According
to Genesis 11, all humans spoke the same language immediately following the
flood of Noah. Those that migrated to the west
and settled in the land of Shinar decided to build a city, and a great
tower out of baked bricks to make a name for themselves. Since there is no
evidence of buildings from
antediluvial civilizations, we can probably conclude the Tower of
Babel was the first major monument that had ever been built.
The story of
the Tower of Babel is important to creation science because it provides a
key piece of information that helps explain why humans exist as multiple distinct
races today.
The Bible explains that
God intentionally scattered mankind to retard their technological
advancement by confusing their speech. The origin of the various root languages is presumably linked to this event.
God apparently created
several unique languages to scatter humans throughout the world. This
action effectively speciated humans into
several groups allowing physical differences to develop. All humans can
trace their ancestry back to Noah and his family only 4500 years ago, and
then even further back to Adam and Eve. We are all close relatives, and
the differences that distinguish us should be considered superficial at
best.
Genesis 11 - The Tower of Babel
Genesis 11:1 Now the whole earth had one
language and few words. 2 And as men migrated from the east,
they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3
And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks,
and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone,
and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us
build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens,
and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad
upon the face of the whole earth." 5 And the LORD came down
to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built.
6 And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they
have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what
they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be
impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down, and there confuse
their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face
of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore
its name was called Ba'bel, because there the LORD confused the
language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered
them abroad over the face of all the earth.