qur'an, unlike the Bible, people mock him for doing so. Noah tells them in effect, he who laughs last laughs best. As noted already, the biblical
Noah never speaks at all. In the Bible, no one but Noah is warned of the coming flood and no one survives except Noah, his family and the animals he has brought onboard the ark two by two. In the Qur'an, by contrast, a few of Noah's people do heed his warning and they are saved,
along with Noah's family and with again, the animals. In the Qur'an alone, Noah has a recalcitrant son who refuses to come onboard. If there's to be a flood, he says he'll just go
up on a high mountain and wait it out. Noah makes one plaintiff plea to God on his son's behalf but God is unmoved. Noah's true family is now to be those who
worship the one true God. Noah's son must die with
the other unbelievers in God's punishing flood. In the Bible, Noah has three sons and all make it onboard the ark. Later, the three do
get in trouble with God but that's another story entirely. In the Bible, after the
flood waters recede, God gives Noah the rainbow as the sign that he will never again destroy
the whole world by flood. In the Qur'an, although the flood has not
destroyed the whole world, Noah beseeches God to make the world safe for his believers by making it uninhabitable
for unbelievers. I think we can agree that in both versions of Noah's story, God is a fearsome figure. I myself find him more fearsome in the biblical version because the biblical flood
comes without warning and without the option of repentance. Yet in the Qur'an, God's main and endlessly repeated threat is not flood but eternal punishment in the flames of hell. In the biblical Noah story, hell is never mentioned. And here, friends, our brief double visit to the Bible and the Qur'an must end. If you've enjoyed it, let me assure you that there's
more where this came from. Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, even Jesus and Mary. They all appear in both scriptures. The similarities are
clear and the differences, well, the differences are fascinating. If you'd like to do more
comparative reading, I invite you to read my little
book, "God in the Qur'an." One of the great
blessings of our life here in the United States is that we are all free to
read each other's scriptures. And some of us are happily starting to do exactly that. Thank you. I am Jack Miles for the Emir Stein Center. And if you liked this video, hey, please share it with a friend or two. (lively music) - [Narrator] If you wanna
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