My wife was browsing Netflix last night and came across a terrific (to me anyway) documentary titled “Finding Noah”.  Released in 2015, the film documents the story of a group of men in search of, as you might expect, Noah’s Ark. The men represent a cross-section of the people: hardcore archaeologists only interested in the science, seasoned climbers, and those with a theological interest in finding the Ark. 

The Ark is thought to rest at the peak of Mount Ararat, a 17,000 foot mountain in Turkey.  The film presents not only the theology of the Ark, but also the attempts to locate the Ark using modern technology. The film documents several expeditions over a few years and weather is a factor. 

One of the most interesting characters is “Mr. X”, who is a mysterious and unseen participant. Mr. X supposedly works for NASA and provided information to the expeditionary group as they attempt to locate the Ark. To locate the Ark, the group drills into the mountain ice in hopes of striking the ark. Mr. X feeds the group GPS information, even at one point saying (paraphrased) “You’re right on top on it”.  At one point the drill contacts something not ice, and the group carves a 32-foot hole into the ice to examine the find. 

Spoiler alert: The group fails to locate the Ark before Turkey begins to deny permits due to political considerations.  

So why did the group fail to find the Ark?  Is the Ark only a ship of the Bible? Does it really exist? Well, certainly mistakes could have been made despite all of the science. The Ark may have been only a few feet away from the dig site. Despite our best technology, glaciers move and things sometimes happen beyond our ability to predict, analyze and explore. 

But as I watched the film, I couldn’t help but think that God doesn’t want us to find the Ark. He doesn’t want us to base our belief on artifacts. He wants us to come to Him by faith (Ephesians 2). And that faith comes from hearing the Word of the crucified and risen Christ (Romans 10) for those that believe in Him has eternal life (John 3). Jesus said that the only way to the Father is through Him (John 14) and that, because He took the burden of our sins on the cross so that our only sin is unbelief (Mark 1).