A flood of theories about Noah

In his book, J. David Pleins examines four approaches to looking at the story of Noah and his ark.

The idea for a book about Noah came when J. David Pleins, professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University, was interviewed for a National Geographic Society video about recent discoveries in the Black Sea that were believed to offer new evidence on the biblical story of Noah’s Ark.

In his book When the Great Abyss Opened: Classic and Contemporary Readings of Noah’s Flood (Oxford University Press, 2003), Pleins examines four approaches to looking at the story of Noah and his ark, ranging from fundamentalist to scientific views.

Pleins, who teaches courses in biblical studies and comparative ancient Near Eastern literature and mythology draws on a variety of sources in his book, from Joseph Campbell’s study of myths and the views of medieval rabbis, to Pope John Paul II’s call for the Catholic Church to hold an open dialogue with the scientific community in 1996.

“To probe the mythic meaning of the ancient flood legends,” Pleins writes, “is to probe our deepest selves. Through such tales we come to see the integral character of the core values and virtues that have woven together entire civilizations throughout the centuries.”

post-image
From Scratch

The new leader of SCU’s adolescent mental health concentration wants to design better mental healthcare delivery systems to help more kids, now.

Green Is the New Black

Leaders in sustainable fashion shared career advice with student designers at SCU’s popular EcoFashion Show.

Hop 2 It

How do you get from hops to beer? Sustainability interns found out by turning hops grown at SCU’s Forge Garden into “Forge Ahead,” an English-style pale ale.

Racking Up

Tess Heal ’26 is nabbing awards left and right thanks to a stellar freshman year with Santa Clara women’s basketball.