Quote Originally Posted by schrackman
Yes, 8 people boarded the ark. Also one thing to consider...relations between close relatives was not forbidden by God until the law of Moses was given. Personally, I think God knew the cut off point for when such a thing would benefit humanity (by populating the earth) and when it would do more harm to it (by creating reproductive problems). Of course this is purely my speculation, since the Scriptures do not really address the reasons why God prohibited it.
I have been reading this thread and have just two simple comments to make and then I'll leave.

To those who are thankful that religion and faith exist, take a look at history. More violence and terror has been committed "in the name of God" than by any other force on Earth. It continues unabated today. With faith, logic is almost always excluded.With God on your side, any atrocity can be rationalized.

As for repopulation of the Earth... studies of DNA show that humans have a very low level of diversity compared to other primates. The theory these days is that humans came very close to extinction at some point in history. Repopulate with a handful of people? Of course not. But maybe the numbers were adjusted downward for effect. As someone wrote, the Bible is based on history no matter how distorted.

Time for me to go dancing naked and wickedly around the bonfire...