But you did raise the issue , otherwise what was I responding to.

I can't account for your responding. The point of my comment was that atheists do religious people a disservice by trying to talk them out of their belief. I gave an example of a time I tried, and I announced that I don't do that anymore.

What I thought of the fundamentalist's response in 1968 is hardly something I can remember, much less defend, in 2023. These things may be important to you, but a passing exchange on the rifle range at (then) Fort Bragg is not something etched in my memory beyond the details I have reported.

I am pretty sure that I thought, before asking the question, that my buddy had a literal belief in a real ark with two of every animals really on it. If I got that wrong, then I got that wrong. But his answer was "I don't know, he just did." For me, the Flood story is a myth, so was and am open to any interpretation anyone may offer. But, unlike 55 years ago, I no longer have any interest in debunking any view of the story that involves actual behavior by an actual deity. That change of attitude is the point of my post. Why you responded to the anecdote is your business.